Starbenders in Glasgow: Live Review and Setlist

8 months ago, Atlanta glam-rockers Starbenders played the Barrowlands as support to Palaye Royale, and vowed to return - and deliver on that promise they did. With local bands Human Renegade and Artax in tow, a packed out Cathouse was treated to a hell of a night.

Alt-rockers Human Renegade were still sound-checking when we were let in the doors of the place, but soon enough we were allowed into the main room, with the band re-taking the stage within minutes of finishing this process up. Melding punky attitude with rock, metal and pop influences, their five-song set felt cohesive yet diverse, and featured great musicianship to boot. Heavy ballad "The Fallen Rising" in particular was a highlight, with the slow build reminding me of Danzig's "How The God's Kill." With a killer sound and stage presence, they are definitely an up and coming band to look out for!

 

Synthwave band Artax were up next. At first, seeing the bassist and guitarists extended-range axes, I was expecting a metal band, so I was surprised at their vintage inspired sound. All the bands on the line-up incorporated a number of wildly varied influences, but Artax’s avant-garde, dark-pop/metal/80’s rock fusion was certainly the most unique. Whilst aiming to revive the 80s Synthpop scene, Artax are instead almost a genre unto themselves, and worth checking out to see if it’s something for you.

 

Finally, Starbenders were up. Opening with screamer “Blood Moon”, no time was wasted in riling the excited crowd up. Furious riffs and vocals reverberated around the room, before kicking into the pulsing “Love Potions” cut “Holy Mother”. Singer Kimi Shelter’s vocals were on point all night, but the difference between the crowd singalong at their own show, versus as support act, was immense -and only bolstered her ferocity.

Between Marianne and We’re Not Okay, and again later in the show between Cherry Wine and The Game, instrumental sections really allowed lead guitarist Kriss Tokaji to flex his impressive chops, with bassist Aaron Lescense whirl-winding around the stage in a solitary mosh pit, and drummer Emily Moon locking it all down with devastating precision.

 

About halfway through the set, the throttle was eased, and a series of vibier songs commenced. The sole track from the early Starbenders catalogue, deep cut “Never Lie 2 Me” was a highlight, and the twinkling ballad “Cherry Wine” showcased the softer side of the quartet. It’s interesting seeing how bands adapt songs with elements they can’t reproduce in the live setting, such as the synth parts of NL2M – and Starbenders rose to the challenge with ease.

The set closed out with the rip-roaring track “S3x”, and the groovy “If You Need It”. With the early curfew of 10, they elected to play through their whole set time in lieu of a traditional encore, an announcement the crowd were not disappointed by – any way of getting more Starbenders was going to please the room. Finally, in a classy move, the band stayed at the bar and took photos and signed things for everybody they were able to. Any band willing to go the extra mile for their fans gets extra points in my book, and they went the full marathon.

Overall, it was an incredible show. Starbenders are an excellent live band and a must-see the next time they are here. My only critique is a lack of their early stuff being played, but there’s always next time. I have been a fan of this band coming up on four years now – and they only get more exciting with time.

Setlist:

1. Blood Moon
2. Holy Mother
3. BITCHES BE WITCHES
4. Marianne
5. Looking For Veins (Instrumental)
6. We're Not Okay
7. Cover Me
8. Body Talk
9. Seven White Horses
10. Never Lie 2 Me
11. Cherry Wine
12. Dark Spell (Instrumental)
13. The Game
14. Sex
15. If You Need It