Santa Monica, May 12, 1997

Review by Bridget (jgdc1@ix.netcom.com)

It was at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica obviously. And it was really rocking! It was only the second time I've seen silverchair in concert...but it was definitely more aggressive and energetic than the last Los Angeles show at The Palace in Feb. It opened up with the Aussie band, Automatic. It was the first time I've heard them and I was quite impressed...they were really kicking it! They came out shooting the crowd with water guns...It was dope! They played a couple songs and then there was a break until Local H came out. They were really aggressive too! And they have such a strong sound for just being a 2-piece band...I liked them a lot! And I think the other fans there did too...cause the moshing was pretty heavy.

Although I enjoyed the other 2 bands, silverchair had to have been the highlight of the night OF COURSE!!! They weren't doing too much talking...but lots of moving...no wonder why Daniel is sooo skinny! And Chris was even getting in to it a lot more than last time...He was definitely rocking up there!!! For "Abuse Me," they brought out Bailey, who is a left-handed guitarist...who can really rip it up. Daniel introduced him as their sexual guidance counselor (just like they did at the last concert I was at)...but this time they added that he teaches them different methods of masturbation. It was pretty funny and got the crowd excited. I really liked the part when they brought out some guy named Scott to play the guitar...and played a Black Sabbath song. They were fucking rocking!!!! It kicked ass! Daniel was running all over the stage and got on Scott's shoulders for part of the time! I LOVED IT!!! They were sooooo great!! Sorry I don't remember all the songs in order and stuff, but I do remember that after a short intermission Ben came out with his boxers over his other pair of shorts... so that when they ended the show...he threw them out into the crowd. And then they walked off with speakers still buzzing!

Well the show was definitely awesome...but thanks to a great security guard there...me and my 2 other friends got to go back stage!!!!! I was so nervous! There was 10-15 girls who were waiting for them (including us). We waited for over an hour while the guys were having fun partying. We were all talking and excited and all...and then all of a sudden there was this major pause of silence and then everyone started standing up. And I looked over...and there was Chris. We patiently waited for him to give us his autograph (believe me...it was hard to stay calm!) and then Ben came out with a beanie on his head (he's way cuter than I thought he would be...and really sweet too!) He was giving out hugs and I even got to feel his biceps! Hehehe...Then Daniel came out...took a pic with some fan and only signed a couple autographs when some guy pulled him away and they walked to their tour bus together...without even saying good-bye! (Don't worry Daniel...I still love you). He was the first of the 3 to leave and he didn't seem that friendly or talkative either. I was so pissed that he left before I got to get his autograph...but I do have a pen that he touched!!! Hehehe... Chris then left into the bus next and Ben was finishing up taking pics with fans and then he too got in the bus. He really made a lasting impression on me because he was so sweet and friendly. Chris was also friendly but seemed sorta shy. And Daniel just wasn't even talking...he looked a little spaced out...but that's just my opinion...Well it was definitely a long night...and it was sooooooooo worth it!!!!!!! I hope they have another concert around here sometime soon, or else I wont know what to do with myself!!!

Well, I arrived at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium a little earlier than noon....my somewhat usual time.....in hopes of having an opportunity to talk with the band, which, coincidentally, I had fumbled the previous day. I was somewhat abstruct by the fact that I indeed was not the first person to arrive, although I was first in line, the first to arrive were a group of males. I thought that was odd since the previous 6 shows I had attended were almost 99% female (97% of which were "teenies").

Early after my arrival I befriended a security guard who had offered to get me and a couple other friends backstage, which also got fumbled due to the fact that he got off his shift around 5 or so. I also started to talk to 2 other girls who had been following ( polite term for Stalking)silverchair around all of their west coast tour dates, seemingly they considered themselves "true silverchair fans" but somehow only "realized" they had "talent" 2 months earlier! My ass! --That has no real relevance to this review, but I thought I might as well include it cause it kinda pissed me off!-- Toward the end of the afternoon I began to get really aggravated due to the fact that silverchair were once again rushed into the venue---which I cannot blame, I'd feel really uncomfortable if there were a group of teenagers professing their undying love for me too--- my best friend Karen could not wait with me in line at all...she HAD to go to school!, and I had already been waiting in line for more than 6 hours! It all was beginning to take it's toll, but what can you say?

