Six month ago, Stars stopped by the Vogue Theatre for a sold out show celebrating 20 years of Set Yourself on Fire. During that evening they teased a second round, and low & behold, last night they returned to the Commodore Ballroom for yet another sold out show, celebrating the seminal album.

Fittingly enough, the opening band was the same that opened for them about 20 years ago at Richard’s on Richards, p:ano. The Vancouver group has been on a bit of a hiatus over the last couple decades, but last year they returned for a brand new album, ba ba ba, which made up most of their set. Starting off with “what was i thinking”, Nick Krgovich and Larissa Loyva (aka Kellarissa) switched off on vocals for some chill, indie-pop songs, including the toe-tapping “mariko”, the most rocking of the set “mikey's new house”, and the suburban shoutout to “a bit of coquitlam”.
Unfortunately, their chill vibes and the growing crowd didn’t quite mix as pockets of chatter arose (or maybe I was just in an unlucky spot), but it was a good set otherwise, and I would love to see them again in a more intimate, and attentive, venue.

Not long after that, Stars took the stage; Torquil Campbell, Amy Millan, Evan Cranley, Chris Seligman, Patrick McGee, and Chris McCarron, joined by a sax player. The set started with a full playthrough of the album, the familiar introduction of “When there's nothing left to burn, you have to set yourself on fire” ringing out and the entire crowd singing along to the perennial favourite, “Your Ex-Love Is Dead”. From there, they ran through the timeless collection of songs about love and death, from the bouncy nostalgia of “Reunion” to the pure passion of “What I’m Trying to Say”, and the (sadly) still-relevant “He Lied About Death” which Torquil gave a simple introduction of: don’t fucking vote for nazis. That was followed by the absolutely gorgeous “Celebration Guns”, Amy’s immaculate vocals bringing a tear to the eye as she echoed Torq’s sentiment in her own way.

The album came to a close with a magical moment of the whole room singing along to “Calendar Girl”, but just like last time, they were not done there. The band burst into the favourite, “Hold On When You Get Love And Let Go When You Give It” and dipped their toes into the rest of their discography. From the beautiful “Window Bird”, to the manic “Trap Door”, to “Dead Hearts” which was dedicated to all the ghosts in the room.

The set ended with the classic “Elevator Love Letter” and another huge singalong, but the crowd demanded more, and of course they were back to oblige. They came back to the stage with the intensity cranked for “Take Me To The Riot” before Amy introduced a deep cut they learned so Torquil could sing it to his wife, who was in the crowd, “The Aspidistra Flies”. And finally, they capped off the night with the pure dance tune “No One Is Lose” as a sea of hands shot up into the air when they commanded “Put your hands up if you know you're gonna lose”

As they were wrapping up the Set Yourself on Fire portion of the night, Torquil mentioned that they were incredibly thankful that “for reasons best kept between you and your therapist” this album had resonated with so many people over all these years. I’m very happy that I had the chance to see it played not once, but twice over the last few months. And even though they extended the album’s anniversary tour, the band isn’t resting on that; they’re as fierce as ever, and I can’t wait to hear what’s next.

setlist
Your Ex-Lover Is Dead
Set Yourself on Fire
Ageless Beauty
Reunion
The Big Fight
What I'm Trying to Say
One More Night
Sleep Tonight
The First Five Times
He Lied About Death
Celebration Guns
Soft Revolution
Calendar Girl
Hold On When You Get Love And Let Go When You Give It
Alone
Window Bird
Trap Door
Dead Hearts
Elevator Love Letter
(encore)
Take Me To The Riot
The Aspidistra Flies
No One Is Lost