The only cure for a real hangover is death.
- Robert Benchley, American humorist

Ugh.

I'm heading home later this week; I really hate that for some of the people I'm going to see, I'm going to have to get at least partially drunk first.

Wow. I never knew England was located in a place with seismic activity. And I found out around 1 am last night. Absurdly enough, I wondered whether the neighbour below had started up an incredibly strong washing machine.

My very first earthquake (which I actually felt)!

Hakeem's Xpress Yo'self dance class is one of the most fun classes I've ever attended. I think a dance class ought to stretch you, by teaching you new moves and let you find your own style and personality. Not only does Hakeem manage to achieve both, but he is so full of energy and humour that the class never feels intimidating, even when you're doing the 'dance-off' most dance teachers do nowadays (i.e. splitting the class in half so that only half the class is dancing at any one time).

Last week, I was feeling rather distressed during the class and was wondering whether I'd attempted a level too hard for me, and also a little upset as there was no way I'd be able to go for a lower level as I couldn't leave work that early. This week, while I still didn't nail the routine, I was actually having fun, especially when I stopped focusing so hard on the people in front of me and just let my body do my own thing.

I'd always preferred social dancing, and I guess one reason is because I don't have to worry so hard about my hands and feet. Contrast this with solo dances, like hip hop and street jazz, which usually have both your hands and feet moving. I can usually do one or the other, but not both. However, in Hakeem's class, while I'm still having trouble during some parts, I'm not finding it as tough as I usually do. More to the point, I actually don't look too bad doing whatever facisimile it is that Hakeem's doing.

I'm almost upset that I'll be missing his class next week because I'll be on vacation. His class has been one of the things I look forward to every week because it helps relieve so much of the stress that I've been under. Some people find their happy place doing yoga... I think I've found mine Xpress'ing myself.

Too brilliant to be made up:

And quite a funny short film too. See the hilarious movie poster here.

I'd almost forgotten how big a part the song La Vie en Rose plays in Jeux d'enfants (Love Me If You Dare), which Marion Cotillard was brilliant in. Now, she's done it again, this time, winning the Best Actress Oscar for her role as Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose. It must be her lucky song.

I was incredibly tickled by how genuinely shocked and happy she was. "It's true! There is some angels in this city!" How adorable is that?

Félicitations, ma belle fille!

Simian Mobile Disco at The Astoria (February 13, 2008) was a phenomenal show; I'd decided at the last minute that any group touted as being right up there alongside Justice and Daft Punk in terms of pure entertainment value was definitely worth seeing, even if the concert was taking place in a club I had never set foot in (nor did I ever want to) during my years in London despite staying less than ten minutes away at one point in time.

Having been delayed by work, I arrived at around 8.30 pm in my work clothes and heels (not my usual concert-going gear, as I prefer to change if I have the time). That turned out to be a mistake, but I'll talk more on that later. SMD were scheduled to come on at around 9.50 pm and would play till the 11 pm curfew. So basically, I arrived just in time to catch the last supporting act, The Whip, an electronica band from Manchester. While they were not too bad - I was dancing for the most part to their set - I did wonder what the whole point of the band was, as several members were carrying instruments and there was clearly a lead singer, as nothing could be heard above the pounding electronic beats. I'm sure there are those who think that it is nothing short of a brilliant idea to combine a live band with a DJ, but when one so clearly overpowers the other, it's a clear sign that something's been lost in translation somewhere.

During The Whip's set, it became clear that I'd managed to pick a somewhat good spot. I was two row behind the mad moshing part of the crowd. In fact, I saw several crowd-surfers, and was seriously worried about what would happen if they came anywhere near me, but, fortunately, did not have to deal with that eventuality. I also managed to see the band quite clearly in my 2.5 inch heels.

However, this all changed when SMD came on. The crowd was clearly up for it... so much so that everyone, and I mean everyone, started jostling and jumping and just going crazy. To survive in that sort of crowd, you need to be doing two things: 1) not wearing glasses and 2) jostling, jumping and going crazy right back. Unfortunately, given my outfit, I had neither the energy nor the ability to do either one. So I ended up getting pushed further and further back until midway through SMD's set, I found myself almost at the back of the floor, positioned next to a huge, immovable, burly bloke who looked like he could have been the top performer at Bouncer College, and who ended up inadvertently protecting those of us around him for the rest of the night.

