What to Expect at a STRFKR Show (Concert Review)

One of the best things about seeing live shows is you never know what you're going to get. You might think you have a pretty good grasp on a band's music. You might have listened to all of the their albums innumerous times. Maybe you even have friends who told you the group puts on a great live show. And though your only expectation of going to the gig is to have a good time, you end up getting something completely different. Which is exactly what you'll get if you go to a STRFKR show.

STRFKR (pronounced “star-rhymes-with-ducker”) is an electronic indie pop band from Portland whose music often gets compared to that of Passion Pit, MGMT, and Cut Copy. Though their sounds certainly have some similarities, these comparisons are not fair.

STRFKR grooves. Not all indie electro bands do. Actually, many of them don't. What's unique about STRFKR's groove, however, is not just that they have a groove. It's what they do with what they have.

What does STRFKR do with their groove? A lot. Just check out their landmark fourth album Miracle Mile, which was released on Polyvinyl Records in 2013. From the shiny glam track "Atlantis," to the new agey "Golden Light," to the throbbing thomper "While I'm Alive," STRFKR's groove is full yet flavorful.

But none of their songs groove harder than "Leave It All Behind." Throughout the entirety of Miracle Mile, STRFKR flirts with funk, but with this track, STRFKR gets absolutely down and dirty. A breakdown in the middle of the song feels like an electrofied version of Sly & The Family Stone.

Joshua Hodges (the mastermind and original founder of the STRFKR) describes STRFKR's music as "pop songs [y]ou can dance to." Despite the abundance of groove on Miracle Mile, this description is peculiar since most of the songs on the album aren't all that danceable. Except, perhaps, for the aforementioned smasher "Leave It All Behind." And also maybe "While I'm Alive." All other recorded tracks on Miracle Mile are a tad too slow to dance to. Most are merely mid-tempo. Some even sedate.

But then you experience STRFKR's music at a live show?

Entirely different story.

It turns out Hodges' description was spot-on. If you go to STRFKR performance, there will be one, maybe two, songs during the entire night that don't make you want to pull your dance pants all the way up to your sweaty chin chin. Expect a full-out dance party.

Also expect laser lights. And maybe even oodles of balloons to be unleashed upon you and the rest of the romping crowd. After that, expect all of your expectations to be blown right out of the music venue.

At the last STRFKR show I went to, there was no way I could've expected life-sized dancing bunnies. Or an astronaut humping an inflatable raft as he crowd-surfed. Nor could I have known I would regret wearing four-inch heels; it turns out, they're not very conducive to dancing.

I guess I could've asked to borrow the Adidas throwbacks from the guy in front of me because he clearly wasn't using them. He took his shoes off towards the end of the show. I'm not sure why. Maybe he needed a break from doing the liquid wave. Or maybe a glowstick capsule got stuck between his toes. Either way, his raunchy feet were the only part of the show that stunk.

Everything else was insanely fun.

So if you're going to a STRFKR show, and you have to plan for just one thing, plan for the unexpected.