STRFKR's 10 year anniversary: a cosmic night of nostalgia

STRFKR celebrated their 10 year anniversary this weekend with three performances at The Independent in San Francisco. The Portland natives came in fabulous ‘50s dresses, shining pearls, and luscious blonde wigs. From the minute they took the stage, you could not look away.

ACT 1

This tour was a special occasion. The band recreated their first album cover on stage, posing as the four ladies were surrounded by rainbow diamonds and trees. The clock turned back 10 years as the audience experienced a show straight out of 2008. The band played the entire first album from beginning to end, opening with “German Love” and ending with “Isabella of Castile.”

The band built an aura of simplicity around themselves. This first act was centered around the music and love for where they came from as a band. There was no flashy lighting, no extras on stage, and nothing to distract you from the perfect studio quality music coming from proud artists recreating their younger lives. This perfectly ebbed into the audience as everyone enjoyed their high school dreams play out in front of them.

ACT 2

About 45 minutes into the night, the band stepped off stage briefly after a short break, a new set of performers took the stage. STRFKR came back out with a different air about them marked by dancing astronauts, blow up toys, and an incredible amount of confetti. The second half of the night was purely a party with beach balls and band members flying wall to wall of the Independent. The tone shift came with a new setlist as well with hits from Miracle Mile (2013) and Being No One Going Nowhere (2016).

By the end of the night, the band had played 32 songs. Overall, the amazing part of this performance was the quality of the music. While it did rely on synths and keyboards, the songs sounded as if they were being recorded in front of the audience. Bands don’t do things like this anymore. Bands don’t come out with two separate sets and an effective intermission. Bands don’t send their audience back in time only to remind them exactly where they are by the end of the night. STRFKR is touring just because they want to celebrate themselves and that is beautiful. Catch them before you can’t.