To be honest, I’m not too crazy about Stars’ new album, In the Bedroom After the War, or about how they stiffed me for an interview that would have been printed (and I would have been paid for) in Out & About, but, in all fairness, they put on a good show last Wednesday at the Trocadero. Considering that there is a still a residual buzzing in my ears from the Justice show last Sunday, the atmosphere at the Troc was understandably less electrified. My friends and I were able to slither through the audience to the front row without pulling a 1979 Who Concert in Cincinatti on anyone.

Stars opened with “Take Me to the Riot,” one of the more popular songs off of their new album. I was seeing stars when they played “The Ghost of Geneva Heights”…

… then I realized it was lead singer Torq’s NiteBrite jacket. Definitely an appropriate artistic statement, but I wouldn’t wear it in North Philly if I was lost. The batteries must have been low because he quickly discarded it and performed older favorites like “Love Elevator,” “Look Up” and “A Skull Full of Maggots.”

The band had an entertaining live presence largely due to Torq, who bounced around the stage and shared his mic with the other musicians, lest anyone forget that it was still a rock concert. When he wasn’t singing, he was playing melharmonica and trumpet parts, like in “One More Night,” which he introduced as a song “about _____ someone to death.” Fill in the blank. I was pleasantly surprised that Torq and Amy chatted with the crowd between songs instead of berating us for not cheering loud enough.

The concert “closed: with “Celebration Guns” before they re-emerged for an encore of “Calendar Girl” and “In Our Bedroom After the War.” They handed out the fake plastic flowers that had decorated the microphone stands and drum kit to the people in the front, who were mostly female, as a classy parting gesture. I did not receive one.

Maybe I just can’t trust the word of the Feds anymore when it comes to “natural” disasters, but I think the fires in So Cal are of super-natural origin:

The people behind 30 Days of Night have marketed it as a fresh vision of the Vampire. I agree: David Slade’s reinvented bloodsuckers have an entire mouthful of pointy teeth instead of just sharpened canines, dress like its casual Friday in Transylvania and, most noticeably, are in no way frightening. The only thing scary about Thirty Days of Night was how it beat Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married? for the number one spot at the box office this weekend. For those of you thirsting for a good thriller to sink your teeth into, both Michael Clayton, which stars George Clooney, and Gone Baby Gone, which stars Morgan Freeman and the guy from Daredevil and Gigli,have the star power and favorable reviews to make for a memorable outing at the movies if you’re willing to venture beyond the Pearl Theater.

Meanwhile, The Darjeeling Unlimited offers the art house crowd exactly what Wes Anderson’s films have become known for — a largely overrated product filled with quirky story lines, eccentric characters and a soundtrack that does the film more justice than it deserves. There’s also Steve Carrell’s new movie — no one can say that the man doesn’t have a sense of work ethic — Dan In Real Life — which may not top the laughs of The Forty Year-Old Virgin, but certainly can’t be any worse than Evan Almighty.

I never thought I’d find myself in any sort of situation where a large, glowing cross was the focus of a couple hundred sweaty teenagers’ rapt, adoring attention, but Sunday’s Trocadero performance by French electronic duo Justice felt like an evangelical Christian worship gathering turned ecstasy-fueled rave. Anyone who’s heard Justice’s † album knows that it can inspire a good amount of dancing; still, I wasn’t expecting the crowd to go as crazy as they did. The throbbing beats of Justice’s music were matched by the pumping fists and gyrating hips of their fans, mostly 16-year-olds in skin-tight jeans hopped up on quickly-downed Red Bulls. I don’t have a ticket stub, but I do have the bruises to prove I was there: those 16-year-olds can get raucous. Picture last month’s Girl Talk show at the Starlight Ballroom with a little less chill and louder, angrier drums. Jesus tipping tables at the temple, so to speak.

Hearing Justice remix their songs, slowing some down and speeding others up, was worth putting up with a couple of elbowings, though. Their rendition of “We Are Your Friends” was the highlight of the evening, but I also enjoyed the cocktail they treated us to at the end: a mix of their very L.A. track “The Party” (which features vocals by Cobrasnake regular Uffie) and Metallica’s “Master of Puppets.” I wasn’t too crazy about the live “D.A.N.C.E.,” but perhaps that’s just because I’ve grown too fond of the song (and this video) to appreciate any tampering with it. I have to say, I was disappointed that they weren’t selling any “D.A.N.C.E.” T-shirts at the show… but, then again, maybe it’s better that they weren’t; otherwise, I’d be running into ten of them a day. Justice converted a lot of souls Sunday night. And as much as I’d like to say “Amen” to that, honestly, I don’t want them to become the next Daft Punk. That certain je nai sais quoi is always worth more when it’s not over-hyped.