Stars Show Perfect For The Season

Queen Elizabeth Theatre

Toronto, ON

on Dec 11 2008

John Papamarko (CHARTattack)

12/12/2008 3:59pm

Whenever I think about those monumental moments in my life — first kiss, first heartbreak, first lay — I tend to remember the music that was playing as vividly as the experience itself.

Stars have always reminded me of the winter — not a specific year, just the season itself. Be it long Greyhound bus rides home to visit family with "Heart" playing in my Discman as I passed time counting naked trees, or being the first to step into new snow after a late night storm, the soundtrack always seemed to be the same in those quiet, introspective moments.

The last time I saw Stars was on a chilly December evening in 2005 during their fantastic, winter-themed four-night residency at Toronto's Lee's Palace. Three years later, almost to the day, they took the stage on another chilly December evening at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.

As a music fan, I prefer small venues, mostly because I value intimacy and interaction in a show, but also because Toronto lacks quality large venues. But the Queen Elizabeth Theatre is one of the better ones. With decent sightlines, comfy seats, easy access to public transit and great sound, it's a shame that she's been underutilized for so long.

Scheduled openers The Russian Futurists were absent, so their slot was filled by Gentleman Reg, who's also opening Friday night's show. I took my seat as he was playing a sparsely beautiful version of "Wicked Game," which Reg maintains he wrote at the request of Chris Isaak.

"I think he emailed me," he joked.

There was a noticeable echo throughout the venue during the more energetic "It's Not Safe," which worried me for the headliners.

"This is a pretty big theatre," said Stars frontman Torquil Campbell, struggling to hide the embarrassment or disdain in his voice when he hit the stage. "I guess we're a pretty big band now."

Any issues I might have had with intimacy were solved the second Campbell gallantly appeared. He summoned the crowd to their feet and completely negated the reserved seating by encouraging the audience to rush to the front. Thankfully, the sound issues worked themselves out as the venue filled with bodies.

The band led off with the obvious "The Night Starts Here" and followed with a few others from their Polaris Music Prize-nominated, and at times pretty self-indulgent, In Our Bedroom After The War. Luckily, the band stuck to the more accessible songs from the record, and hearing Amy Millan quietly stretch her voice to its limit on the bass-driven slow jam "Window Bird" was a treat.

Whether she was whispering on "Undertow" or nearly screaming on crowd-pleaser "Bitches In Tokyo," Millan maintained an unwavering perfect pitch and worked as an anchor to Campbell's flamboyant and somewhat chaotic stage presence. Millan actually interjected when Campbell continued to scream the final line of "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead" at the crowd, long after the rest of the band had stopped.

Campbell's love of Morrissey really shows up in his on-stage antics. From talkin' shit about Queen Elizabeth to the saucy cravat he was wearing, he even tossed about the decorative flowers that dotted the stage. If they were tulips instead of roses, I might have thought I was watching old Mozzer himself.

Here's the set list:

"Maintenance Hall, 4AM"
"The Night Starts Here"
"Take Me To The Riot"
"Soft Revolution"
"Window Bird"
"What The Snowman Learned About Love"
"The Ghost Of Genova Heights"
"Death To Death"
"Bitches In Tokyo"
"Going, Going, Gone"
"Look Up"
"Ageless Beauty"
"Midnight Coward"
"A Thread Cut With A Carving Knife"
"Undertow"
"What I'm Trying To Say"
"Elevator Love Letter"
"Your Ex-Lover Is Dead"

Encore:

"Sad Robot"
"Set Yourself On Fire"
"Calendar Girl"
"One More Night (Your Ex-Lover Remains Dead)"