Stellastarr* descended upon the Troubadour as a warm up show for their appearance at Noise Pop 2008 in San Francisco. I last caught up with Stellastarr* last year when they played Safari Sam's and the Troubadour. Shawn Christensen (Vocals/Guitars) recently was kind enough to answer a few questions about the status of their upcoming third album.
The Oohlas
The Oohlas opened the evening with their fun filled sugar laced indie pop. Their album Best Stop Pop was not nearly publicized as well as it should have been as the whole album is rock solid. I have caught the Oohlas before at the Knitting Factory in 2006 and more recently at the Detroit Bar. The Oohlas were in top form as they had a new drummer propelling them even faster as they rifled through some songs off Best Stop Pop. Olivia Stone (Vocals/Guitars) was rocking out on her glittery green Gretsch guitar as Greg Eklund (Guitars/Vocals) had his trusty G&L Telecaster. They played "Octopus", "Across The Stars In Blue" and a new song entitled "Crying". The Oohlas are going back into the studio to record a new album but I recommend you pick up Best Stop Pop if you haven't already.
Stellastarr*
The Troubadour was completely packed by the time Stellastarr* hit the stage. They started their set with a new track entitled "Tokyo Sky" that can only be described as classic Stellastarr* sounding with its wire like guitars, hyperactive drums and commanding bass line. Shawn was singing in a higher register then his previous baritone style but it was easily recognizable as Stellastarr*. The song was continually building before Shawn would sing "My Tokyo Sky!" as Michael Jurin (Guitars) went into a mini feedback fury. "The People" was another new song with a more spoken word vocal delivery with Amanda Tannen (Bass/Vocals) adding her honey coated backing vocals for the mid tempo rocker. "Sweet Troubled Soul" really got the Troubadour faithful going as it is one of top songs from their album Harmonies For The Haunted. Stellastarr* debuted another new song entitled "Graffitti Eyes" that was immediately catchy with its "Whoa Whoa" chorus combined with a driving bass line line and hi hat shuffle. "Warchild" has been on Stellastarr*'s myspace page for awhile and is a good example of how the new material sounds but live the song is even more powerful. "In The Walls" got a large amount of cheers from the crowd as Michael started to play the lush delay notes of the song. "Jenny" was insane as the crowd actually started pushing and jumping around as the energy level continued to go off the charts. "Pulp Song" was another wise choice by Stellastarr* as the song had a punk energy surrounding it with its creamy distorted guitars. "My Coco" blew the lid off the Troubadour as I cleared out from the front of the stage as everyone started to dance and jump around. It was hands down the best Stellastarr* show I have witnessed. I hope the new album comes out soon.
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