Starsailor - Irving Plaza (New York) - Monday, September 11, 2006

by Rachel Pesin
18 September 2006

Ahh, memories. For me, this show was more of a trip down memory lane than anything else. It was almost five years ago to the day that I was supposed to see STARSAILOR for the first time when they were scheduled to play at Irving Plaza with COLDPLAY during CMJ 2001, but the events on September 11 prevented this gig from ever occurring.

Five years later and I’ve seen Starsailor ten times, but not since January 2004. Thus, I was ready to see the boys once again. The band I saw was a completely different Starsailor; little did I know that two-and-a-half years is enough time for a complete change of character.

There were very noticeable differences in the band, all interrelated. Most obvious was their sound—it was bigger, bolder, braver, and louder, and I’m not just saying that because the speakers were turned up to 11 (I thought it was just me but turns out everyone’s ears took a beating that night!). One of the reasons for this lush and fuller sound was the addition of a second guitarist, RICHARD WARREN, who performs on his own as ECHOBOY and whose addition to Starsailor is somewhat odd considering NOEL GALLAGHER of OASIS (a band with whom Starsailor have had public grievances) wanted him to join his band.

The most notable change for me was in lead vocalist JAMES WALSH’s character. He used to be somewhat shy, humble, and not very self-assured. At this show, I saw a completely different person. Walsh was incredibly talkative and interacted with the crowd like I’ve never seen before—the James Walsh I once knew would never reach into the crowd to grab hands, throw picks, and read a note from a fan during the show. He also would never have chosen to cover THE BEATLES’ “Don’t Let Me Down,” which he performed solo for the first song of the encore.

I’m assuming that part of this confidence was due to the overwhelmingly positive response from the crowd. At previous shows the crowds had been lukewarm at best, but on this night everyone went nuts for them. Granted that it seemed as if 95% of the audience was from Starsailor’s home of England, but it was still unexpected and you could tell that it really boosted the band’s ego.

They played a good mix of songs from all three albums and managed to blend the different emotions from the three—the simpler, romanticism from their first, Love Is Here; the grandiosity of their second, Silence Is Easy; and the aggressive, assuredness from their most recent, On The Outside. Overall, it was a completely different experience but it was still the same great band.

Filed under concerts britpop