A little over a year ago, Fuck Buttons came to Chapel Hill and I relished in being able to tell anyone who would listen, "Hey, guess what? I'm going to the Fuck Buttons show tonight!" The four-letter novelty still hadn't worn off for the days leading up to the Starfucker show at Local 506 this past Tuesday, March 29th. Yes, even at age 25, saying the word "fuck" still makes me giddy.
Starfucker (sometimes spelled STRFKR) are more than just a band with a name that's really fun to say in front of co-workers or "that band in the 'Pink Pepto' Target commercial". The Portland, Oregon boys have been building a following since 2008 for performing at the kinds of live shows that feel like one of those epic dance parties that just magically came together with all your favorite friends and secret crushes.
And Starfucker actually seem a lot like those really cute and funny guys in college who would throw the most amazing parties, and you would always want to be best friends with but felt like you couldn't because their own histories and inside-jokes ran too deep. Even posted on their own YouTube channel are unexplained videos of band members engaging in "you just had to be there I guess" type of on-tour antics.
The sold-out show at Local 506 was a continuous party of pulsating glowsticks and bounce-and-release electro-pop. There is both a sense of lighthearted humor, and romantic awareness of loss in Starfucker's music. You can't help but to bob around, smile, and give in to the lyrical realization that "sometimes life's just a bitch" all at the same time. Songs like "Julius" and "Isabella of Castille" felt euphoric live, and left the crowd demanding an encore with a delightful cover of Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun."
Band members took turns chiming in about how this was their third visit to Chapel Hill, and by far their favorite.
You can catch Starfucker (and their charmingly Norwegian and instantly addictive opening band, Casiokids) on the rest of their US and European tour, or order their latest album, Reptilians, in time for early summertime jamming sessions in you car. You can also stream their recently released, Mixtape #1, in which they remix the music of popular rap artists like 50 Cent and Gucci Mane with their own style of electronic loops, synthesized rhythms, and introspective melodies.