The SMD experience was - in a word - amazing. The light show was fantastic, and watching the two of them zip around on stage... well, it was kind of like a wayang kulit on acid, with neon raver lights and all. I don't think that was the best possible analogy, so perhaps this YouTube video may help to illustrate it better.

In terms of the music, I don't think I've heard that many clear big room danceable tunes out of one group in a long time. I wasn't at all familiar with SMD's productions before the concert, having heard of them only because of their incredibly catchy remix of Justice - We Are Your Friends which came out in 2006 (which, by the way, Justice apparently didn't even like all that much, but ah well), and after the concert, I couldn't figure out why I'd not even bothered to check them out before. It's The Beat was probably the only tune I recognised, having heard it at least once in Zouk before, I'm quite sure.

The clear winners of the night were Hustler (a rather Chemical Brothers-eqsue tune featuring The Char Johnson on vocals) and the incredibly stunning Sleep Deprivation, a tune which just left me breathless when I heard it. It just grabs you and forcibly throws you in a state of sheer, mindless, raverhood. Sandwiched in between such clear dance tunes was a nice, somewhat gentler love song, I Believe, which was a nice, relaxing, come-down break after all the drunken intoxication of the previous two tunes (not to mention the rest of the tunes of the night).

It was perhaps one of the craziest concerts I'd been to in a long time. In fact, I liked them so much I found myself braving the crazy crowds once again just a few days later, this time at a proper club - Fabric.

And on the subject of being in work clothes? Let's just say that getting hit by a drink thrown from the balcony didn't exactly help my drycleaning bills.

As with most sports fans in England, I heard about Taylor's heinous tackle on Eduardo and subsequently went to check it out on youTube. Any tackle where you can freakin' see the leg break is incredibly disgusting. I almost threw up right there and then. Sky apparently refused to replay the tackle which happened TWO minutes into the game, bloody 'eck!) as the pictures were too gruesome. Yet, I hear it's tame compared to a similar tackle on Coventry's Dave Busst at Manchester United in 1996. If that's true, I really don't want to see any footage of that particular tackle.

I didn't step out of the flat at all today, and yet, I'm quite proud of myself. I managed to clean up a couple of rooms (a definite must after my housewarming earlier this week), and do two loads of laundry and get some ironing done too. On top of that, I cooked a healthy dinner for myself, maintaining my pescetarian record thus far as five out of six days this week.

I'm getting domesticated. Should I be worried?

I suppose one of the more efficacious antidotes to a tough week is two nights of consecutive heavy drinking, coupled with one incredible night of clubbing with a friend with whom it felt good and comfortable to dance.

I'd ostensibly given up alcohol for Lent except for special occasions, but I figured that God would understand my needing to drink on Friday night, a Friday night which began with a couple of conflicting emotional extremes, and which left me cursing both my luck and timing. Nevertheless, the stress of this week was somewhat alleviated by a dinner of tapas and a bottle of Rioja, followed by grooving to Club 8, DJ Food and Coldplay, and concluded by heading to Fabric to catch 2 Many DJs (awesome, and definitely redeemed their lacklustre performance at ZoukOut two years ago) and Simian Mobile Disco (great as usual, and well worth my deciding to see them again after having seen them in concert last week).

Now, I just need to survive the weekend.

U2 - Bad
The Unforgettable Fire (1984)
YouTube (1985 Live Aid performance)
YouTube (1985 Wide Awake in America performance)
Wikid!-pedia (The story behind the song)

If you twist and turn away
If you tear yourself in two again
If I could, you know, I would
If I could, I would
Let it go
Surrender
Dislocate

If I could throw this
Lifeless lifeline to the wind
I'd leave this heart of clay
See you walk, walk away
Into the night
Through the rain
Into the half-light
Through the flame

If I could through myself
Set your spirit free
I'd lead your heart away
See you break, break away
Into the light
And to the day

So let it go
And so fade away
So let it go
And so fade away

I'm wide awake
I'm wide awake
I'm not sleeping
Oh, no, no, no
I'm not sleeping
Oh, no

If they should ask well maybe they'd
Tell me what I should say
True colors fly in blue and black
Bruised silken sky and burning flag
Colours crash, collide in bloodshot eyes

If I could, you know I would
If I could, I would
Let it go

This desperation
Separation
Condemnation
Revelation
In temptation
Isolation
Desolation
Isolation
Let it go, aha

And so fade away
So let it go, aha
And so fade, fade, fade away
So let it go
And so to fade away

I'm wide awake
I'm wide awake
Wide awake
I'm not sleeping
Oh, no, no, no

I have a right to be happy. I choose me.

