So, the story has it that songwriter Shawn Christensen (guitar, vox) became the default lead singer and frontman of Stellastarr* because the band couldn’t fill that role way back when they joined up in 2000. However, it’s a role he seems completely at-home in. At Spaceland on Saturday night, he was poised and emotive, and thrust his whole being into the show. His vibe is unaffected. The band could be playing at an even smaller venue or a huge one, but he would still exude his particular brand of warmth that only a kid raised on post-punk and the likes of Talking Heads and the Pixies.
“I’m a jealous man / I can’t relate / She’s a doe-eyed girl / with no complaints / but there’s another side / that I’m trying to crack” begins Christensen’s first verse on one of the band’s most recognizable songs, “Sweet Troubled Soul.” With those words, the crowd quivered and rose, the beauty of Stellastarr* shining through; the audience was engaged, singing, dancing, and bopping along. The music alternating between polished and raw with lyrics of vulnerability, disconnection, and love. So, the audience sang along: “I want to suffer in your arms / and when you’re naked in the dark / I want to see your face / in the reflection of my bedroom stereo / we’ll take it slow / sweet troubled soul,” and for a moment, the room feels alive and connected to something greater than ourselves. It’s like feeling the pull of being human.
Enter Amanda Tannen. She lends her vocals, and while she is technically singing back-up, her voice is essential to the Stellastarr* sound. This band needs the feminine counterpoint to Christensen’s singing and the sandpaper-rough riffs cut into their songs. Tannen commands that undeniable appeal of the female bassist, and, keeping with a legacy most heralded by the singular Kim Gordon, she is much more than just another rock chick. Wielding her bass onstage with Christensen, Arthur Kremer (drums) and Michael Jurin (guitar, vox), she stole the show. Whereas Christensen belts and croons, twists and turns, pulls the songs from his innermost depths–literally on the stage’s floor, at times–Tannen roots him, her voice glides across the stage to creates the aura of mystery so necessary for a band of art students. There is something stately about her character and performance style–engaged and restrained at the same time.
The New York City-based band has been together for nearly a decade, and catered to new and old fans alike with songs spanning its catalogue. They’ve shared bills with Jane’s Addiction, My Morning Jacket, The Strokes and The Raveonettes; a shape-shifting element to the music underscores how Stellastarr* is a band that sculpts an audience to its music and its music to an audience, but still retains its essence. The band stays true to its name.
“Winter Song”
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Set List:
Winter Song – b-side to “Numbers” single
People - Civilized
Somewhere Across Forever - Stellastarr*
Sweet Troubled Soul – Harmonies for the Haunted
Freak Out – Civilized
In the Walls - Stellastarr*
Numbers – Civilized
On My Own – Harmonies for the Haunted
Stay Entertained – Harmonies for the Haunted
Tokyo Skies – Civilized
Graffiti Eyes – Civilized
Jenny – Stellastarr*
Encore:
Moongirl - Stellastarr*
No Weather - Stellastarr*
My Coco - Stellastarr*
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