Last Friday night I went to Not So Silent Night. It’s a concert thrown by LIVE 105, a popular Bay Area alternative rock radio station. They throw it every year but this year’s lineup was too good to miss, so I jumped at the chance when my friend asked if I wanted to go. The tickets weren’t too pricey. We got ours for fifty bucks apiece and sat in the front row of the second level. We had an unobstructed view of the stage and people below, plus easy access to the bathrooms. It was a good spot.
We got to the concert a little late. We missed out on X Ambassadors completely. I don’t really know them though, so no harm, no foul. We got there just as Foals came out. They played for about twenty minutes or so. They were alright. Nothing too spectacular. CHVRCHES were next. I’ve been looking forward to seeing them for a while. Now I can cross that off the bucket list. Their set was only about thirty minutes. Halsey was after that. I’m not too familiar with her music and I’m still not. She was good though, just not my style.
Silversun Pickups played after that. I first saw Silversun Pickups at Outside Lands in 2009 and they instantly became one of my favorite bands. They were the main reason I wanted to go to Not So Silent Night. They have such a great sound and vibe. They played for about forty minutes, which wasn’t nearly enough time for them to play everything I wanted to hear. Bastille was after Silversun Pickups. I don’t know Bastille too well. I only know “Pompeii” and they played that. It’s much better live.
Death Cab for Cutie was next. They played around an hour and ten minutes and were able to cram a lot of their hits in. Ben Gibbard has one of the best voices in the music industry today and it was awesome to see him perform live for the first time in my life. I would definitely go see them again.
Weezer was the headliner and they deserved to be. They’ve been around for a long time and they are still coming out with great songs. They played for an hour and twenty minutes. Not too long, but long enough. They played some new stuff, but they also played almost everything I wanted to hear… “Undone – The Sweater Song,” “Say It Ain’t So,” “Hash Pipe,” “Beverly Hills,” “Perfect Situation,” and “Buddy Holly” to name a few. The whole crowd was singing along to every song. A few people even raised lighters over their heads. Real lighters, not cellphones. It was a sight to see.
That was my first Not So Silent Night and it probably won’t be my last. They crammed in a lot of solid bands, and there was only a ten-minute delay between sets. It was nonstop entertainment. I don’t like paying a lot of money to only see one or two bands. I saw seven bands (it could have been eight) in one night. That’s a lot of bang for my buck. Totally worth it.
Critically Rated at 15/17
Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young
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