Ryan Star
W/ Pat Robitaille
November 5, 2006
Lee’s Palace

I’m pretty sure that most of the people standing in Lee’s Palace were reality television junkies. I’ve never heard about one show be talked about so much. Young, old, male and female, the words Rockstar: Supernova were on everyone’s lips. Most wanted to know when the next contestant would be in town, but as soon as Ryan Star hit the stage it was as if that show had never existed and we were in his world now.

Opener Pat Robitaille came in from Windsor to play a sweeter version of the exact same music Star would be coming out to play. At 20, this boy has a baby face and sweet voice to match. The crowd took his set well and his looped guitars and vocals stood the test. His cover of Pink Floyd’s “Time” was an interesting remix and his finale about going to jail for marijuana had everyone laughing. In a few years he has the potential to match someone like Dallas Green, just give him a bit more experience.

Then after a quick change over (quite quick as all there was only a few guitars and a keyboard), Ryan Star was introduced. He came out nonchalantly and went straight into the music behind the keys. It was clear from the get go that this man does not need the flashy lights and production that CBS was offering. His voice filled every inch of Lee’s whether he was singing into his microphone or not. He has a power behind him that didn’t need a backing band to grab our attention. At some points the silence, as we all held our breath for the next note, was deafening.

Star stuck mainly to tracks from Song From The Eye Of An Elephant. With a few one off’s in between. He did covers of “Losing My Religion” and “Enjoy The Silence,” but melded them in with his own originals (“Sink Or Swim” and “Famous Love” respectively). The only cover actually completed was the finale song of the night, where he pulled out a slow acoustic version of Nine Inch Nails’ “Head Like A Hole,” a song he isn’t ‘known’ for doing on the show. I had to wonder though how many of the middle aged women in the room had ever actually heard the original as they sung along.

The originals over-powered the covers at every turn. Star gave us everything through his voice and his screams. Not even the crowd heckling him could throw him off. The actually made it all that much better as he heckled them right on back. Star showed his light side as he joked with the number one heckler, a man by the name of Gerard, across the venue and yelled at girls in the front row who weren’t paying attention. He even held his own as a lovely pair of baby blue thongs got thrown onstage.

With 20 tracks on the album and only a one hour set, it was impossible for Star to play everyone’s favourite, but he did a wide variety. Nothing stood out as Star was on the ball for every note. He even managed to throw in two new tracks, “11:59” and “Same When I’m Alone,” which only further proved that Star is going to become a huge force to be reckoned with.

I must admit that I’ve been to a number of shows and although I’ve seen some touching moments. Nothing has ever hit me like hearing the last song before the encore, “So Ordinary,” be sung out across a quiet crowd. As tears fell from my eyes, I knew that maybe this wasn’t the best show ever, but this man is a star. Maybe that makes me a softy or a sucker, but that’s fine because I’m sure that there were more then a few other people who felt the same. He doesn’t need to fake it or pretend, just show up onstage and give everyone what they want.

Set List:

We Might Fall
Famous Love
Enjoy The Silence (chorus)
Back Of Your Car
11:59
Famous Yet
Psycho Suicidal Girl
Same When I’m Alone
Somebody’s Son
Sink Or Swim
Losing My Religion
So Ordinary
Encore:
Losing Your Memory
Head Like A Hole

- Stephanie Joudrey

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