Internet hype is just that, as was proven last night at the Silversun Pickups and Viva Voce show in Rochester, NY. Silversun (pictured), based in Southern California, have been garnering mad crazy press for their latest release, Carnavas. While the album is exhilarating, the live performance severely lacked emotion. That was a serious downer, because the record, which deftly mixes pre-pretentious Smashing Pumpkins-style rock with the walls-of-guitar brilliance of ’90s shoegazer bands, has been on endless repeat for months in my stereo. I was left flat until they kicked out their last song, "Lazy Eye". Only then did the room began writhing in unison to the dense reverb filling the space. I may love the Pickups on record, but I question whether they deserve all the hype. And I’m still wondering why all the bloggers love "Kissing Families," because it’s not even close to being their best song. That honor goes to ”Dream at Tempo 119."
In contrast to the Pickups’ weak performance, husband-and-wife duo Viva Voce absolutely killed. Kevin and Anita Robinson rock it so hard, you’d think there were 10 people on stage. Their raw, dirty sound — which you can hear for yourself on their latest disc, Get Your Blood Sucked Out, completely enveloped the small room, and Anita’s angelic voice mesmerized the crowd. At one point, Kevin began playing a song on the acoustic guitar while kicking on the bass drum and cymbals, tweaking the nobs on the electrical gear, and singing. Yeah, you won’t see any top 40 bands doing that.
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Marc – thanks for the great post! Does this mean that EW is truly becoming the magazine I’d always hoped it would, and taking its rightful place at the forefront of all things musical, as it has already established itself as the leader in TV and Movies? Let’s hope so. Keep the great articles – and especially the music-themed blog entries – coming.
Maybe you just got too much hype. I saw them here in Austin, also with Vivo Voce, and they were totally amazing. I only knew of their name and one or two of their songs on myspace, but they totally blew me away and the crowd was VERY appreciative. That was, like, three weeks ago, though. Maybe the Pickups were just tired of tour. I know I’ve been before.
hey marc,
i’ve seen ‘em live out her in la quite a few times and i think the problem is that you are from new york and you still think that twee east village/williamsburg art rock crap is good music…10 years after we stop listening to this, you’ll catch on…
I’m with jt on this one. By far the weakest part of EW has always been its music section. This posting is super-encouraging for all of us out here who could care less how much Jessica Simpson’s or Clay Aiken’s new albums suck. Please keep profiling artists like Silversun Pickups who actually care about music.
I definitely agree with Brad, the music section is usually the least reliable and enjoyable section of the magazine. I have noticed more of a swing lately towards reviews of actual good bands (Yo La Tengo is the first that pops in my head), so please keep that up.
I saw three concerts on this tour, NYC, Chicago & Denver and I agree that Viva Voche were the better band. I don’t get the hype of sspu? Their a rehash alt-rock band without the needle scars. It just doesn’t seem that long ago to relive. VV is doing something new and it was evident every show I saw.