The Angeleno quartet Silversun Pickups straight up rocked the Echoplex last night. They headlined a fund raising event for the Pablove Foundation, which fights childhood cancer in honor of Pablo Castelaz. It was a first for me seeing SP live. They seem to rarely play in LA, strangely enough.
     Eulogies started the evening with a nice set. Silversun Pickups bassist Nikki Monninger joined the group for a song. During the set break Shirley Manson (of Garbage) said a few words about the Pablove Foundation, quite elegantly at that. She also stated that this was the first show for the Silversun Pickups in support of their new album, Swoon.
     SP took the stage, with guitarist/lead vocalist Brian Aubert at the helm, supported by Nikki, drummer Chris Guanlao and knob-turner Joe Lester. The energy level was high, but didn’t fully blow up until an electric Little Lover’s So Polite:

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     All band members were supremely talented, and their power was appreciated by the sell-out crowd, packed tight in the Echoplex. Admittedly I wasn’t sure if the lead singer was a man/woman until the first song of the evening. What a unique voice, difficult to pull off, borderline annoying, but is stellar when done successfully. The delicate screech was a popular choice throughout the evening, an ignition device for the musical rock-it ship. Speaking of space, between songs Aubert thanked the crowd for coming out to help the Pablove Foundation. He spoke of healing the war within with love, instead of fighting wars abroad. Then somehow he segued into trashing the space program. Space is cool, a’ight?
     I have not heard Swoon yet, but I’m sure some tracks were featured throughout the show. Highlights of the evening undoubtedly came during songs off of Carnavas. Lazy Eye (see video below), of course, plus Future Foe Scenarios and Common Reactor in the encore elevated the performance to the best Los Angeles has to offer.

www.myspace.com/silversunpickups
www.myspace.com/eulogiesmusic
http://www.pablove.org