Five bands in four hours? I had no idea what to expect. A few weeks ago a friend mentioned that Silversun Pickups (SSPUs) were coming to town, playing at the Courtyard at the U of I Union Hall. Neither of us had heard of the other two bands listed (The Kingdom and Viva Voce), but I was very interested. Somewhat strangely – as if offering an excuse not to go – I pointed out that if The Headlights were in that lineup with the SSPUs, that would be my dream concert (at this point in my musical life). Zoom forward to two weeks ago and another friend mentioned, over a beer, that the Headlights were now on the bill with the SSPUs. I did not believe – I was sure this was a mental perception error on the part of my friend. Had he somehow been influenced by my repeated mentions of there two bands over the last few months? Without any care for his feelings regarding my lack of faith in his listening and recall skills, I flipped out the cell phone and started getting a friend or two on the Internet to verify this incredible turn of events. When I got home, two emails were waiting for me. Both with links confirming the lineup at 5 bands – yes, both SSPUs and Headlights were in there. For the first time in years, I knew exactly where I would be on Saturday, October 8th, 2006.

Event: Silversun Pickups, Headlights and others at The Courtyard (Union, U of I, Urbana, Illinois)
Watched: Oct 7, 2006, 8 PM until well past midnight

Performance order:
Shipwreck
The Kingdom
Silversun Pickups
Headlights
Viva Voce

Though I have lived in Champaign since 1989, I had never seen the Courtyard and had last been in the Union, downstairs some time in 1991 or ’92. I had not expected such a small, intimate venue. For some reason based on the album Carnavas I had assumed SSPUs were huge and popular – surely someone besides me had noticed this incredible album and the fan base must be swelling daily. But there I was in this small venue watching Shipwreck with only 40 or so other people and wondering what was to come.

Let us start by getting the expected statement out of the way – Shipwrecked avoided their namesake decisively. There, now I can speak freely knowing no one will ever drivel so again. I was really impressed with their set and the sounds they managed. I was pleasantly reminded of Lanterna at some points and Hum at others. I never did get to hear any vocals due to technical problems that persisted throughout the night, but they were good enough that I bought their CDs for later listening pleasure – hoping that some of the onstage aural virtuosity was captured on their studio efforts.

Next up was ‘The Kingdom’. There was obviously some talent going on up there on the stage and there were quite a few people in the audience who were dancing and digging the scene in a fan-like way. Being born in the 60s, I cannot help but feel guilty. These were the children of the kids we tormented and exiled from our cool and click-ish peer groups in the 70s and 80s. Yet unlike the repressed, socially non-functional condition we left their parents in back then, these musicians were open, expressive and quite possibly exuberant in spite of the [hesitating] “I am unique and I love it” appearance. Though I did not personally enjoy the music as much as I wanted to, I did enjoy the set and the bands stage presence was quirky and interesting (think Bare Naked Ladies, They Might Be Giants or maybe Devo). Maybe if I had heard the vocals I would have enjoyed them more.

A quick note regarding feedback, for those of you wondering why I so plainly appear to accept the fact that there were audio problems, let me explain. You could actually hear the vocals, but just barely. For both Shipwreck and The Kingdom it was rare that you could make out the lyrics or even phrases that were obviously repeated a few times in the songs. During each sound check the band worked with the sound guy(s) to get the monitors as loud as possible without any feedback. This worked well during the sound check, but once the full band sound kicked in, the vocals were a barely present part of the mix.

This problem continued through the first two songs by the Silversun Pickups. They and The Headlights were the main reason I was there and it was pretty depressing that I was basically getting instrumental versions of the songs that I had fallen in love with over the summer. Then, just like finding Carnavas unexpectedly, an amazing thing happened. Before starting their third song, Brian Aubert asked the audience how things sounded. Four or more people yelled out that they could not hear the vocals. It was obvious Brian cared. He did something so professional and ingratiating. I wish I remembered his exact words, but it was something like, “we don’t need to hear ourselves, we know what we sound like, f—- it, let’s fix this.” He pointed to the monitors in front of him and told the sound man to turn them down, then pointed to the speakers above facing the audience and said to turn those up.

