Stars with Bell X1 made Pearl Street its first stop on its long North American tour to promote new material and please the crowd with older favorites.
Dressed all in black, the boys of Bell X1 kicked off the Wednesday night show around 8:30 p.m. From the turned backs, loud talking and shifty eyes, Bell X1 lacked attention from the collegiate crowd. The band was short on enthusiasm and didn't make a strong effort to engage with its crowd. At times, the electric guitarist would be caught with his eyes closed. He probably just didn't want to face the blank stares of the audience.
For a radio pop band like Bell X1, the boys need to work on stage presence. Otherwise, this emotionless band will continue to be a drag.
The sound of Bell X1 is versatile, which served as the band's lifeline. The thumping bass and roaring guitar that brought Pearl Street to a darker place is when Bell X1 shined the brightest. On this number, the five of them proved to Pearl Street that they did, in fact, have functioning legs; specifically Noonan. He stammered to-and-fro center stage to work up a sweat that was often seen dripping from his forehead. Noonan's outburst of weird dreariness and robotic movements with little fits of rage was a refreshment from the lackluster performance Bell X1 had been putting on the entire night.
With his eyes shut tightly and him making inaudible statements, his performance was borderline funny to watch. He looked as if he was having some religious experience.
Just beginning the tour, Bell X1 did attempt to throw out an excuse for itself for the lame show: "It is 4 a.m. in Ireland right now," said Noonan.
When it became time for the main act to perform, the lights dimmed to a complete darkness. Then, the crowd was faced with the brightest beaming light panels that pulsated at the rate of a steady heartbeat. As the lights blindingly pulsated, above was a black light design that danced over the audience.
To set off the cosmic and electric set, Stars intertwined lovely and blossomed white and red roses.
Set far apart from Bell X1's black attire, the members of Stars went their own ways when choosing their clothes. The different clothing styles made the stage a more colorful spectacle than it already was. From Amy Millan's gray conservative blazer to the drummer's decadent sunglasses and pink mohawk, Star's mismatched look wasn't a reflection of its cohesiveness as a band.
The introduction of the show featured a small bit of music from the new EP, but Stars made the decision to hold off and begin with older work from the band's previous albums.
Throughout the show, Stars occasionally stripped the flowers from the stage to throw them into the audience. While Stars was gracious with the flowers, Torquil Campbell (co-lead vocalist) gave praise to Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth who happened to be downstairs in the clubroom of Pearl Street playing in his other band.
On the horn heavy song, "Soft Revolution," Campbell was the premier player when he picked up his trumpet and sang in a lecturing and authoritative manner. With a lot of finger points, Campbell glared at his crowd with fiery eyes to get the song's message across.
With any band that promotes unheard material, audiences usually are apprehensive and take more time to warm up to it. About midway through the show, Stars knew it was time to release the unknown. The band started with a reinterpretation of band's older song, "Going, Going, Gone." The band's loose nature quickly tightened up when Campbell's voice went awry to crack mid-note.
Stars played a repertoire of two or three new songs with nervousness, but the overall turnout was commendable on account of it being the band's first time performing these songs in front of a live audience.
In past shows, Stars has been known for taking opportunities to voice American political standpoints (even as Canadians!), which swing pretty far left. Stars didn't only speak out loud on stage, but went to the expense of making buttons for purchase that say, "If they win, we'll leave." and "If they steal it one more time..."
Aside from bashing politics, Millan was at her sweetest when she crooned and pretended to be boxing with her microphone on the harmonious pop tune,"WIndow Bird." Millan is a mystery to watch because of her collectiveness and natural calmness under hot bright lights. She is always looking forward but staring blankly into the unknown. As a blatant dreamer, Millan captures the interest of the ponderous.
It is paradoxical to watch Campbell and Millan as a team because there is little physical interaction between the two. Campbell usually tries to show Millan affection throughout the show, but most of the time that affection was deferred until the last song that ended in an embrace, "The Woods."
Stars one and a half hour performance was filled with gratitude, dedications to the people of Massachusetts, and most of all - love and joy - the whole reason Stars does what it does.
"We're Stars from Montreal. Thanks for coming out. We appreciate it very deeply," Campbell said.
www.myspace.com/stars
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