Silversun Pickups at the Belly Up

I was super excited for this show. I had witnessed the Silversun Pickups destroy the Echo along with Viva Voce a few months ago and was impressed that they could back up my sentiments that Carnavas is the album of the year. I was also impressed with the Belly up and was looking forward to coming back and hanging out in Solana Beach. I decided to avoid Lou's records since I was there a few days ago and opted to catch Borat down in Encinitas prior to the show. The movie has hilarious and I would recommend it but on to the show. The show was sponsored by FM 94.9 and billed as an upcoming artist show. The ticket price was an astounding $6.00. I can't think of any legal entertainment that you can get for $6.00. The stereotypes opened up the show and were good musically but lacking in the vocal department. They also mentioned that it was great that the radio station was supporting "local" bands like Silversun Pickups. I didn't know "Silver Lake" was local in reference to Solana Beach. Clearly the lead singer had no idea who the Silversun Pickups were. Brian and company finally came on stage and proceeded to drown the audience in feedback, distortion, and squeels of fuzz. I included a photo of his pedal board because his live sound is so awesome. I think its a combination of his hollowbody Gibson guitar and his two amp setup of a Valvestate Marshall and a Fender Deville. Some of the gems in his pedal collection include a Boss Loop station, and a Big Muff Fuzz. They played almost all of Carnavas and a few songs from Pikul. Unfortunately they had mentioned they got a $350.00 speeding ticket on the way to the show and were asking for the fans to purchase some merch to offset the cost. Another funny part from the show was Brian was quoting Borat in between songs. I can't wait to see them at the OCMA. Another interesting factoid is that the Silversun Pickups will be playing the Live 105 Not So Silent Night in S.F. and the Holiday Hootenanny in San Diego but missing from the KROQ Acoustic Chrismas line up. I am willing to bet they will make it next year for sure.