Stars
Date: April 18, 2005 Backwards Through the Megaphone The Ottawa segment of the Exclaim! magazine 13th anniversary tour has to be summarized as a rare concert disappointment. Even after a series of unexciting openers, I fully expected Stars to kill with their headlining set. I remain convinced that they would have, if not for unresolved sound issues that plagued their performance. Despite the band's best efforts, this show failed to meet its potential. Even with moments of interesting sonics, Montag's one-man, electronic-based showcase was not an engaging opening. Montag gave way to the Wooden Stars, whose jangly guitar-based sound should have been a more naturally crowd-pleasing medium; but the local group also failed to generate much excitement with a low-key set. The Organ showed slightly more life, arising almost entirely from singer Katie Sketch; but a sequence of similar-sounding songs kept their performance grounded. As soon as Stars came out, though, their was no questioning the energy coming from the stage, as the players were in top form. However, throughout the opening number, "Set Yourself On Fire," singer Torquil Campbell directed almost as much energy to his sound crew as to his audience, pleading for his vocals to be raised in the mix. Unfortunately, this flaw was never remedied, as the vocals from Campbell and Amy Millan remained buried throughout the show, which robbed the songs of their full power. In fact, the only notable sonic change over the night was an increase in the already overmixed bass guitar, which steamrolled the subtlety of much of the music, such as the quieter moments of "Reunion." On the positive side, the band worked tremendously hard, despite the shortcomings of the mix. Campbell, in particular, was a dynamo, willing the concert to succeed through sheer force of will, sweating his way through an impassioned performance. Even an imperfect Stars show was still a treat, especially with the notable focus on the band's latest release, the masterful Set Yourself On Fire. This was a band playing the concluding night of a tour and marking their graduation to the Barrymore's stage after several past appearances at smaller Ottawa clubs; and they came through with a faultless effort. Almost all of the new album was presented live, with highlights including the sharp drumming of "What I'm Trying To Say," the delicate openness of "The Big Fight," and the slow but resolute "One More Night." After "Calendar Girl" ended the set on another tender note, Campbell declared the encore as being "songs about fucking," which led to "Your Ex-Lover is Dead," and "The First Five Times." With members of the opening bands piling onto the stage to assist, the resulting swell of noise made for one of the best moments of the night. Ultimately, despite the best efforts of the band, the extremely poor mixing was a serious hinderance to the Stars stop at Barrymore's. With much of the power of the band's songs arising from the interplay between the two vocalists, it was a shame to have their voices quieted. Nonetheless, I was impressed enough by the effort that I am eager to witness the band in action again, which I am sure will be a more satisfying experience. Stars setlist 
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