Silversun Pickups and The Kite Flying Society
at the SD House of Blues 9.27.6 by Eric Nielsen

Wednesday night at the House of Blues sidestage, the Silversun Pickups were in town from LA, blasting to an extremely appreciative crowd. Many were familiar with their songs and really got into their entire performance. Perhaps from mtv's recent push? Check it out - mtv. Brian Aubert had a warm guitar tone, true to the original recordings. His rich wide fuzz sound has been making its way through the rounds of bands like the White Stripes and Viva Voce (originally slotted as the supporting act and cancelled - we were disappointed). He had a nice stage presence.

Bassist Nikki Monninger down-stroked simple riffs, complimenting and reiterating each songs' rhythmic drive. The drummer, Christopher Guanlao, was a pleasure to watch. He has a bit of the underground in him. With one cymbal on a 6 foot stand, Guanlao played head down, hair flying, in a most powerful way. He was the force behind the Pickup's sound along with the sonics of the guitar.

This was the first House of Blues sidestage show and unfortunately the mix wasn't quite up to par. The keyboards were washed out and the vocals suffered, losing the harmonies of the female bassist under the wall of sound. Monninger's vocals were certainly missed as heard on the Pickup's recordings, she brings really nice, Kim Deal-type backup harmonies.

Comparisons? Aubert along with bass and driving drums were like the Smashing Pumpkins minus the monster leads. The lead vocals, though crunchier and rougher at times, brought to mind the Pixies.

The satisfied audience was treated to an encore, leaving the overall experience of the Silversun Pickup's a positive one. They head to a show at the Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco next (review at popgurls) on the front end of a bunch (30 or so) dates across the US.

The Kite Flying Society was Silversun Pickups' support, and their pop sensibilities went over well even though the two bands had quite different sounds. This San Diego band is doing really well, playing up and down the coast and working quite a lot. You see their name all over the place, including being awarded "best new artist" at the SD Music Awards.

A 5 piece of acoustic/vocals, keys/vocals/violin, laptop/keys/vocals, and drums. This band is really fun to watch, as each member is a character acting out their parts to the performance. They played a Dylan cover and other pieces that mixed male/female voices exhibiting a really fun stage presence. Not too pretentious, playful and engaging.

The pop presence/Beach Boys thing comes across great on their recorded stuff and it's easy to imagine them doing very well listening to their recorded pieces. It's full of background 'oooohs', high harmonies, and poppy keys. Check them out free at the Whistle Stop on Nov. 17th.

Silversun Pickups
Kite Flying Society Myspace
Filter Tourzine - Read more reviews from this tour

MP3
Silversun Pickups - Kissing Families