Early Christmas Present: Muse, Silversun Pickups, Modest Mouse On One Stage
December 9, 2007 - Gibson Amphitheatre, Universal City, CA
With temperatures in the frigid low 50s, Los Angeles rock station KROQ held its annual Almost Acoustic Christmas concert at the Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal Studios Hollywood. With the harder rock bands (Linkin Park, Rise Against, Bad Religion) booked the first night, night two was a tad more on the softer side.
Having not listened to rock radio in the two years since hooking my iPod up in my automobile, I found it rather funny how the first two acts of the night are more known for their commercials than their radio hits. Spoon opened the show, and after that camera song, I found myself in the restroom and beer line. I couldn’t care less, nor could the rest of the crowd. Feist was not much better, playing her iPod-commercial jam and failing to get the crowd into her 25-minute set.
You could even say the show didn’t really begin until Los Angeles natives Silversun Pickups spun around on the rotating stage and launched into “Well Thought Out Twinkles” from their 2006 record, Carnavas. Other tracks from the record, such as “Future Foe Scenarios” and “Little Lovers So Polite,” brought the crowd running in from beer lines to admire their Christmas-lights-covered set. By the end of their 30-minute performance (which closed with the radio hit “Lazy Eye”) the band had the sold-out crowd on its feet for the first time. Frontman Brian Aubert took a walk through the crowd, exciting the band’s rabid hometown fans even more. Mark my words, in a few years this band will be headlining this annual show.
For years now, everyone from Queen Amidala to the jerk who makes my coffee at Starbucks have raved to me how the Shins are the greatest band in the world. They are pretty good, but hardly the greatest, as their mellow, moody indie rock did not follow Silversun’s fuzzed-out assault on the crowd. They also started a trend for the evening by not playing their biggest hit, “New Slang,” making 13-year-olds across the amphitheater cry for a refund.
I thought I had dodged a bullet earlier this year by missing the Killers at the KROQ Weenie Roast, as Brandon Flowers was sick. Surprise. With the crowd expecting Modest Mouse, the stage rotated and we were met with special surprise guests the Killers, who were surrounded by about 15 Christmas trees of all shapes and colors. The band played a quick four-song energy-filled set that included the hits “When You Were Young,” “Somebody Told Me” and a special duet with Santa (which may have been played by comedian Zach Galifianakis) that included an almost GWAResque moment with the crowd being hosed down with super soakers. I hate to say it, but the Killers were actually pretty good.
However, personal favorites Modest Mouse were next. Their set drew heavily from 2004’s Good News for People Who Love Bad News, with songs like “Bury Me With It” and “Satin in a Coffin.” While the 2007 hit “Dashboard” made the set, their biggest hit to date, “Float On,” was missing. Personally, while a huge Modest Mouse fan, the band seemed like it knew it had to be there, but didn’t really want to be.
The next band, Jimmy Eat World, were the one band who wanted to be there, but I wish they weren’t. They simply do nothing for me, and sitting through their set (while much better sounding than the last time I saw them in 2001 with Tenacious D and Weezer) was dreadful. I could not take enough bathroom and beer breaks, and was stuck watching the audience roller coaster with hits (”Pain,” “Bleed American,” “Sweetness”) and songs that were mellow and put most folks back into their $75 seats. The band did mention how it was thankful it didn’t have to follow headliners Muse.
Closing the five-hour charity concert, Muse played an hour-long set of songs mainly from their last two records, Absolution and Black Holes & Revelations. Opening with “Take a Bow,” the band (with drummer Dominic Howard dressed as Spider-man) was clearly who 95 percent of the crowd were there for. When the U.K. three-piece (supplemented by a keyboardist) was not inflicting songs such as “Stockholm Syndrome,” “Starlight” and “Supermassive Black Hole” upon the crowd, it was teasing riffs made famous by Jimi Hendrix, Rage Against the Machine and Led Zeppelin. The band closed the evening with “Knights of Cydonia,” leaving the satisfied fans to chant “No one’s going to take me alive …” as they walked across the giant Hollywood tourist trap on the way back to their cars, thankful for being able to see so many great bands on one stage in one night. And Jimmy Eat World.
