Voluntary self-combustication

Another weekend has passed, and this weekend I spent, in part, in the company with both Danish synth-rockers Spleen United and Canadian indie-pop band Stars. Live Århus-based Spleen United they meet expectations with heavy bass sound and colourful illumination and the gig being the last on their nation tour, ending in their home town clearly added to the energetic outlet that was poured all over a sold-out Voxhall. Again the venue proved to be holder of one of the best acoustics in the country.
Same conditions were the challenge of Montreal-based Stars, who guested the city on Sunday. Lead male singer Torquill Campbell stated that it may have been the best acoustics the band had ever played in, making it the ideal circumstances for them to prove their worth. As a complete contrast to Saturday's explosions of red, green and blue, the quintet chose a more sparse setting for their melodious and enthusiastic tunes of everyday semi-philosophical takes on life.
In the flesh, Stars' sound isn't far off from the impressions you get off their latest album "Set yourself on fire" from 2004, one key difference is the disappearence of the kind of boring electronic composition which is found through some tracks off of the album. Live, the songs become warm and passionate, which big parts of a song bidded off to synth and keyboards often fail to offer.
It's for certain that after a well-played concert like that, Torquill Campbell was right in his assumption that he may be a bit of a Dane "but without the self-doubt maybe". Stars are a good and personal live band, and with the almost incredibly overwhelming applauding support of an almost filled venue, who would more than happily have clapped their hands red for a second encore (an attempt was in fact made), lets hope they will come back for more. So we can.

My girlfriend's video montage from Spleen United: WMV or MOV

Listen to samples from "Set yourself on fire"