Silversun Pickups, Cage The Elephant and An Horse

I’ve been in love with Silversun Pickups since just before the release of Carnavas. I saw them for the first time at the 2007 CMJ Music Marathon in New York in the back room of Piano’s.  An intimate setting in which it was next to impossible to get in. Buzz was growing, and the band was just on the verge of breaking as big as an indie band can break now a days.

There’s something about Carnavas that really resonated with me when it came out. I love loud, swirly guitars, that’s nothing new, but for the first time in a while that year an album really spoke to me. I then latched on to Pikul and decided that while Silversun Pickups were not my favorite band ever, they were now the band that I would want to be in if I had any kind of musical talent. There was something about the music that made me picture myself playing it and really feeling that it belonged to me. I’m not sure anyone can understand that feeling if they are not a true music lover. 

The band then became a “Buzz” band and, instead of being annoyed, I actually felt rather proud that they “made” it— if you can really judge such a thing based on heavy rotation on alternative radio. Our Music Director, Omar, told me that he actually conducted the first radio interview that front man Brian Aubert did for the band, and that he saw them play a tiny living room show pre-CMJ 2007. Omar talked to Brian for a solid hour, chatting about love of music and feeling just as comfortable as if you were talking to an old friend. This is something that sadly gets lost in a lot of artists as they grow. I wondered if this was the case after the release of the band’s second album.

I unfortunately missed An Horse but saw them open for Appleseed Cast in New York earlier this year, so I can speak to the fact that they are quite good. We got to the venue half way through Cage the Elephant’s set, a band packed with youth and vigor. While the music wasn’t so much my thing (a little too amateur garage punk for my liking), the band had so much energy and love for what they do that I am confident that they will become tighter with time and grow to be bigger and better as they progress. I was excited to finally see a full set by Silversun Pickups having missed half the two times I attempted to see them.

The set started off a bit slow, I later realized because Brian played about five songs without addressing the crowd. However once he spoke and one could see how captivated the audience was, audience energy increased and so did the energy of the band. They played just about every song in their catalogue and were incredibly tight. Personal favorites included “Future Foe Scenarios”, “Rusted Wheel,” and their opening song “Growing Old is Getting Old.” I also hadn’t been to a show in a long time where every kid in the crowd wanted to crowd surf, and where every audience member was so unbelievably excited to be watching a band that they loved and to watch how the band responded to that. They played two encores and seemed to be so thrilled to be performing.

We did the typical band-fan-stalker-thing and went around the back to where the busses were so that Omar could say hi to Brian. Sure enough he was there and remembered Omar right away. We got invited downstairs to chat and I was so happy to see how nice, friendly, and grounded the band still is. Brian chatted with us for a while and it made me remember why I want to work in this business—to try to help the bands that really love what they do and do it because they love it. There’s something really nice about watching a band grow and succeed and the show really made me feel as though I was watching something special—and this is why I love music. 

- Katie Seline, CJLO Station Manager