Check out all of makeadeathwish’s uploads at yourhere.mtv.com…
December 11th, 2007 at 12:24 pm
While I do realize that all music is subjective, how in the world can you speak of the great Jimmy Eat World with such disrespect?? For me, any show with Jimmy Eat World and Muse would be enough for me to take the next flight across the country the day of the show. Shame on you for this horribly written review…it didn’t even seem as if you enjoyed your own favorite band…Modest Mouse. Maybe you should have just stayed at home, and watched the show on YouTube.
December 11th, 2007 at 4:48 pm
I agree, if you don’t like the music by a band then fair enough but don’t publicise them as crap. Each to their own but no way should you put down an artists music when yourself have no musical talent at all.
Paul.
PS
Yeah muse rule!
December 12th, 2007 at 4:03 pm
Ricky & Paul,
Come on big boys, wipe those tears away. I went very easy on Jimmy Eat World, and even tried to praise them. Yet you boys still had to cry and whine, much like the craptastic Jimmy Eat World. So if anything, you proved my point that they are not very good and their fans are a bunch of crybabies. I am sure you stood for the hits and sat for the rest just like the rest of the lazy apathetic LA crowd.
Smooches,
The Make A Death Wish Foundation
December 14th, 2007 at 12:33 pm
Justin you never cease to amaze me, this was
hell-a awesome!
December 19th, 2007 at 1:33 pm
So Much For Being An All Time Fan In On And On, Thanx For The Concert I Did Not Attend. Either Way It’D Be For Muse, And Politics.
October 22nd, 2008 at 6:53 am
elavil overdose…
what is elavil. elavil tablet. elavil dosage. generic elavil. elavil oral. elavil tablet. elavil tablet. …
October 26th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
tramadol…
order tramadol. tramadol online. tramadol hcl. tramadol hydrochloride. tramadol. …
November 5th, 2008 at 5:27 am
christmas present online…
Many blogs have stopped using trackbacks because dealing with spam became too burdensome. This enables authors to keep track of who…
November 5th, 2008 at 9:45 am
xmas flowers…
Huh, I’m at a loss for words….
November 8th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
charity cars…
The TrackBack specification was created by Six Apart, who first implemented it in their Movable Type blogging software in August…
November 10th, 2008 at 9:37 am
xmas flowers…
This is one of the more useful reads I have had today….
November 10th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
xmas present…
Bravo. It is about time someone delved into this….
November 13th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
last minute christmas present…
May I use some of your content on my website?…
November 15th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
xmas flowers…
It really is going to be a long 2008, isn’t it?…
November 19th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
cheap music downloads…
How did you manage to come up with this post? I would like to know….
November 19th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
black flight jacket…
One notable blogging tool that does not support trackback yet is Blogger..A Trackback is one of three types of Linkbacks, methods…
November 25th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
xmas flowers…
I’m going to look into this and let you know what I find….
November 26th, 2008 at 10:29 am
of christmas flowers…
Global Developments ” Archive ” kerstkaarten goede doel was interesting. You seem very knowledgeable in of christmas flowers….
November 28th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
xmas flowers…
This enables authors to keep track of who is linking to, or referring to their articles.A Trackback is one of three types of Linkbacks,…
November 29th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
flowers for christmas…
I had the same problem!…
November 30th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
roast coffee reviews…
It has since been implemented in most other blogging tools. This enables authors to keep track of who is linking to, or referring…
November 30th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
french roast coffee…
A Trackback is one of three types of Linkbacks, methods for Web authors to request notification when somebody links to one of their documents….
December 2nd, 2008 at 4:50 pm
good christmas present…
I found this on Tuesday while I was searching for good christmas present….
December 4th, 2008 at 7:18 am
flowers at christmas…
Growing Poinsettia, the Christmas Flower was a perfect blog in the world of flowers at christmas….
December 6th, 2008 at 1:53 am
xmas flowers…
I am not sure I totally agree with PX Monogram ” Cemeteries and Cemetery Symbols…
December 6th, 2008 at 9:00 am
Unlimited Music Downloads…
How did you manage to come up with this post? I would like to know….
