S A V O I A

ST*RF**KR

Posted by wildflowa on January 11, 2012 · 3 Comments 

With a new quirky hit television series and an quickly-exploding band emerging from the depths of indie-pop-jam-electronica, Portland has been dishing out the trending weirdness of 2012. This naughty-named, lipstick bearing band known as STRFKR may not be condoned by the general public. But their music sure is groovy.

When asked which band I was going to see in Oakland this past wednesday night, I stumbled across the name almost every time I tried to say it, not sure how people would respond to a band called Starfucker. Joshua Hodges, the founder of STRFKR, admits that he was simply curious of how far he could get “with a stupid name like that.” The bands music has been found in a Target commercial, of all things, and could be expected to be blasting from the radio – if only the name were slightly more pc.

STRFKR is a 2007-born project from Portland that has continuously swept the United States and Europe in the past year. Hodges describes their music as  ”dance music that you can actually listen to, that’s good pop songs, but also you can dance to it.”

STRFKR graced the likes of the bay area over 4 days last week. Starting their tour with a takeaway show at the New Parish in Oakland, then consecutively hitting and selling out the Catalyst of Santa Cruz, the Independent of San Francisco, and lastly, the Great American Music Hall of San Francisco. ’Tis quite a shame if you did not catch them.

Upon walking into the New Parish, you could feel the jitters and anxiety for STRFKR. The ambiance of the entire venue is peaceful, yet lively and the crowd was giggin’ to San Francisco-based openers, Painted Palms. Within just minutes from STRFKR’s set start, the band proved that they should not be thrown into the trending genre of live disco electronic pop band, but rather a compilation of talented musicians who offer dueling percussion, poppy riffs, synthy atmospherics, and pure antics on stage. They played many crowd favorites from Reptilians and their self titled debut album. “Bury Us Alive,” “Mystery Cloud” and the title track were all played to the crowd’s liking. Upon the first few notes of popular song “Rawnald Gregory Erickson the Second,” the audience perked up, hooted and hollered,  and began singing along with Hodges. A highlight of the night may have come from a sarcastic, yet genius cover of Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun’ which had the packed venue bouncing in unison and singing along.

Their soulful, passionate, and giddily innocent set was a reminder that STRFKR is just a name and the music created is quite the opposite of foul. Enjoy some of my favorite tunes below and be sure to keep an eye out for their next tour!

Be sure to like their Facebook Page for updates and new music!