Last night I went to see Milo Greene and Stars in concert at Rams Head Live with my friends Lindsey and Laura and Laura’s friend Becca who was visiting from out of town. I love Laura and Lindsey because when I asked them if they wanted to go to this concert with me they not only said yes but they knew who Milo Greene and Stars were, whereas every other person I mentioned this concert to was like I have no idea who either of those bands are. So I am super happy to have Laura and Lindsey in my life because they not only love live music like I do they like the same kinds of music I do, so it’s a win-win. Laura’s friend Becca was also on board for going to the concert, which is why Laura was able to go even though her friend was visiting, so we like her too.

The concert itself was fantastic. Though standing room only shows really do bring out my desire to punch people in the face. Last night my ire was directed at a photographer employed by Rams Head to take pictures of the show, which he managed to do in the most obnoxious and obtrusive ways the entire show. Dude, my shoulder is not tripod, quit leaning all over me to get 2 inches closer to the stage, and quit jumping in front of me. Aside from him though it was great once I managed to move from out behind the giant tall guy who stepped in front of me just as Milo Greene took the stage. Luckily at that point it was empty enough that it wasn’t too much of a problem to move away from him. It’s seriously some kind of Murphy’s law that I as one of the shortest people in the room should always wind up stuck behind the tallest person there. It was a small concert though. They didn’t even have the upper levels open at all so as to force everyone into one area to create a crowd. The bottom floor did fill up by the time Stars came on though.

Last night was the first time Milo Greene has ever played in Baltimore and hopefully it won’t be their last. Honestly, I really wanted to go to this concert to see them. I like Stars fine, but probably wouldn’t have gone to the concert had it not been for the fact that Milo Greene was opening for them. I’ve been looking forward to the day I could see them live ever since they were featured on the NPR Music Interns’ list of bands that NPR Music missed in 2011. So thanks former NPR intern, whoever you are, for introducing me to Milo Greene.

I love their beautiful harmonies over dreamy melodies. They were fantastic to listen to and also to watch given that most members of the band play more than one instrument resulting in them moving around the stage a lot and playing various things. Marlana Sheetz, one of the band members, said that “What’s the Matter” is her favorite song during the show last night, so I will leave you with that to listen to.

Stars is a Canadian indie pop rock electronica band. Despite being the headliners as I already mentioned I was less excited about seeing them than Milo Greene, but they put on a fantastic show. You can tell that they love making music and they love their fans. They have a fairly large catalog from the past 13 or so years that they’ve been together. Their sound has evolved over time and I’m more partial to their newer stuff than their older stuff. They played a good mix of stuff both new and old and really dug deep for some of their choices apparently. I love a band that is doing their shows for their fans. Many artists have their set play list that they play night after night during a tour. I know a lot goes into staging a concert and with any kind of light show, etc. involved I get it, but I don’t care. I’m there for the music and love when that’s what the band is there for too. They obviously had a set list for the night, but it definitely was not the same thing they play show after show. They even played a request from an audience member as the first song of their encore after discussing whether or not they were prepared enough to be able to do it. Aside from Bruce Springsteen who is awesome at playing audience requests, it is rare to see that actually happen at a concert. Usually if an artist plays something you want them to it’s because they were already planning on it not because you’re yelling it out to them. I also have to say it was the first time I’ve ever seen a band leave the stage at the end of the show (before the encore) one member at a time gradually letting the song drop off until the only person left on the stage is the drummer who then leaves too. That was kind of fun to watch. While I may not love all of their music, Stars definitely won me over last night. Best kind of concert.

I shall leave you with “The Theory of Relativity” off their newest album The North, which I really like.