Starsailor Cruises Through Washington

Recommended Beverage to go with this show:

Dogfish Head Raison D'etre, on tap at the downstairs bar on the right.

It's dark, slightly sweet, a bit nutty, and altogether yummy.

One breezy morning during a January 2002 vacation, a handsome stranger in a Virgin Records store in London recommended I buy a cd by the new Brit band Starsailor. The cashier gave the disc a quizzical look as he rang it up, then commented, "ahh, they're rather mellow, yeah?"

Starsailor's debut disc is mellow, and beautifully haunting. But when they hit the stage, they rock out, albeit in pure "shoegazer" fashion. James Walsh didn''t miss a note, with smooth vocals reminiscent of the Verve's Richard Ashcroft, and he drew the crowd in on several songs, as they happily sang "ohs" in "We Are Together" from the new album, On the Outside. This, their second album, is packed with memorable rhythms and tight lyrics.

It was a fairly small crowd at the 930 Club. A couple years back, they'd opened for the Charlatans and soon after headlined a sold-out show there, but these Brit blokes remain somewhat of a well-kept secret here, despite their appearance on the Jimmie Kimmel show last week.

Starsailor paid tribute on this American tour to one of our late legends, opening the encore with Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire." They're currently on tour in the States through mid-November opening for James Blunt.