They ripped in to and through the rest of their set. They rocked. We could hear Brian’s soft and threateningly impassioned passages and we could hear bass player Nikki Monninger’s beautiful and sometimes haunting harmonies. So Polite and Lazy Eye were highlights of an outstanding performance. Each band member had a unique stage presence and found the time to sparkle at some point during the night. SSPUs have such a lush and compelling sound, like a melodic wall of noise, but I had not really noticed the drumming on Carnavas. So I was really impressed to see such precision and finesse going on back there. It was a pleasure to watch Christopher Guanlao perform and explode in flurries of sound. I am sure I will approach my next few listenings of the album with a new appreciation. I was fascinated by Joe Lester’s compact keyboard and effects rig. If you weren’t watching him occasionally you might never have noticed that he played with such intensity and occasionally appeared to be responsibly for and in precise control of much of the sonic landscape coming from the stage.

I don’t think these two words go together, however, I cannot help but tell you I was searingly comforted by the experience. There is something numbing and yet joyous about their sound and I am really glad it comes through in their live performance. I hope someone knows what I mean. If not, maybe you should catch SSPU at your earliest opportunity or at least pickup Carnavas immediately.

With all the times they have played locally this year, this flawed evening was my first experience with The Headlights live. Though on Enemies and Kill Them with Kindness, they have earned a place in my permanent “CDs that I actually listen to,” (and, I should add, own) they unfortunately must not have been around for Brian Aubert’s audio breakthrough. During the sound check they did like the other bands before, and worked with the sound man (different gentleman?) to get their band-facing monitors up to the max without feedback. As such, even though I knew the songs really well and could imagine the vocals, they really were not there in any meaningful way. I really enjoyed the first two thirds of their set. Erin Fein was an absolute pleasure to watch. I hope to catch their performance again soon so I can see what they are really like. Things actually finished very poorly for The Headlights. Once Tristan Wraight picked up his bass for their last few songs, the sound mix really went to hell and never came back. I played bass for many years – I could tell he was doing an admirable job up there – but it all mixed poorly and sounded like crap. Am I allowed to say that in a review? Um… too late. So as to end speaking about them on a positive note, I must add that Erin was a delight to watch and really brought the stage and the band alive with her performance and occasional quirky-fun theatrics. I definitely plan to see The Headlights again at my very next opportunity.

Viva Voce faired no better, though their setup certainly improved things a little. Their two piece grew to a three piece after a few songs which helped fill out their sound. Anita Robinson was out front on guitar and vocals. Kevin Robinson was prominently stage left (or is it right). Someone named Kim joined them early in the set providing some much needed bass and rhythm guitar on many songs. As I had with the Headlights, I truly wish I had some sense of Viva Voce’s (Italian for something like “word of mouth”?) music prior to the performance. I was left intrigued, but somewhat confused and not overly impressed. Many of the elements of an impressive performance were right there, but the overall sound was a drum thudding mess. There were some highlights like “We do not F—- Around” and some enjoyable jams where Anita got to lean in and rock out. If I am lucky, I will follow-up on my plans to catch SSPUs, Viva Voce and The Kingdom again on October 20th in Chicago.

Brian Aubert hung around and put on a good show enjoying the other bands. There was encouragement, camaraderie, appreciation and respect coming from this man. He wasn’t afraid to share it and wear it on his sleeve. I was really impressed to see someone so natural, talented and deeply in his element. I won’t be surprised if the SSPUs are filling arenas within an album or two. They have it and it won’t be easy to keep hidden much longer.

Though I didn’t get to enjoy their show as much as I wanted, The Headlights’ Erin Fein was also a genuine article. She also stayed and watched most of the Viva Voce show. It is nice to see musicians that like music and other musicians. I wonder if she still ice skates?

“funny thing how that whole vocals, lyrics… you know, the singing thing… who knew it was so important?” – Innocent Bystander, Urbana, IL