It was a packed sold-out show for STRFKR at Houston’s White Oak Music Hall on July 28.
Graphics filled the screen with abstract smiley faces, bursts of multi-colored flashes from the strobe lamps exploded throughout the floor of the stage. The crowd roared as the band walked out! A voice said “guys… thanks!” projected through the microphones and out the massive speaker setup into the hall.
STRFKR started to play “Dear Stranger” and within seconds everyone was dancing and moving to the rhythms of drums and bass. A loud sound popped then across the front line of the stage a stream of confetti was filling the air at the front of the audience. Everyone in the crowd was excited. Costumed animal sheep goats came out on stage with the exploding confetti all around them and then they started to share their dance moves connecting with everyone in the crowd. The fans were in awe. The crowd danced with excitement and those dancey vibes were in effect throughout the whole night. Additional visual graphics of the sky and trees were projecting on the screen adding to the visual senses of the experience. White Oak Music Hall was jammed packed and stacked. It was possible to feel the steam in the arena area.
All of a sudden the lights go to a dark golden glow across the stage that at that moment created a mysterious dark yellowish warmth and then a percussive beat begins to pulse over the speaker system. It was the beginning of the song “Ronald Gregory Erickson the Second” from the self-titled album STRKFR. A theme of spacey images fill the screen with droned suspended chords from the synths played. Dancing astronauts took the stage with colorful geometric graphics filling the backdrop of the wall in the back.
As the concert continued they played the song “Florida.” When they broke into lyrics:
I never thought I was an only one
I never had setting in the sun
My dancing baby was a seeking gun
You had a hand and it was loneliness
And all I wanted was you, oh, you.
Flying stingrays appeared to float across the back-screen and the concert’s energy was felt throughout the performers and the people that were in attendance.
STRFKR kept their disco like psychedelic dance performance going on and when “Malmo” from the album Miracle Mile popped off, they had the crowd clapping to the beat of the percussive synth-keyboard rhythm and singing “Daaa… Da Da Da Da Da… Daaaaa… Da Da Da Da Daaaa…” during the bridge of the song.
As the concert continued the dancing and feel goodness of freedom took control. Purple lights were strobing in and out with pulses blinking throughout the atmospheric mist. Two astronauts started kissing and then proceeded to crowd surf into the crowd of people. Pterodactyl graphics were visually exposed on the screen with more greens, red, and every color in the color index started to strobe across the light system.
In between songs, founder of STRFKR and lead singer, Josh Hodges, said “F@*$ing Houston” and everyone erupted to give him praise for recognizing the city. The night was nearing conclusion and they played the cover of their version of “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” from the Album Jupiter; and yes, the crowd went nuts. Clapping erupted and radiated all over the venue. Then all the fuzzy costumed animals appeared again, astronauts were dancing, and more confetti blew out into the audience and stage. After the song, Hodges said, “Thank you so much we love coming to Houston… It’s great seeing each other again!”
They left the stage and came back to fulfill the duty of playing the encore because the people demanded it and some might say it is the musicians right to fulfill that request. They didn’t hold back and they didn’t disappoint!
They ended the night with “Bury Us Alive” from the album Reptilians and wished everyone a good night!
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