Silversun Pickups

On a whim, Rip and The D Man hit the Silversun Pickups in concert last night. Why? Because we were quasi-autonomous thirty-somethings in the mood for some woozy guitar workouts.

• The D Man picked up Rip's post-meal chocolate chip cookie and, as a result, enjoyed a ticket on the house. Rip scores again.
• Silversun Pickups opened with "Growing Old is Getting Old" and immediately announced that they would sound much better live than The D Man anticipated.
• The band transitioned to strong performances of "Sort Of" and "There's No Secrets This Year."
• "The Royal We" was fantastic live. The build-up following the hazy guitar interlude was even better than the album version.
• "Kissing Families" from Carnavas was held together with a nice mid-tempo chug and bassist Nikki Monninger's vocals.
• The band ran headlong into the encore with "Panic Switch" and "Lazy Eye," the two biggest-sounding songs of the night. "Lazy Eye" was played with absolute abandon, as it should be. A maxed-out treasure of a song. Brian Aubert's vocal-chord shredding yelps climaxed at just the right time.
• "Substitution" was the best of a three-song encore. The set list was Swoon-heavy and that ended up being a good thing. The crowd was really into the show and the band's appreciation seemed genuine throughout the night. Good on ya, SLC.
• Ultimately, Silversun Pickups do not capture The D Man's aesthetic imagination. But they mine a vein of sonic quality--even identity--that pulsed throughout some of my formative music listening years. They are a tight and competent approximation of Gish-era Pumpkins with scattered nods to The Breeders and Sonic Youth. The derivative vibe could be offputting but for the band not taking themselves so seriously. Hearing them live, they are a well-meaning and solid outfit aping earlier tropes to surprisingly good effect. Good on ya, Los Angeles.