I have been having some weird dreams of late.

On Monday, I dreamt I was getting married. Not just to anyone, but to someone who didn't love me and moreover, who I didn't love. I remember trying my hardest to escape the wedding, even to the point where I was going to just refuse point-blank at the altar... but the dream/nightmare never quite got there. I don't know if it's to do with the loneliness I've been feeling, or my general view of marriage at this point in time, but it was definitely disturbing and I got into work exhausted.

Last night, I dreamt I was going for a massage, but this time, not with the same aforementioned person (who I don't even know) but with a colleague of mine, someone who I happen to think is rather good-looking and actually have a bit of a crush on, which is bad because he sits next to me. We never quite got to the massage, not because of anything either one of us was doing, but just because the dream never quite got there.

I felt a little odd going into the office this morning as a result, especially when instead of the usual 'good morning,' he asked if I was all right. I'm guessing that my response to what had happened this morning (entirely unrelated to work) was still showing on my face.

Still, it was nice of him to ask, nice to believe, for a while, that he cared. I need all the positive energy I can get at this point.

What can I say? Sometimes when you feel you're getting back into the stride of things, having been terribly unsteady for a while, life just blindsides you, knocks you back off your feet and leaves you winded and disoriented, just as when you first started some time ago.

It just doesn't get any easier.

This year's Valentine's Day gift from my former team: a souvenir for the commeration of the project which kept me in the office working till late last Valentine's Day.

Awww.

Definitely beats last year's Valentine's Day gift from them.

A CD shopping blitz last weekend yielded:

• James – The Collection (Zavvi)
• Happy Mondays – The Platinum Collection (Zavvi)
• Ulrich Schnauss – Goodbye (Urban Outfitters)
• DJ Food – A Recipe for Disaster (Borders - with a name like that, how could I resist?)
• The Herbaliser – Take London (Borders)

All for under £5 each.

I tend to go a little crazy when I go shopping. I suspect I’m trying to fill up a void in my life by throwing money at it. It’s not quite working, but it does help stave off the occasional bouts of madness.

But not last night. While I was preparing dinner, using my professional kitchen knives for the first time since they were purchased, I felt myself dangerously on the brink of tears and just wanting to cut something, anything out of sheer frustration and anger.

It hasn’t been easy being in this city, regardless of the time I spent here during university. I’ve been running into problem after problem when it comes to getting my flat all set up and wired up, while I’m also lonelier than I care to admit. Coupled with the fact that I generally feel as if I’m a fraud most of the time, wondering how on earth I got this far and why everyone thinks I’m so intelligent and good at my job (my deputy told a friend of mine that he thinks I’m smart) and just really scared that one day, I’ll be exposed for the impostor that I am… it’s not a good mix.

But it’s been a while since I felt that dangerously close to losing control and I just didn’t know what to do. Then, I remembered that I had a radio, and I turned it on, just hoping that something good would come out. And it did – Xfm. Clichéd as this might sound, last night, a DJ saved my life.

In a place where I’m just finding it a little hard going without the support network I have in Singapore, music is the one of the few things which is helping me keep it together.

I meant to re-start my stuttering dance campaign today. Really, I did. But after having gone to bed between midnight and 1 am today, and waking up some time before 6.30 am in order to transport everything I purchased over the weekend back to my flat, I was just too tired to drag myself out of the office for my first dance class in, well, a very long time.

The campaign, initially launched the first day I started working, has seen few periods of activity; in fact, the longer the gap between such periods, the less inclined I am to go to a dance class, suffering from both the fear that age has dulled my hand and leg co-ordination ability (not terribly good at the best of times, as I really can only focus on one area at one time), as well as the fact that while I am getting older, the age of the students which form up the large majority of any class I attend is not moving along with me.

Perhaps I should take heed and move on to more mature classes like line dancing. I kid. I still love to groove, regardless of the deterioration in my psycho-motor skills, and until my body tells me I really can't keep doing this, I'll continue to give it my level best. So tomorrow, I'll pop along to class.

