Words & Photos by Scott Murry
On a chilly evening in Boston, Silversun Pickups held their second show of their current tour leg last week at the House of Blues. The venue filled in just shy of being sold out with three floors of fans eager to hear their established hits with the new goods.
Widow’s Weeds, released June of last year filled in the bulk of their setlist. The Butch Vig-produced album is a telling record of frontman Brian Aubert in a time of change. It’s a powerful album, confronting his personal conflicts and moving forward.
“Neon Wound” begins the album, and the track also begin the evening. The song buzzed ample energy from Aubert’s riffs. The powerful bass of Nikki Monniger kept a flow that fans bobbed to much more emphatically than could be anticipated for a Monday night.
The bright bursts of light from their stage design emphasized the electronic-infused bones of the album. The lighting display danced with rhythmic power from floor to ceiling, commanding ocular obedience. It made the band bigger than life while engraining the musicians in their sheik environment.
Aubert effortlessly integrated the audience for sing- and snap-along moments. With a quiet, self-effacing approach, his presence was one of the anti-rock star. The humble humor kept everyone engaged and eager to follow along with each song.
The New Regime, a solo project of Ilan Rubin, opened the evening. Rubin has incredible accolades behind the drum kit, having played with incredible bands from a young age as drummer. As The New Regime, Rubin leads a trio with incredible skill along their instruments.
Stoked to be releasing their fifth studio album, Heart Mind Body & Soul, at the end of the week, they played the title track for the crowd. Encouraging people to sing along did not go as well. Sadly, the songs and sounds were too new for everyone, who seemed to be focused on the headliner.
Silversun Pickups and The New Regime
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