Stellastarr* @ the Metro Club

Oh how I love the eighties – batwings, fringes, stripes, polka dots, pixie boots, can’t get enough of ‘em! And I seem to have loved STELLASTARR* for just as long, (although I only bought their 'self titled' back in early 2004) and 'My Coco' is one of my all time tunes, so you can imagine how I nearly pee'd my pants when I found out they were playing the Metro.

So anyway, they wander on stage and straight into newie tune ‘Lost in Time’, and I have time to reflect that I had absolutely no preconceptions about this band ... at all. I’ve never read a review, didn’t know what they looked like and got the album after hearing ‘My Coco’ a few times on the radio. And now all I can think is “oh, I thought he’d be a bit taller.” Like a bunch of randoms covering your favourite band, although they are doing it very well. Some people might point out that Stellastarr* are, essentially, an eighties cover band. Well they can just f*ck off!

Stellastarr* have a bloody good go at transcending their influences – (the Cure mostly I think), by placing a layer of art school New York cool over the top of what could have been just another eighties pastiche, and with 'Jenny' and 'Somewhere Across Forever' they succeeded.

The beered up crowd seemed old enough to remember the eighties the first time round, and knew all the words to many of the songs. - (I thought I was the only one!) – Some of the tracks do occasionally stray into the twanging guitar territory of ‘Rattle and Hum’ era U2, but Stellastarr* make a big sound that needs more space than the Metro can provide. The new songs aren't as indie pop as their earlier stuff, but they have added layers of lushness to their dark dramatic new wavey sound. I think I liked it.
And finally, ‘My Coco’ is the nights closer, everyone joined for this one.

Fabulous support from Swedish THE SOUNDS kicked off the evenings eighties vibe with shouty girly new wave pop punk not seen since 1982. They are the sound of the Violent Femmes fronted by Blondie with maybe a bit of A-ha thrown in to make it go scando POP!

I know its not cool, but I want to stay in my eighties indie pop ghetto forever. When John Hughes gets round to making my biog I’ll already have a soundtrack sorted. Re: the live performance, I’m still a bit undecided. But then no real life band could have lived up to the Stellastarr* that has, until now, only existed in my head!

(Oh - totally unrelated - but when I got home that night the Libertines were reunited on UKTV Gold in an old Jonathon Ross chat show. Bless.)