It's a real shame about the fire in Camden. It's always been one of my favourite places in London, particularly given I spent just over a month living there right after graduation, just before coming home to start work. I've always felt it was a place full of character and life, regardless of the time of day.

In fact, when my parents were telling me where they felt they wanted me to live when I came up for work, they cited Canary Wharf as their ideal locations before there're always people around. I, the contrary control-resisting person that I am, replied, "So does Camden. Why can't I choose to stay there?" That response didn't go down too well with them, as you may have guessed.

So it was with a little sadness that I watched the news last night, realising that one of the most famous and oldest pubs in Camden had suffered incredible damage. This added to my general sense of... I guess, frustration that the places I've loved and wanted to go to in London seem to be suddenly disappearing now that I've arrived. The Cross, Canvas and The Key shut down at the end of 2007, and now Turnmills is slated to close in a few weeks too. Not to mention all the old-style English cafes I've been wanting to visit and photograph...

I now live in an area which is just as full of life and vibrancy as Camden, although it too is in danger of disappearing. Not because of fires or redevelopment, but simply because of higher rentals which seem to accompany any place which manages to reinvent itself, thereby driving out all the independent shops which make the place unique.

I'm sure that a lot of places will come out of the redevelopment work around the 2012 Olympics, but I'm just not certain I'll be here for that long.

Animal Talk

Dad (talking about the various fauna around the residence in Singapore): So there was a cobra earlier in the year which was killed by the neighbour’s maids. We also have a kingfisher which has been eating our fish.
Brother: A cobra and a kingfisher?
Me: Indian beers. Anyone fancy a curry?

Colleague (English guy asking about the Chinese Zodiac): Am I a pig?
Me: I’ll have to check.
Team deputy (who just arrived): I am so not going to comment on that.

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

May the Year of the Rat be a meaningful and fulfilling one for all of you... and more importantly, may you have lots of fun along the way!

Ugh. Overindulgence on Friday night and having to work on Sunday appears to have severed my tenuous link on vitality. As a result, I will not be going to catch what would have been my third show in seven days. Ah well. I'll just have to think about whether I want to catch their full-length concerts later in the year.

And I made a potentially big blunder at work a few weeks ago which I only uncovered a few days ago. While I admitted it to my team-mate, I'm a little terrified that I'll be in major doo doo regarding this although a part of me knows that my team-mate has reassured me that it's fine. Sigh.

The one bright point about today is that I booked my flights. I'll be back home in about 25 days!

Maybe it's the company I grew up with, but I am constantly amazed by how incredibly stupid people can be. Two of the more popular stories on Reuters today reflect this: Woolworths pulls "Lolita" bed for young girls and The Dumbest Ever Quiz Answers.

In the first story, Woolworths (or Woolies as it's known in the UK) withdrew the sale of beds designed for six-year-old girls. The name of the bed? Lolita. The sales staff were apparently unaware of the sexual connotations of the name as they had not heard of the novel, nor of the two films based on the novel. Granted, I haven't read the novel or watched any of the two films either, but I sure as hell am aware of what Lolita means.

In the other article, contestants on TV quiz shows gave priceless responses to questions like "what is Gandhi's first name?" and "Name a film starring Bob Hoskins that is also the name of a famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci," with "Goosey Goosey" and "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" respectively.

In retrospect, I really ought not to be so surprised. After all, I have had issues with every single UK service provider I have used since touching down in this country. I might have pegged it down to problems inherent with outsourcing except that some of the people I have spoken to have had clearly unmistakably (and almost indecipherable) British accents.

I'll be going for another gig on Monday, work permitting. I managed to snag a pair of tickets to catch The Guillemots, Duffy, Alphabeat and David Jordan at Koko, which is wicked cool for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, T. gave me an album by The Guillemots for my birthday two years back so clearly, they're a band worth seeing as I trust his music tastes implicitly.

Secondly, after having read about Alphabeat (they've been called the next big thing), I'd been thinking about going to see them support Palladium on February 13, 2008. They'd been called "the Scandinavian Scissor Sisters" by the Guardian, and have been described as a band who would most likely appeal to the McFly and Girls Aloud crowd. It may sound hideously horrible to some, but that sounds just awesome to me.

I suspect the previous statement may have ruined all of the street cred I may have gained in recounting the previous gigs I've been to.

