Silversun Pickups Show Why They Should Be Huge

In the past few years, rock radio has largely trended away from angsty, guitar-driven rock bands. Most of the bands that have managed to maintain a presence have been cookie-cutter aggro bands that seem more violent and misogynistic than tortured (to name a few: Nickelback, Breaking Benjamin, Sick Puppies, etc.)

The intellectual high ground of rock has been left to the so-called indies — the Broken Social Scenes, The Whites Stripes, the Death Cab For Cuties of the world — good bands, but for those of us who like our basses booming and our amps cranked, they just don’t cut it.

That's what made the Silversun Pickups show such a treat. They played smart, interesting and highly original rock music that could still get a pit forming.

First up were Against Me!. This was the second time I'd seen them in the past few months, as I had caught them opening for Billy Talent and Alexisonfire at Montreal's Bell Centre.

Back then, I thought while they were extremely tight, they just didn't have the charisma to be playing arenas. I thought they'd be able to kill it in a smaller venue, and after last night, I think I was half-right.

The sound was certainly better (with the exception of the first 30 seconds of opener "White Crosses," during which some shmuck at the sound board forgot to un-mute vocalist/guitarist Tom Gabel's mic), and the band sweats a lot, if that's a good indicator of effort.

But until about halfway through their set, the Sound Academy seemed to dwarf them. The first few rows of people were having a great time, giving huge reactions to "Thrash Unreal" and "White People For Peace," but it wasn't until the slower "Suffocation" that people who were standing past the soundboard got into it. They finished off with a bang, following the disco-tinged "Stop!" with new single "I Was A Teenage Anarchist."

I was a bit disappointed that a band that have some vitriolic and political material didn't acknowledge the events of the G20 summit in Toronto last weekend. A few words of support for those who were detained for peaceful protest would have been nice, but apparently they barely made it on stage after a broken bus held them up, so I'll chalk it up to being frazzled. 

The most interesting aspect of watching Against Me! is seeing how seamlessly they've incorporated former Hold Steady multi-instrumentalist Franz Nicolay into their music. He started off on accordion before moving to keyboard, but his most important contributions were his unbridled enthusiasm (he encouraged clap alongs when his hands weren't tickling ivory), and his backing vocals. If this gig is temporary for him, it will be a pretty big loss for the group.

I look forward to seeing Against Me! play a headlining show someday soon — I still think they would absolutely destroy in truly intimate 500 person capacity club.

While Against Me! had a decent crowd watching them, things got pretty cramped as the Silversun Pickups hit the stage. They kicked it off with the ethereal, almost U2-esque "Growing Old Is Getting Old," before and moved right into "Well Thought Out Twinkles."

There wasn't much banter at first, though singer/guitarist Brian Aubert eventually gave a long, heartfelt "Thank you" to the crowd, citing Toronto as one of the few places on their current tour that they've played in before. He also got a big laugh when during a crowd chant of "Silversun! Silversun!" he quietly interjected the word "pickups" after each repetition.

The cool thing about Silversun Pickups is they're taking the music of awesome yet underappreciated bands like My Bloody Valentine or early Sonic Youth, adding a danceable beat, and making it into pop gems.

Case in point: "There's No Secrets This Year," the leadoff track from 2009's Swoon album, certainly rocks, but is just as likely to get the hips moving as the fists.

Another cool thing: Aubert genuinely seems to love playing guitar. It's a trait that seems to elude lots of rock bands lately, but he seems to be having the time of his life when he’s just riffin' out.

All this to say that the set was a triumph – as Aubert rocked out, drummer Chris Guanlao added a muscular element that isn't as pronounced on record. He's one of those drummers who's just constantly moving and is very entertaining to watch.

Then there's bassist Nikki Monninger, she of the thunderous and angular bass lines and sexy librarian stage presence. She doesn't move much, but every now and then she'd do these little hops that were very entertaining. She also got a massive cheer when she added the lead vocals to the chorus on "Kissing Families." The Pickups ended their set with a massively fuzzed-out version of their breakout "Lazy Eye" single from 2006's Carnavas.

The band came back for a three song-encore, which was a bit anti-climactic. After the psychedelic freakout of "Lazy Eye," the relatively sedated "Substitution," "Catch And Release" and "Common Reactor" seemed like odd choices to me.

Overall, it was a great show. Silversun Pickups are poised to become a positively massive rock band. I eagerly await their third album — come on, guys. Prove me right.