Back at University, all the way back in 2004, me and my newly acquainted Uni digs friends ventured down Oxford Road to visit Manchester Academy 3 (Hop and Grape) to see a band called Stellastarr. Having little knowledge of the band having only heard one song and only a friend’s persistent recommendation that they were superb……. expectations were low, but open to be fulfilled on what was a rare venture across the water from the NEW York arty indie band.
Supporting that night were another American band, who themselves had very little UK touring behind them. They were the Killers.
From that night to the present day, the contrasting journeys of both bands are in completely different stratospheres…. One having Multi-million album sales, hugely successful tours and fame across the world, the other releasing only the 3 albums and a virtual unknown to even the most knowledgeable of music fans. However, for me there is only one band who I would much rather see and listen to again and again and that was the headliners - Stellastarr
That one song I referred to earlier…. that was My Coco and is perhaps one of their most “well known” songs and joins forces with 9 other songs on the masterful creation of their first, self-titled album.
Hailing from across the pond in New York, Stellstarr are a 4 piece indie/rock band who despite their relatively unknown status nowadays, were very much present back in the day and slotted superbly into the early 2000’s eclectic and guitar heavy indie scene.
Lead singer Shawn had an impressive and unpredictable presence as the bands frontman, a true focal point, but was not to be outdone by the striking Amanda on bass, with sprinkled vocals softening and complimenting the powering vocals of Shawn. Arthur provided the drums and Michael the lead guitar… ever prominent in the riff driven tracks of most of their set.
On the night, despite the scale of this particular gig, Academy 3 is not being able to provide the grandeur of stadiums, the headline slots of Glastonbury or festivals, there was no other place that I would wished to have been and see Stellastarr performing and rocking the venue and fans crammed into the special venue.
The night did invariably start with Killers opening, who having not known a single thing about them, performed their set with their synths and flamboyancy…. that in their defence, has never left them. But in all honesty…. did not sit too well with me, my pals and what appeared to be most of the early worms to the gig. Although the songs were catchy, they appeared gimmicky, unconnected to the crowd and were pretty much uninspiring. It was perhaps a few days later that I became aware that they were on the brink of releasing their first album (Hot Fuss) and little did I know that I and many many others would be dancing and singing along to them in packed nightclubs in Manchester a year or so later….. weird how things turn out.
But enough of them, the headliners were Stellstarr (yes with a double rr) and quite rightly on the evidence of their set, they were by far streets ahead of The Killers and also in my estimation of them. The band are an energetic, artistic and stylish bunch, but no doubt a talented collection of musical stylemasters of their craft. They barrage their way through a short, yet imposing set of songs and each one has all the elements to better the one before…. but it is two songs in particular that live in the memory – Jenny and that song again… My Coco.
Both songs epitomise their style superbly…. a mash of thrashing guitars, pulsating drums and quirky popping lyrics layering over the noise, creating an individuality in a crowded indie scene.
It was an occasion when nobody was leaving the gig thinking of the support band and what would become of them, but more of a sense of keeping an eye out for the trajectory that many would hope would become of Stellastarr.
However, that trajectory was somewhat shallow, only two more albums followed their first… the gigs became less frequent in both their homeland and inevitably on these shores and Stellstarr are sadly now no more.
Perhaps they came and did what they wanted. Perhaps the journey they travelled on was meant to be. But what they have left behind is a small collection of tracks that still stands up in this bizarre and pretty rubbish era of “music” and a huge lasting memory of my Uni days.
I urge you to go and check them out….
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