Author: Shaun Soman
Crowd-surfing astronauts. Costumed-dancers. Confetti raining from the ceiling. Suffice it to say a STRFKR concert is an experience. Beginning on Tuesday, October 2nd, the indie-pop stalwarts will bring their vibrant energy to Lincoln Hall in Chicago, the penultimate stop of their 10th Anniversary Tour, on back-to-back nights for what figures to be a Technicolor celebration audiences will not soon forget.
In the decade since releasing their self-titled debut (back when they intentionally spelled their name “Starfucker” so as to “never be successful”), the band has toyed with its name as often as it has tweaked its sound. Following brief stints as PYRAMID and Pyramiddd, Joshua Hodges, who initially undertook the project as a solo act in 2007, finally settled on the oh-so-iconic “STRFKR.” Musically, the group partially shed its sample-heavy, indie-pop vibes to flash surf-drenched psychedelia on 2013’s Miracle Mile before embracing darkwave-tinged neo-disco on 2016’s Being No One, Going Nowhere.
Each night, Hodges and company will perform two sets. After playing their debut album in its entirety, the group will dive into another set composed of tracks from the aforementioned releases, 2009’s Jupiter, which includes a cover of Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want To Have Fun,” and 2011’s Reptilians – arguably STRFKR’s masterpiece. While recent efforts like “Satellite,” “Open Your Eyes,” and “While I’m Alive” are likely to feature during the latter set, one may expect the group’s surreal live antics and pervasive joy to emerge during Reptilians’ “Bury Us Alive,” “Death as a Fetish,” and “Quality Time.”
What makes STRFKR concerts so alluring is not merely the stellar music, but rather the collective vibrations that permeate the queer-friendly audience. While the group downplayed in its drag “roots” for several years, the band’s tour with Gigamesh and Psychic Twin in fall 2016 – which featured a show in Phoenix the same day the AP called the Presidential Election in Donald Trump’s favor – saw Hodges openly perform in drag. Having personally witnessed several outstanding STRFKR concerts across the country, yours truly can attest that the sheer resilience pulsing through The Jefferson in Charlottesville, Virginia on December 1st, 2016 was perhaps the most life-affirming musical experience I’ve ever had. Those who will be in attendance (ideally with loved ones) on October 2nd just may bear similar witness.
Doors open at 7:00pm, and the show begins at 8:00pm each night. Both events are 18+.Lincoln Hall is located at 2424 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60614. For more information about the venue or artists, visit http://www.lh-st.com/ or call (773) 525-2501.
