Big Star's Third, Onstage in New York at Last

Stephens: And "Holocaust," wow. It just sounds like it hit Alex and he walked over to the piano and that's the performance. It definitely seems to be an emotional moment in time.

Stamey: You know, they used to say that poets in Ireland could kill rats if they got the words right. And there's a physics to music, so when the notes are in the air, they have an emotive capability that is a real thing, and they can make you experience something similar to what the composer was experiencing. So it's a kind of transportation. When we play them right, "Night Time" can actually sound like a night like that. "Holocaust" can actually sound that desperate. It's really thinking about the music, trying to make the air vibrate in a way that will fill the hearts of the listener. I'm actually meaning that in the same way that you can break a wine glass by hitting a certain note. I mean, there's a physical, concrete thing. That's what we're trying for. We're trying to make the room lift.

Daniel Coston

Chris Stamey, lifting up the room

Daniel Coston

Jody Stephens, the sole survivor.

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More About

• Jody Stephens
• Big Star (Band)
• Chris Stamey
• Alex Chilton
• Mike Mills

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The star-studded 'Third/Sister Lovers' tribute happens March 26 at Baruch College's Mason Hall