Stars @ Glass House

November 18, 2010 - Pomona, CA

By Darren Kim

Stars @ Glass House - Pomona, CA - November 14, 2010 - Photos by Darren Kim

It felt almost like an honor to see Stars at the quaint Glass House in Pomona this past Sunday. In the midst of their second North American tour in promotion of 2010's The Five Ghosts, the band has been headlining far larger venues (including their date the day before at the Wiltern Theater in LA proper), which made this show quite a treat. Anticipation hung in the air as show-goers packed in tighter, and the group emerged only a few minutes past the promised time, immediately sprinkling the audience with a shower of rose petals before tearing into their set.

The first few songs did a good job of revving the crowd up for the long set list that was about to come. "Are we in the Inland Empire?" vocalist Torquil Campbell sputtered after welcoming the crowd to their show, "I've always wanted to go there. Sounds safe. Sounds like a good place for a teen to grow up."

The group showcased songs from their most recent album while throwing in older tunes for the audience's further enjoyment. Amy Milan, vocalist and guitarist, and Torquil sang in tandem with each other, each adding their own unique quality to the performance. Torquil in particular was impressive, seemingly as a constant bundle of aggressive energy as he paces around on stage, engages with the audience and twists his body around every which way as he sings in tandem with Amy's beautiful, softly sung vocals and quieter demeanor. Torquil, at one point, even ventured at the edge of the stage and intensely grasped a fan's hand for a long period of time.

When a wave of bubbles emerged during "Wasted Daylight", I felt like I was suddenly thrust into a fairy tale - or perhaps a hallucination or dream. It put a big, cheesy smile on my face to watch as fellow audience members tried hopping in the air to pop the bubbles that cast an ethereal haze over the stage.

Amy Milan sat down to perform an acoustic rendition of "Ageless Beauty" which was - in a word - stunning. After the downbeat moments had passed, the band immediately sped up again with "Take Me To the Riot", "Bitches in Tokyo", and dance jam "I Don't Want Your Body". The eponymous track off my favorite album of theirs, Set Yourself On Fire, got a special introduction as Torquil wailed, "Start a band, start a band! Set yourself on fire! Don't fuck around, start a band!" before diving into the tune as the crowd applauded and danced.

The night wound down with a rendition of "Your Ex-Lover is Dead" and "One More Night" before the lights kicked out. This was, of course, not the end as they returned for an encore comprised of "Celebration Guns" and "Changes". As a whole, the evening ended up being one of this year's most enjoyable shows.

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By Liz Caruso

By Liz Caruso

By Liz Caruso