I know Duffy is an up-and-coming singer so I think she'll be decent at the very least. I haven't heard of David Jordan just yet, but given that the line-up seems pretty darn good, I'm sure I'll have an enjoyable night... provided I can leave work on time!

With the recent proliferation of Swedish bands, someone really needs to check what goes into their water. Those Dancing Days are an up-and-coming band from Stockholm whose sound, as described by the band, is a mixture of "pop, girlgroup and Northern Soul." The five-member girl group have just come out of high school and hail from Stockholm. To me, they sound typically Swedish, i.e. indie, twee, dream-poppy and jangly, similar to Club 8, and Peter, Bjorn and John, but with more synths.

Thanks to the good folks at Time Out, I won a pair of tickets to see the band at Bar Academy in Islington on Thursday (January 31, 2008). Given my yet-to-be-established popularity in London, I ended up catching the show by myself.

I didn't arrive in Islington in a particularly good mood, having left the office at 8 pm after planning to leave an hour earlier so that I can pop back to my flat instead of heading their straight from the office. However, work raised its familiar, ugly little head, and I ended up having to finish up a couple of reports before I could leave. However, the sight of redeveloped Angel, which I have not seen in five years, lifted my mood somewhat, so much so I decided to indulge in a drink before the band came on.

The drink turned out to be a good idea. As I made my way through the crowds searching for a good spot where I could see (part of) the stage and still be able to breathe, I found myself next to a guy who seemed to be by himself as well. A-ha!, I thought to myself. Now is a good chance to practice my sorely underused social skills and make a new friend, even if it's only for tonight. I waited for about ten minutes in case he wasn't alone, and then made my move. L. turned out to be from Germany and had been seconded to London for a project for the next few weeks. He hadn't a clue who was playing, but the doorman took pity on him as he lurked outside the club and invited him in. That cheapened my competition win a little, but no biggie.

First up at 9.15 pm was The Wave Pictures, the supporting band. I was pleasantly surprised that they hadn't played yet, seeing as I arrived so late. They weren't particularly impressive and they tended to waffle on but there was a group of people near the stage who definitely seemed to know and love the band. The lead singer of the three-piece band had a rather flat voice and their lyrics were a little odd.

Those Dancing Days came on at 10 pm. Overall, I felt they were above average. They didn't have the sublime presence and sound that was Club 8, but they were definitely better than their supporting band. Their sound tended to consist of jangly guitars, fast-paced drumming and an organ and this meant some of their songs tended to sound rather similar after a while. What caught my eye during the performance was the energy and infectious smile of Lisa Pyk on the synth. She was constantly dancing and had a mischievous pixiesque smile on her face which I found rather endearing. I love it when people enjoy what they're doing.

Towards the end of the night, I resigned myself to leaving without being particularly overwhelmed. Then, the band unleashed Those Dancing Days, an incredibly frenetic, jangly tune of such energy that just compels you to want to dance. It was an amazing tune. If only all of their songs could have been like that. Still, these girls are under the age of 20 and have achieved quite a bit given their young age.

After the show, L. and I walked to Angel tube station. As the venue had been dark, I figured that L. would probably look pretty average or worse once both of us were in a properly lighted area. Instead, I found that not only was he pretty good-looking, he also had the bluest eyes I had ever seen. We ended up chatting for a further half an hour before I had to go (alas, it was a work night) and he said he'd call me the following weekend as he was going back to Germany this weekend. I take these things with a pinch of salt, but it was definitely not something I'd expected after the horrible day I had.

Related Links
Those Dancing Days - MySpace
Those Dancing Days - Wichita Records
The Guardian - Review of Those Dancing Days at Bar Academy

London is truly a music lover's paradise. On Tuesday (January 29, 2008), I went to Koko in Mornington Crescent to catch Stars in concert. Stars is a Canadian indie band I stumbled across one day while watching The O.C. which used Your Ex-Lover is Dead, one of the band's biggest hits off Set Yourself on Fire, as the soundtrack to one of the episodes before the television series went well and truly down the toilet.

