I knew STFKR had made a name for themselves over the past six years and three albums, but it still felt odd having to jockey for a position on the ground floor to see them at a sold-out Majestic Theatre last Thursday night. This, after all, is a band called “Starfucker,” a moniker that I’ve always felt may have been a slight hindrance to their success — which is unfortunate because their music can be downright intoxicating. When it comes to indie dance-pop, their songs are anything but inaccessible.
Touring behind their third LP, Miracle Mile, an album with a few standouts but one not nearly as memorable as their first two, STRFKR didn’t exclude a single crowd-favorite from their lengthy set and produced the exact kind of party atmosphere you would expect from their quirky, manic electronica jams.
Lead singer Josh Hodges and company brought the house down with irresistible dance tunes like “Quality Time” and “Medicine” while also providing a shoegazey chillness of more introspective tracks like “The White of Noon” and “Isabelle of Castile.” New cuts like “Atlantis” and “While I’m Alive” held their own and generally fit well with rest of the set, but it was the songs off STRFKR’s earlier releases that really energized the crowd to the point of controlled chaos.
This was most evident during the euphoric encore set of “Biggie Smalls” and the STRFKR concert staple cover “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” Both featured an array of people dressed as horses, penguins, panda bears, astronauts, etc., a few of which I’m sure were members of opening act Blackbird Blackbird. While these on-stage dancers added to the free-for-all party vibe of the show, their novelty started to wear off after a while. Some just looked like costumed deer in headlights, while others were dropped to the floor after awkwardly attempting to crowd surf.
One thing is clear: STRFKR knows how to put on one helluva show. Their songs demand a high energy, packed-house atmosphere and the Majestic was just that on Thursday evening. It’s refreshing to see a band as talented as STRFKR getting the recognition they deserve, though there is still a part of me that feels they should be even bigger. Early on in the show, Hodges remarked that they weren’t sure if they’d ever previously been to Madison. “You guys are great. Thanks for having us,” he said. “We think this could be a regular thing.” Please do make it a regular thing, STRFKR. You’re welcome here anytime.