Stellastarr* @ Double Door 7/23/9

This was decent banter away from a perfect show.

Oh, okay, I can write more.

I can't believe I haven't seen Stellastarr* before (ridiculous asterisk and all). I'm even more astounded that they consider themselves New Wave/Pop/Punk. The ultra gloss engineering evident on record could be new wavy, I suppose, but I consider this band and Interpol to be almost interchangeable. Not to say that I'm not a big Stellastarr* fan (again, that * isn't to denote a footnote, they insist on including it in the same way that Bambi down at the Admiral insists on making the "." over the "i" in the shape of a heart), because I am. I fell hard for the song "Jenny" when I first heard it, though I'm a little surprised that most fans consider "My CoCo" to be their true masterpiece. Anyway, much like Interpol, the Stellastarr* experience is basically the same live or on record. There's little in the way of banter, and essentially zero deviation from what was recorded. It makes for an instantly recognizable and enjoyable experience, but I typically prefer a little less polish, effect, and over-engineering in my live shows. I like a little jam-out, a little, if not improvisation, subtle change from the record. That said, Stellastarr* put a lot of emotion into the live set, so much so that as they worked their way through "Jenny", I wondered whether Shawn Christensen would belt out the signature "JENNY! JENNY! JENNY I'D BET YOU'D MAKE YOUR MOM SO PROUD I NEED MY CELL!" After all, he has to scream that out every damn night, so where to get that belly fire and sell it as emotion? No worries, though, as he did it, and it was believable. Now if they just add a little banter or crowd interaction with the flawless performance and apparent emotional purging, this would be a can't-miss act. As it stands:

Value/Cost = $12/15 = 80% = B

The Sounds @ Double Door 5/7/9

I saw two dramatically different Swedish bands on back-to-back nights. First it was Opeth, next it was The Sounds. Better known as the soundtrack to this Geico commercial, the Sounds can't seem to decide if it's riot grrrl punk or bubble gum pop. I might believe that to be an accurate metaphor for Swedish music in general, were it not for the superb assault of the Opeth show just one night prior. I'm not very familiar with The Sounds' music, but it was a sold out show of people who looked vaguely like me, so perhaps I'm the one out of line on this review, but I found the set to be staid, dull, and interminable. Not quite what one looks for in a pop-punk show. We left before the end of the set, but the throngs of mesmerized fans quickly filled in our vacant spot.

Value:Cost = $10/15 = 0.67 = D+

Local band Hey Champ opened, and varied from tolerable new nu-wave to really very good electronica-dance. They play Lollapalooza this summer, and I wouldn't mind seeing them again.