Above: Audience - Circle Level - Koko

While I do not doubt that there were others in the audience whose introduction to Stars was the same as mine, there were clearly more than a few diehard fans and indie heads in the capacity crowd (as evidenced by their distinct style of dress which indie heads prefer, usually involving Crafty Couture hoodies and T-shirts from Realitee or Threadless, all of which are brands which have a presence in my wardrobe, I must confess). The woman standing near me, for instance, told the potentially gay short bespectacled geeky boy in front of me that she'd been to all of Stars' concerts before this, including their two previous shows somewhere else in the country. I mention the potentially gay short bespectacled geeky boy only because he later commented that he didn't like tall, thin geeky guys, a comment which caught my attention because tall and thin does appear to be the demographic that I tend to go for, and also because he was short.

Above: Apostle of Hustle

In any case, I arrived at the venue at 8.30 pm, after having had my emergency banana confiscated by the doorman. The second supporting band of the night, Apostle of Hustle, Stars' label-mates, had already started playing. I wasn't too fond of their sound. I felt the lead singer of the trio couldn't really sing, and that they were more likely than not to achieve fame through their quirkiness as opposed to genuine talent; for instance, the lead was dressed in a white boiler suit sans helmet and played a song which involved him blindfolding himself, getting up on a wooden block and jumping back down to the stage.

After Apostle of Hustle finished their set at around 9 pm, we waited half an hour for Stars to come on. During that half hour, I began to appreciate the benefits of attending a concert with someone else. For example, Koko is an all-standing venue. As I had arrived fairly late, I had to go up to the circle area and attempt to find a spot where I could see the stage. Not an easy task given my relative shortness. And once I got a spot, I wasn't able to leave the spot for fear of losing it to someone else, which also explains my general reluctance to drink more than one drink at any concert I go to. In this case, I couldn't even get a drink, because I could see people in similar predicaments likewise looking for spots. Although I must say that given that I was by myself, I was able to squeeze myself into a space which most likely would not have been able to accommodate a couple or more.

Above: Stage - Koko

Anyway, during the interval, I noticed the stage had been set up very nicely. There were bunches of flowers set up on one side of the stage, and a lot of interesting Louis Tiffany-esque lamps all over the stage. As it turned out, during Stars' set, various members of the band threw flowers into the crowd as a gesture of thanks for all of their support. Rather cute, and I suppose there must have been some jostling by members of the audience in the stalls in an attempt to get one.

Soon enough, Stars came on and opened with Ageless Beauty, a song off Set Yourself On Fire which was clearly a favourite with the crowd. Though the main focus was on their latest album, In The Bedroom After The War, their set covered the full range of their repertoire, including Reunion, Midnight Coward and Take Me To The Riot.

Above: Stars

On their MySpace page, Stars describe their music as "melodramatic popular songs." It's not an inaccurate description; their songs, as far as I know, seem to be all about broken relationships and domestic violence. Still, because of the composition of the band - it has two main singers, Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan - their songs work particularly well live, as both their voices combine to great effect in call-and-response type songs such as Your Ex-Lover Is Dead.

Above: Stars

The one thing I tend to look for when I go to concerts is the amount of interaction the band has with the audience. There're musicians who don't interact with the audience at all, like The Cure, and those who talk a little too much, like Lea Salonga. In my mind, Stars managed to achieve the right balance. As with Club 8, Stars was initially a little reticent when they came on, but after a few songs, Torquil yelled to an enthusiastic crowd, "You know, I think this might be one of the reasons we love London so much!" and towards the end of the show, "We've been playing London for a long time... probably before some of you guys started masturbating!" in response to Amy's comment about The Purple Turtle, a bar right across the street which Stars had played in a few years ago.

Stars ended the night on a high note with After The War off their latest album, which sounded amazing with the pseudo-orchestral melody working wonderfully with the acoustics of the concert hall. It sounded rousing and almost anthemic. The crowd clearly loved it. Stars then came back for the customary encore and played two songs, The Night Starts Here with Apostle of Hustle returning to accompany them and the other, "a song about trying to f*** your lover to death" (Torquil so quaintly put it) which turned out to be One More Night (Your Ex-Lover Remains Dead).

Above: Shiny Disco Ball - Koko

All in all, it was a good night. It was heartening to see the amount of people who had turned up to catch the band (I definitely had not expected to see ticket touts outside the venue) and it was definitely refreshing to catch a band not yet jaded from the many years in the business, and who seem on the cusp of achieving greater things.

Related Links
Stars - MySpace
There Goes the Fear: Review of Stars at Koko
Paste Magazine: Review of Stars - In Our Bedroom After The War
Download: The Night Starts Here from City Slang