Stars
Date: July 8, 2008 I'll Bring the Sun The exact midpoint of the 2008 Bluesfest was a chance to catch up with returning favourites Stars and Jason Collett, who performed with fellow Arts and Crafts labelmates, The Most Serene Republic. Collett was as dependable as ever, while Stars were solid headliners, making for yet another fun day at the festival. I had hoped to arrive in time to see local act Brights but it's tough to make it down quickly after work some days, so I only caught their last song. Next time. Instead, my evening started in earnest with Jason Collett and his capable band. This was my first time seeing Collett since the release of Here's to Being Here, although I had heard him showcase some of that album's songs in a stripped-down format last fall. The addition of the band helped that material fill the expansive festival grounds, with songs such as "Roll On Oblivion" and "Out of Time" sounding great, as were two songs making their live debuts. The set highlights, though, were probably a pair of songs that Collett also employed two years ago at Bluesfest. "Hangover Days" saw Amy Millan of Stars shimmy on to the stage to handle the female perspective of the duet, which I have now heard performed by a few different singers. Set closer "I'll Bring the Sun" also drew assistance, with Collett's Broken Social Scene comrade Kevin Drew adding guitar and vocals. This song was a perfect anthem for an evening on which the threatened thunderstorms never arrived and a stage on which the artists face the river sunset. The middle act of the Arts and Crafts portion of the night was The Most Serene Republic. I was unimpressed by the album that I had heard by them but I will give them credit for being more interesting live. Singer Adrian Jewett was particularly animated, although the entire stage-filling band played well. I wouldn't say that they made me a fan but I wouldn't complain about their set, either. Finally, it was time for Stars, making their Bluesfest return after three years. Having missed their sold-out appearance at the Bronson Centre in April, this was my first live look at the band since the release of In Our Bedroom After the War. This show turned out to be a case of an underwhelming album making a better showing live, as first illustrated by the opening song, "The Night Starts Here." Stars' stage dressing was full of decorative flowers, which were ripped out and tossed into the crowd as the night progressed, a suitable reflection of the group's music, a blend of the beautiful and the forceful.
The set mixed Bedroom songs, such as "Window Bird," and "Take Me to the Riot" with older numbers, including "Elevator Love Song," "Ageless Beauty," "Soft Revolution," "One More Night," "Your Ex-Lover is Dead," "Reunion," and "What I'm Trying to Say." While I increased my appreciation for the new album, I was also happy to hear Set Yourself on Fire, the album that really made me a fan, so well represented. Regardless of source material, Stars sounded great all night, playing in front of a suitably grand light set. Torquil Campbell seemed truly appreciative of the large and responsive crowd. His vocal counterpart, Amy Millan, was consistently polite, critiquing Campbell's repeated admonishments of main stage headliner, Fergie, and interjecting the name Brights when he was thanking the bands that had played the stage earlier. She also brought Emma Ditchburn of Most Serene Republic back on stage for birthday wishes. The set wound down with the title track from Bedroom. If the earlier inclusion of the soaring "Take Me to the Riot" had betrayed a Smiths influence, an encore kickoff of "This Charming Man" sealed the connection. "Calendar Girl" was a nice, slow release after a hot, sweaty show. At one point, Torquil Campbell noted the competing sounds from the other stages but remarked, "Isn't it great, though, that your city is ringing out with music from everywhere?" That sums up the beauty of Bluesfest; and the halfway mark saw no abatement in the festival's effectiveness. Jason Collett setlist (created with assistance from show archive at mvyradio) Set
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