Stars at the Orpheum Theatre, Los Angeles. Nov. 10, 2007

Last night the Canadian band Stars took over the beautiful Orpheum Theatre in downtown Los Angeles. Somehow it seemed the perfect venue for this grand performance. Lead singer Torquil Campbell came out to introduce the opener, who's quite a legend in his own right: Lloyd Cole. It was just him and his guitar but somehow it seemed right.

When he was done, we were counting down the minutes until our heroes took the stage. Looking around I saw Sandra Oh in attendance, and apparently the Watson Twins were hanging out, too. There was a row of enthusiastic kids (I don't know how old they were but I call everyone "kid") dancing to "Video Killed the Radio Star." And then. And then, the lights went down and the opening strains of "The Beginning After the End" filled the room. The band took the stage amidst cheers and screams and Torq yelled for everyone to "Get up, GET UP!!!" (The Orpheum is an all-seated venue.) We all did and it was non-stop dancing and smiles and flying flowers all around.

Stars are the kind of live band you could see a hundred times and every time they will create for you a new experience. The band were in top form and Torq's seemingly-endless energy was contagious. Stars have been around for a while so you get the feeling that they never take anything for granted, and perhaps it is this earnestness that earns them a special place in my heart.

They played a nice mix of most of the songs from their new album, In Our Bedroom After The War, as well as some of the older favorites. For "The Ghost of Genova Heights," Torq came out wearing a light-bulb jacket, asking if we wanted to hear a ghost story. During the encore, they played an old crowd-pleaser, their cover of the Smiths' "This Charming Man," and the very last song was "Calendar Girl" which came to a glorious close with Torq holding out his mic to the audience, the whole room singing "I'm alive."

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