December 7th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
last minute christmas present…
I think you did a great job writing Top 5 Football Books. Bravo….
January 12th, 2009 at 12:58 am
Flowers Austin Tx…
2 Thumbs up. good post…
February 18th, 2009 at 2:00 am
music downloads for iPod…
Do you know what is happening in the entertainment world?…
February 19th, 2009 at 9:24 pm
All about Digimon Adventure Online Game. Digimon Adventure Fans Blog….
…Digimon is a small virtual pet. You can download and play an online RPG in the Digimon universe. It looks and feels like 2D graphic RPG adventure. You can train and level up your Digimon, make hundreds of quests, and travel through a huge universe a…
February 27th, 2009 at 10:39 am
Shag Hairstyles and Haircuts…
shag hairstyle basically gotits name from the word “shaggy” since …once the hair is cutand layered it gives off a shaggy look. The shag hairstyle has always been apopular hairstyle, and there are plenty ofshag hairstyles to choose from…
February 27th, 2009 at 4:51 pm
unlimited music downloads…
Good post… It’s weird, I’m not 100% sure how I found this post about 30 Websites for Free Song (MP3) Download and Search | K-Director.com considering I was searching for unlimited music downloads. Guess I’ll just call it wacky Friday… :)…
March 26th, 2009 at 9:38 am
Arbonne skin care products overview…
Arbonne is one of the best companies in the world when it comes to skin and beauty care. Its skin care line is one of the best in the world that many women. The products of Arbonne International skin care products are developed in Switzerland….
March 29th, 2009 at 3:38 am
Male celebrities shags…
Stylists of the above celebrities are miracle makers, capturing each of their personalities and presenting them in sophisticated fun loving shag styles. Hopefully we’ll see more and more celebrities take our breath away with their gorgeous shags….
April 19th, 2009 at 1:39 am
Printable Paper Dolls Overview…
Fashion printable paper dolls - are dolls designed to reflect fashion trends or occasionally fantasy play. The dolls are made of paper, and are modeled both as for play and for collections. They are loved by many people around the world. The fashion do…
April 21st, 2009 at 7:40 pm
Hollywood is once again accused in encouraging to smoking…
All kind of cigarette is harmful, no matter how it is packaged, said researchers. For example they found that smoking tobacco described as ‘light’ and ‘mild’ is not better for health and is not safer to smoke compared with smoking regular tobacco. …
April 24th, 2009 at 4:26 am
Human - The Killers song…
Human is a song by rock group The Killers, and was released as the first single from the band’s third studio album Day & Age. The song was leaked onto YouTube on September 21, 2008, a day before it was scheduled to be released for the first time on Za…
April 26th, 2009 at 6:41 pm
Warnings on tobacco products from 30 November…
Doctors reported in a study that heart deseases are hitting the overweight more often than a decade sooner than “normal” weight people….
May 1st, 2009 at 6:39 am
Swine influenza (swine flu) - general information…
Recommendations to avoid spread of the swine influenza among humans include using standard infection control against flu. This means frequent washing of hands with soap and water or with alcohol-based hand sanitizers, especially after being outside….
May 5th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
The hottest short hairstyles…
Kylie Bax has a very cool new short hairstyle with lots of layers that is very short at the back….
May 8th, 2009 at 11:56 am
Viagra pills online…
Doctors showed no relative afferent pupil defect indicating that the right afferent pupil buy generic viagra online pathway was intact and localised the lesion to the right efferent pupil pathway. The differential diagnosis was therefore Adie’s tonic …
May 14th, 2009 at 7:41 am
2009 short hair style trends…
A short hairstyle can expose some facts about your face that you are not quite like. Therefore, this is something to know for those who might be more introverted about some of our facial features. It is also noticed that it can take time to get used to…
May 18th, 2009 at 11:56 am
the truth about cheap viagra…
The child’s world life needs to order viagra support his or her educational goals. An organized, quiet study area is needed. A balance between weight loss, rest, play, and study should be maintained….