Silversun Pickups recently wrapped a big tour at 9:30 Club in DC. Being the final night of the tour, there was definitely an air of anticipation in the audience. You know the feeling…the band has been on the road for weeks and you’re hoping they go all out on the final night.

The feeling was justified when the opening act came out to play at 9:30 Club on March 14. Hello Mary is a trio from Brooklyn, New York. It was obvious that they really connected with Silversun Pickups throught their time on the road. The band was pretty emotional as their set wound down. They thanked the band profusely, saying that their time together was life-changing. Their set was nine songs long and on their final song of the evening, Brian Aubert, the singer and guitarist for SSPU, came onstage to join them for a great version of “Knowing You.”

When it came time for Silversun Pickups to emerge, there was such a buzz in the crowd! They opened up with the song “Growing Old Is Getting Old” from their sophomore release, Swoon. The song starts off with bass and drums and builds as it goes. Not only did it build but the band extended the jam for a good bit, really using the song to get warmed up. They played under a pretty harsh red light that didn’t change much until the second song, “Sticks and Stones” from 2022’s Physical Thrills album.

Watch the official music video for “Sticks And Stones” by Silversun Pickups on YouTube:

This was my first time seeing Silversun Pickups, and I was really happy with the way the music translated to a live setting. I was also thrilled to hear them play songs from every full length album in their discography.

Throughout most of the show, there was not much banter between songs. Five songs into the set, after the song “Panic Switch,” Brian talked about the band’s love of DC and the 9:30 Club in particular.

The band continued to cut a swath through their discography for the next several songs until they finished “Don’t Know Yet.” That’s when band introductions were done. So perhaps now would be a good time to mention the band members: Brian Aubert on guitar and vocals, Nikki Monninger on bass, Joe Lester plays the keyboards, and Christopher Guanlao sits behind the drum kit. The lineup has not changed since their first official release, Pikul, in 2005.

In addition to introducing the members of Silversun Pickups, Brian also talked about touring with Hello Mary and the impact they had on SSPU. He even had the crowd chanting “Hello Mary, Hello Mary” by the end.

The next song, “Mean Spirits,” was introduced as a song that developed when bassist Nikki Monninger got mad at the city of Boise. Four songs after that they closed the show with “Nightlight” from the Better Nature album. Before leaving the stage, they took a few moments to thank their entire crew, many of them by name, for keeping them happy and safe for the entire duration.

With that, they exited the stage.

They quickly reemerged onstage for the encore, which began with “Three Seed” from their debut album, Carnavas. The encore was longer than most at five songs. They wrapped everything up with the song that got me and most everyone I know into the band, “Lazy Eye.”

The show was great! I love it when a band will play music from every album or era of their career. And Silversun Pickups managed to play the songs very close to the album versions but not close enough that they were carbon copies. They are hitting the road again in April, and I hope to catch them when they come back to play the 9:30 Club again on May 6. And if you missed them this last time around, do yourself a favor and make the next show.

Buy your tickets online now for Silversun Pickups at 9:30 Club on May 6!

Setlist

• Growing Old Is Getting Old
• Sticks And Stones
• Well Thought Out Twinkles
• It Doesn’t Matter Why
• Panic Switch
• Scared Together
• Little Lover’s So Polite
• Alone On A Hill
• Kissing Families
• Don’t Know Yet
• Mean Spirits
• Circadian Rhythm (Last Dance)
• Dots And Dashes (Enough Already)
• Substitution
• Nightlight

Encore

• Three Seed
• Cannibal
• Empty Nest
• Unknown (Brian solo w/Replace You lyrics)
• Lazy Eye

Here are some more photos of Silversun Pickups performing at 9:30 Club on March 14, 2024. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Marc Shea.