When I heard Stellastarr* sold out the Troubadour, I had to venture to Safari Sam’s, the Los Angeles epitome hyphen ‘space’. That is: restaurant-night club-library-art gallery-venue-performing arts milieu for my first time on 6 February. Cozy and spacious with its many levels, including the outdoor patio, dining areas and upstairs lounge, it was the perfect place to have a drink and take in some tunes!

Opening act Monsters Are Waiting, hailing from the Echo Park school of rock, took the stage first. With every pretentious gesture, Annalee Fery, vocalist, frail and baby-voiced piped her way through synth Pixiesque ballads. When her short, pretty red fingernails weren't fiddling with the synthesizer, they noodled around near the side of her face as she reached up on her toes as if her body was being pulled on a taut string reaching for some invisible prize?

Somehow they never peeked and never grounded. The songs just hung in that quiet middle space. It wasn't entirely bland. "Ha Ha" and "Fascination" were charming and catchy with pretty vocal melodies and clean guitar. And "Christine" managed to clinch with its pulsing bass and reggae inspired groove.

When the main act took stage I felt a strange vibe wondering if these people knew who they'd come here to see! Tiny random clusters of rambunctious fans were surrounded by a sea of dead faces and inert bodies. I suppose I expected a torrent of LA's dancing masses to flood the place, but to my surprise Stellastarr's live performance is much more drudgingly, rock based than their albums' glossy New Wave Prog-Pop sound led me to anticipate.

They started the set off rough with a few new untitled songs that fell flat in muddy distortion and pitchy vocals (it's hard when you're aggressively trying to feign a depth in your voice that just isn't naturally there). The guitar fizzled off in the background. A soft focus cast over the glisteningly, sharp sound of their albums.

When they began to play "Sweet Troubled Soul" the small clusters of *fanatics cheered and sang along obediently, while others simply nodded in approval. Finally in familiar territory the band was beginning to warm up. With buoyancy and fervor the band then pounded out songs new and old.

A new song from their prospective new '07 demo, "Warchild," also posted on Myspace, was a culmination of the bands sound. Boasting the eagerness, pomp and galloping rhythms that drive their music. "On My Own," though heart wrenchingly forced with Shawn Christensen gushing and wrenching his body over the mic, was none the less entertaining and photo op worthy. During the second half of their performance they appeased the clusters of fans screaming for "My Coco," propelling into a rather austere though danceable live version.

Photos & Review by............

Alisha Ways

Bringing you all the noise you haven’t heard, off the track corners of L.A. you haven’t seen, and stinging cool like you’ve never felt before. Alisha’s on the L.A. music beat like vibrations from a blasting amplifier and reporting it all straight to you.