Silversun Pickups, plus a little Xavier
Posted on August 10th, 2009 – 11:29 PMBy Chris Riemenschneider
Seeing the Silversun Pickups always takes me back to the early ’90s, when they would’ve fit in perfectly between Smashing Pumpkins, the Breeders, Jesus & Mary Chain and Lush on a Lollapalooza lineup. Last night’s show gave me the strongest retro fix I’ve had in quite a while, but the beauty of it was that most of the fans were listening to Barney in 1993, not Nirvana (who I also had flashbacks of watching drummer Chris Guanlao’s arms and hair whip around Grohl-style).
Frontman Brian Aubert complained about there being seats and a curfew at the State — he also mentioned that their past 7th Street Entry gigs were “some of the best of our career” – but I actually thought the theater setting made many of the songs feel bigger and more atmospheric, especially “Kissing Families” and “Common Reactor.” A light show of any kind would’ve fit in perfectly, but hey, that would’ve cost more and it was a pretty cheap ticket considering the triple-band lineup (I couldn’t get there in time for Cage the Elephant and Manchester Orchestra, very regrettably).
Aubert was at once humble and charming but also not afraid to play the rock-star, as he did during “Lazy Eye” when he strutted up the aisle all the way to the back of the theater, playing his guitar the whole way. Great stuff all-around. Here’s the set list:
Growing Old Is Getting Old / Well Thought Out Twinkles / There’s No Secrets This Year / The Royal We / Little Lover’s So Polite / It’s Nice to Know You Work Alone / Future Foe Scenarios / Kissing Families / Substitution / Lazy Eye / Panic Switch ENCORE: Common Reactor
After leaving the State, I headed over to First Avenue hoping to catch Australian hippie-reggae-soul man Xavier Rudd playing his nifty didgerdoo thingie. Alas, he only played guitar in the half hour I caught of his set — which also only got me about three songs, too. The guy oozes good vibes, though, with a pretty voice, mystical lyrics and mindful banter like his shout-out to Creek Indians (which wasn’t because there were any in the crowd). I genuinely wish I was a positive enough person to eat this kind of stuff up and dance around like butterflies, as much of the crowd was. Alas, I’ll probably be happier watching Motorhead at First Ave again. Grrr.
One response to "Silversun Pickups, plus a little Xavier"
Actually, I felt like most of the fans were watching Sesame Street in 1970. I think the crowd would have been distinctively younger if this show had been at First Ave. A couple sitting in the front row of the pit left about 3 songs in and Brian remarked that he was sorry the guitars were so loud. It was definitely loud, but appropriately so.
between Future Foe Senarios and Kissing Families, there was a weird bit i’m calling the “Willy Wonka interlude” (”no one knows where we are going…”).
the best part of Cage the Elephant was when the singer climbed up into the fake balcony on the right side. he stayed there to sing a few songs, then managed to climb back down on the speakers. Manchester Orchestra was really good, but only played 5 or 6 songs. too short of a set.
What’s up with this “curfew” of 10:15? a rock show shouldn’t end that early, even on a monday! shows at First Ave on weekdays don’t have to end that early.
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