Starlight Mints "Pumpkin" from Drowaton Live at Orpheum Stage Door Madison, WI September 22, 2006

Starlight Mints are the touring opener for the current Mates of State tour, but you wouldn't know it from watching them. From the lowered stage lights, to the K-Mart fancy set design, to the extended orchestral intro, everything about their set made it feel like they forgot they weren't headlining. Maybe they get a little slack for being Mates' labelmates, or for being the indie version of the Flaming Lips, with whom they share a hometown, but it did seem a little much at first. On the other hand, Emily slept through most of their set, since she's used to going to bed early on Friday nights in order to get up for the farmers market, so maybe they could've gone a lot bigger.

This song is my favorite one from their new album, rendered here in a much more organic way than it is on record. Their set as a whole wasn't life-changing, but was fun to see, and that's a lot more than can be said for many of the tag-along bands that have come through here lately.