I'm a madman when it comes to silverchair. It was beginning to close in on 6:45 before any of the staff had gotten their acts together enough to open the damned door. I quickly claimed mine and Miranda's spot in front of Daniel's usual location and plopped our arses down. A little before 7:30, maybe a couple minutes after(I didn't have a watch) Automatic took the stage and rocked the house. They gallantly pranced on the stage shooting the grateful audience with water from their water pistols. They ripped into their first song , the music hungry crowed, crazy with anticipation, tore into their tunes as aggressive as a starving vulture would a rabbit. Before long , seconds it seemed, their set came to a close with a fury of sticker tossing. The crowd , as before, became restless.

The second Big Tad (an intern at the local radio station KROQ-- better known as KRAP) took the stage, the crowd burst into screams of agape as well as those of disgust--I think you know which category I was in-- Seconds later the lights dimmed and Local H rocked the house, causing many kids to crowd surf. When their two hits were played-Fritz Corner & Bound for the floor the crowd erupted into a choir. Their set was power driven, and actually more aggressive than---gulp---silverchair's. 9:45 was quickly approaching and the crowd was more anxious than ever. The circus music started and silverchair took the stage opening with Slave. I thought it was quite hilarious how the band was teasing the crowd. They would play the first few chords then stop. Daniel would look around, listening to the screams of the crowd until it would sightly die down, then repeated the act 2 more times.

A few songs into the set, Ben and Chris left the stage for Daniel's solo. It was really pissing me off however that all the teenies would not stop screaming for Ben even after he had left the stage, I eventually had to tell them to shut up (not quite that polite), ending in a ton of low voiced apologies. Chris an Daniel returned and they immediately began the songs. There was little talking taking place, close to none at all. After re-arriving on stage after they left, they broke into Paranoid. I thought that this must have been the highlight of the show--Daniel was jumping around jumping on and off of the speakers and the shoulders of a man whose identity is unknown to me. Ben had thrown a pair of boxers into the crowd that he had put on over his shorts, landing right in front of me. Unfortunately for me I did not get them.

The show ended with the usual--Israel's son. The show was over in less than an hour and a 1/2. I'd have to say the show ripped but I was disappointed. There seemed to be no connection between the band and the crowd. Not like there was at the fan club only show, or at the Palace either. It seemed to me that the guys had so many other things they would rather be doing...like sleep. I don't blame them. Although I am anxiously waiting for their return, I hope they don't come back soon because they are in some serious need of rest!

The show started right on time, at 7:30, with Automatic. They were pretty cool, but a lot of people were booing them, which I thought sucked. The lead singer mentioned they were from Australia and all the psycho teeny girls went nuts (how lame!). They played for 30 minutes and after a short set change Local H came on. They went off! I can¹t believe how good they sound and how much noise they make for a 2 man band. They played for 45 minutes and then after a longer set change, at about 9:30, silverchair finally came on, with the usual circus intro and ripped into Slave. The mostly guy crowd (boy did that surprise me!) went crazy and the pit started going pretty hardcore, though it had like NO form to it. Here¹s the setlist:

Slave
Roses
Findaway
Abuse Me
Pure Massacre
Cemetery
Suicidal
Tomorrow
The Door
Faultline
No Association
Freak
Madman
Paranoid
Israel¹s Son

Daniel was really untalkative during this show. Before Abuse Me, he introduced Bailey as "our sexual guidance counselor who teaches us various methods of masturbation," but that¹s a usual Daniel line. Later on he said "This is the time when I'm supposed so say something funny... uhhh... yeah." That¹s about all he said for the whole show... other than introducing songs... No Association was simply "Track 5." During Paranoid, Scott was on guitar while Daniel was singing. Daniel got up on Scotts shoulders towards the end of the song, which looked cool, but both of them looked like they were going to fall over.

All in all the show rocked! The crowd was really good, with a few exceptions of course... one guy was flipping them off for half the show. Why the hell was here there if he didn¹t like the band... that made me SO mad! There were barely any psycho screaming girls, which I thought was rad! Overall it was a good show! And for once, being in Santa Monica and all, nothing went wrong! :)