Stars - London, UK

"Our songs are about sex and death. So if you're after something else, you came to the wrong place" - Torquil Campbell

"We have topical songs too!" - Amy Millan

As you get older, you begin to wonder whether you can ever love a band in the same way that you did as a teenager; will you ever feel that magic again? This is a question I found myself considering as the haunting sounds of Paddy McAloon's "I Trawl The Megahertz" faded away on the PA and Stars walked out onto the stage of the London Garage.

It was a short, hour-long set, drawing heavily on the current album Set Yourself on Fire, which captivated the well-populated audience. The highlight of the band's live performance is undoubtedly the interplay between Amy and Torq, with their theatrics bringing a new dimension to many of the songs; in particular, the delivery of "All That Time," I was trying to remember your name" had a delicious 'fuck-you' venom which just isn't present on the studio version, and the rousing breathless performance of "I Am Trying To Say" made the song sound even more desperate than usual. Amy played into her role as the sultry vixen, doing fiery dances as an introduction to "Elevator Love Letter" (still the greatest New Order song not written by New Order), and dealing with hecklers intent on declaring their undying love for her (with an sly assist from Torq - "You're from the North, aren't you?" thus showing an understanding of English stereotypes and endearing him to us even further).

It may have been short, but the energy and enthusiasm that they displayed was boundless, bouncing all over the stage, Torq's over-the-top and hypnotic dances wowing the crowd. And yet, they were very humble, often using inbetween song lulls to thank us all for coming out to see them, as they weren't expecting anybody to turn up, making them all the more charming (plus, they promised to come back).

And then, too quickly, it was time to go. Our time of sex and death had come to an end, Amy yelling at us to "Take care of Tony-Fucking-Blair" as they launched into a furious version of "He Lied About Death" (I'm guessing that it's one of their "topical" songs, seeing as how "I hope your drunken daughters are gay" has to refer to Mr. Bush), before the sad denouement of "Calendar Girl," a slow ballad during which Torq attempted to meet every pair of eyes in the crowd and smile at them.

Afterwards, I found myself standing in London with a stupid grin and running to catch a Victoria Line tube train before the network shut down for the night, knowing that Stars have proved that those silly crushes don't die with age.