Silversun Pickups Delight Seattle’s Moore Theater
We hadn’t seen the Silversun Pickups since 2016 and tonight we were going to make up for lost time at Seattle’s Moore Theater. We walked into the room and felt the energy from all the fans who were patiently waiting for the band to take the stage slowly enclaving us in the building. The band formed back in 2000 have seen mainstream success and have built a huge following throughout the years. It’s currently composed of Brian Aubert, Nikki Monninger, Christopher Guanlao, and Joe Lester. Their sixth studio album, Physical Thrills, and fifth, Widow’s Weeds, were produced by the legendary Butch Vig.
It was time for the music to start and as the band members took the stage the fans screamed showing their excitement for the show to begin. Monninger stood to the right with her red bass and matching red shoes, Aubert lead down the middle with his vocals and guitar, Lester sat down between two keyboards, and Guanlao was ready to go behind the drums which displayed a wolf.
The smoke machine filled the front of the room as moody lights shined in the back. They kicked off their set with “Growing Old Is Getting Old,” “Sticks and Stones,” and “Well Thought Out Twinkles.” They took their time to play the tunes the way they wanted, to get into it, to emphasize the solos, to keep thing going as long as the words bled. Everything was gut punching and all bearing to their audience, and they welcomed it all and gave back the same energy.
When one of their biggest hits, “Panic Switch,” came on people were enjoying every second of the song and of course the massive lead up to the bridge of one of the best bass riffs. As Monninger led the beginning of the bridge with her bass, Aubert followed with the explosion of his guitar solo and the climax of our emotions screaming, ‘Waiting and fading, and floating away!’ until we couldn’t yet the words anymore. These are the moments that make live music priceless.
Highlights of the night also included, “Kissing Families, “Circadian Rhythm,” “Substitution,” main set closer, “Nightlight,” and audience participation song, “Don’t Know Yet.” The band returned for their encore playing four songs ending with their biggest hit, “Lazy Eye.” I don’t know if it had been too long, and we couldn’t remember the full emotions or if somehow the band got even better all of these years, but the night was incredible. There was so much going on and we couldn’t keep still for a second. We cried, we laughed, we screamed, we snapped our fingers, and were a part of an amazing set. Make sure you don’t miss this band if they’re near you.
