Los Angeles (USA),
Feb. 18, 2007
By Vicky
Photos by Michelle Whittaker
This was a perfect day for a 'chair show. It was a typical winter day
in Los Angeles, sunny and mild with a nice cool breeze. However,
there was something not-so-typical about this day: silverchair were
to play their first LA show in four years.
 We arrived at the venue around 7pm, and they started letting people in
around 7:45. The line was stretched around the block, and the fans
were energized and getting pumped for the show. I sensed that most of
the people at the gig were long-time fans, many of whom, like myself,
made the pilgrimage to LA from far away destinations. But I was
surprised to come across a number of people who were seeing
silverchair for the very first time.
We got in, grabbed some drinks and waited though the opening act.
Soon after they finished, people starting chanting "sil-ver-chair" as
the sound crew finalized the set-up. Finally, the lights went down
and people went NUTS. Everyone just screamed and cheered, it was
incredibly loud and really awesome! The new intro music started
(sounding like a thumping heart beat) and then Paul Mac came on stage
followed by Ben, Chris, and then Daniel. They ripped into "Without
You" and people starting jumping everywhere and sang along. It was
such a killer opening song, perfect choice!
Afterwards they moved straight into Emotion Sickness. It sounds so
good stripped down to the basics! The crowd got to sing the "get ups"
in the middle of the song while Daniel wailed away on his guitar and
Ben pounded on the drums. Next came a particularly rockin' version of
The Greatest View. The crowd continued to go off, and I was so
impressed by how strong the band was. The rest of the set included:
 World Upon Your Shoulders
Across the Night
Young Modern Station
Ana's Song
Straight Lines
Tuna in the Brine
Luv Your Life
The Door
Don't Wanna Be the One
Mind Reader
Freak
Encore:
If You Keep Losing Sleep
The Lever
Daniel was taking swigs from a bottle of Jack Daniels throughout the
night – I'd say he was thoroughly enjoying himself. After one swig he
grimaced and said "Man, this stuff is strong!" and the audience
cheered and egged him on. During The Door, a kid got up on stage, and
instead of running around and acting like a fool he went straight for
the bottle of Jack Daniels. It was quite amusing!
Another funny quote I can remember (I think it came after The Greatest
View): "Yeah, Los Angeles, home of the body bag". Ha ha!
At one point Daniel announced that it was Ben's "birthday", and
proceeded to sing Happy Birthday to him as the crowd joined in. He
sang it in a very booming and manly Marilyn Monroe type of way…..it
was pretty funny!
 As Daniel began to introduce Straight Lines, the crowd just started
cheering and screaming! He said, "This is our new single…..Feel free
to sing along….I'm sure you all know the…." But the crowd was
screaming so loud that he just cracked a huge smile and stepped back
from the mic without finishing the introduction. There was no need
for introductions at this 'chair show!
Daniel dedicated Tuna and the Brine to Kevin, the A&R guy from the
Across the Night DVD. He was there, and I overheard him say that he
was no longer with Atlantic Records and that he was currently
representing Warner (at least that's what I thought I heard).
Before The Door, Bailey handed Daniel his Page Hamilton PRS, and he
strapped it on and said, "Hey Bailey, I'm completely missing a knob
here!" (I am assuming that one of the plastic volume/tone switches
was missing on his guitar). He turned back to Bailey but then quickly
came back to the mic after realizing that it really wasn't a problem
and said something along the lines of "Its OK, I can handle it, we're
professionals here". However it was really funny considering how
Australians use the word "knob"!!!
Overall I would have to say that this was THE BEST 'chair show that I
have ever attended (this was my 9th 'chair gig in 10 years). I'm not
sure if I'll ever see the 'chair in such a small venue again! It was
such an intimate and raw show….the Luv Your Life and Freak
sing-a-longs were especially cool. The crowd was really good and
really LOUD – everyone was just so stoked and having a great time.
The new tracks also rocked hard, and I'm really looking forward to Young Modern and hopefully some more US dates soon!! |
Lost and late, I finally arrived to the El Rey Theatre after a long and anxious six-hour drive from San Francisco to L.A. It had been eight long years since I'd seen Silverchair and it was beginning to feel like my first time all over again. As I ran into the venue, I caught the last band East Conference Champions wrapping up their last song. Unfortunately, my ticket had read that the concert would be starting at 9 pm, unlike the website that had listed an 8 pm curtain so I was sorry to miss what at the moment had sounded like a great performance. 
As the curtain opened and the house lights faded away leaving only a semblance of light from the chandeliers above, I felt my heart race with anticipation. I first saw the faint but familiar silhouette of Ben as he sat behind his drum kit. I then saw those of Chris and Daniel and they walked around to the front of the stage. There was someone else though amongst them, someone familiar, it was Paul Mac! My four favorite musicians in the world were all in one room! Simultaneous with the lights on stage and hard-hitting chord progression of "Without You", came a sudden slap-in-the-face and wake-up call that I was somewhere I'd only dreamt of being for so long. There was something different about the band as I watched them perform…something really good. They were tighter, louder, and more in control. Daniel owned the stage and did it with such confidence. He appeared strong and passionate behind his music. His stage presence was nicely complimented with his dark trousers, white buttoned shirt, and black tie. His black headband was a nice touch adding a humorous "commando" element to it all - someone who's battled quite a bit in his life, found some fun along the way, and had a swig or two of Jim Beam to fit the occasion.
Little words were exchanged in between songs though there were a few highlights: Daniel's three large swigs of Jim Beam, "Happy Birthday" sung to Ben (who's birthday wasn't that night but that's beside the point), Daniel saying "Please keep making noise so I don't have to come up with more to say" as well as "That stuff's really strong" after the second large swig of Jim Beam. There were also many smiles and laughs exchanged by all of the band members. They all looked like they were having a great time.
Without You