Videos from Starfucker >> in Phoenix have been posted to the zBORED YouTube channel. What a dope show to kick off the year in live music for Phoenix and at the best new venue and perhaps my favorite spot these days, Crescent Ballroom. Painted Palms opened for STRFKR and before them it was some DJ that I missed while enjoying some brews on the patio during a gorgeous Phoenix evening [sounded like that DJ killed it though]. I've never seen or even heard of Painted Palms prior to this show but this band out of San Francisco brought some funk to the ballroom in almost a psychedelic sort of way and all week long their Canopy EP has been the soundtrack to my transit.
Donning hideous yet hilarious prom dresses, Starfucker opened with 'German Love' which def got the anxious atmosphere moving. It was a sellout crowd but the utmost perfect headcount since maneuvering, beer-ing and potty-ing were non-issues, more reasons why Crescent Ballroom is the answer to any show frequenter's prayers. They encored with a cover of Cyndi Lauper's 'Girls Want To Have Fun' then 'Julius' and my personal favorite 'Rawnald Gregory Erickson the Second'. This was definitely a more intimate show than the Outside Lands show in San Francisco but I think I liked the festival performance better. They played much longer at Golden Gate Park and I was able to get as close as I pleased with my beer in hand [the under 21 area was huge for this show and the youngens had the most prime real estate].
After the show, the band hung around the merch table with Painted Palms where lead singer Josh gave us hugs and thanked us for making this a memorable show in Phoenix, further stating that this was definitely the band's first good show here in the desert. It was such a mutual pleasure to be part of a fun gathering and performance. These are just a handful of really humble dudes from the Pacific northwest and I've been in touch with them offline so look out for a zTALK interview with these gentlemen in the next few weeks. To be continued...
