Stellastarr* is a four person band originally from New York City. Band members include Shawn Christiansen (vocals, guitar), Amanda Tannen (vocals, bass), Arthur Kremer (drums, percussion, keyboards), and Michael Jurin (lead guitar, vocals). The band formed in March 2000, and has released 3 albums since then, with their most recent “Civilized” out July 2009. They have toured with such bands as Jane’s Addiction and Placebo, and are “supported” by the Killers. Not only have they toured the US, but also Canada, Mexico, Europe and Japan. NME named the group “Top Ranked Discovery” at SXSW.

Listening to their music ahead of time, I thought that they were going to be more of a dance band, however their live show was extremely instrumentally based, loud, fast, and rocking. So I guess it qualifies more as the “indie” rock genre. It was beat driven, which is where the dance element comes in, but there were no beat machines, laptops, or keyboards in sight. Despite that, the fairly large crowd was smooshed up against the front of the stage and dancing and jumping the entire time.

They went on just prior to 11pm, and played a pretty long, energetic, upbeat set, ending with their most popular single, “My Coco.” Stellatstarr* reminded me of The Killers, Louis IVX, and Franz Ferdinand. There is a hint of humor and dramatic flair to their music, although it was straightforward and non-gimmicky. The show was a lot of fun and felt like a party. I’m not sure why they’re any better than the rest of the bands in their genre, but they were definitely fun and worth seeing at least once.