Silversun Pickups

Spaceland - August 10, 2005

Live Review by Daniel Brody

Silversun Pickups are a band on the rise.  After a July that saw the release of a well-received debut EP, Pikul, the band is now spending every Wednesday in August at Spaceland as part of a month-long residency.  Their sound is a mixture of all sorts of rock - indie, grunge, shoegaze - but they have a straight-up alternative rock edge that owes some debt to early nineties greats like Smashing Pumpkins and Pearl Jam.  Instead of taking that sound and making it into slick and dreary whining the way that Nickleback or Puddle of Mudd do, Silversun Pickups give their songs a rootsier, more down-home feel in the vein of Built to Spill, augmented by cello, keyboards, and female backing vocals.

The place was packed, and nobody seemed more surprised at this fact than the band itself, which looked radiant between songs, taking it all in.  Have you ever seen a crowd at Spaceland rock?  I mean, really start letting their guard down and dancing a little bit?  The Silversun Pickups made it happen last Wednesday.  After an opening band that spent most of its set admiring the ground and slouching moodily, Silversun Pickups electrified with a raucous attack that saw the band members jumping all over the stage in fits of manic energy.  Lead singer Brian Aubert, between sips of whiskey, seemed to lose himself in the music, bounding about with his eyes closed.  Bass player Nikki Monninger shimmied approvingly, and drummer Christopher Guanlao pounded so hard that he looked epileptic.  Here was a band putting their vulnerability on display, so obviously pouring their hearts out instead of standing stiffly, and the normally rigid Spacelanders responded in kind; one audience member was even head banging! 

Silversun Pickups' residency at Spaceland is a chance to get in on the ground floor and see a great local band before they inevitably blow up.