With Feist’s soulful folk, K-OS’s inventive hip-hop and Metric’s frenzied disco-punk (not to mention hipster totem Broken Social Scene) on their formidable roster, Canada’s Arts and Crafts label has an enviable reputation for indie talent. Stars perhaps lack the creativity and consistency of their esteemed labelmates, but for sheer passion they’re up there with the best. Now on their fourth album, their warm, lush orchestration and earnestly emotional songwriting sometimes leans too close to outright cheesiness, but more often than not they succeed in crafting songs both beautiful and vital. 
In many ways, their live show recalls the superb Hold Steady - you can’t help but think they’re getting a bit old for all that rock-star posturing, but they’re so charmingly enthusiastic it’s impossible not to get swept along. The vocals may have a wispy, delicate quality (a situation not helped by the Scala’s echoey sound) but their performance was anything but, with Amy Milian rocking out at every opportunity and Torquil Campbell bounding round the stage with child-like glee. Trumpet and flute were deployed with marvellous effect, and their killer rhythm section deserve much credit for driving the show along with such elan. The rollocking, proggy Set Yourself On Fire, the delectable power-pop of Ageless Beauty and a wonderful singalong One More Night couldn’t help but delight a reverential audience, but the highpoint was an outstanding rendition of Soft Revolution, performed with a brash, multi-layered sonic intensity that’d put BSS to shame. The set did noticably dip in the middle with a surfeit of slower tracks, but they soon regained a heady momentum that carried them through to the end.
Concluding with Calender Girl, with its simple, almost child-like refrain of the months of the year, they wound up their last show of the European tour with all the energy and passion they could muster- Torquil screaming his heart out on the edge of the stage, completely unamplified; Amy grinding away at her guitar, their drummer dispensing flowers and their setlists (scrawled on paper plates) to the ladies at the front, patting me on the back and thanking me for coming. Their genuine, unashamed love of performing, in an age where poseur cool is held in such high regard is oddly touching and to marry it to such musical proficiency resulted in a fantastic experience for all present. Their recorded work might split critical opinion, but there’s no doubting that as live performers, Stars truly sparkle.
(Photos by: me. I was pretty close to the stage...)
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