Reminder: Vampire Weekend Is At Mezzanine Tonight (Plus New Video)

Tonight marks the beginning of Live 105's Not So Silent Night festivities, and the pre-party will be kicking off at Mezzanine. The lineup features Vampire Weekend, along with Cold War Kids, Chairlift, and Audrye Sessions. Should be an awesome (if not a bit late, being at Mezzannine) show.

In the meantime, if you find yourself needing fuel for your late night fire, check out the Vampire Weekend video above from pitchfork.tv. It's a great clip, featuring a solid interview with the band along with three pared down string-trio versions of songs from the record.

Not So Silent Night Preparty Features Vampire Weekend, Cold War Kids, Audrey Sessions: Tickets On Sale Now

Photo from the HAD Archive

Word just came over the wire that the Live 105 Not So Silent Night Pre-Party will be at Mezzanine on Wednesday, December 10th, and will feature Vampire Weekend, Cold War Kids, Chairlift (?), and Audrey Sessions. Plus, of course, the ubiquitous DJ set by Aaron Axelson. Let's just say our NSSN skepticism has been somewhat abated by the awesomeness of a Vampire Weekend holiday show.

Tickets are on-sale now.

Not So Silent Night 2008 Features Killers, Death Cab, Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand: Presale Thursday At 10AM

Live 105's perennial Not So Silent Night has made an upgrade this year: The show has left its traditional digs at the Bill Graham Civic Center and moved to the monumental Oracle Arena. Essentially, this means that the city's biggest and most over populated show has become even bigger and more overpopulated, and also has left the city. Indeed.

This year's show will feature The Killers, Death Cab For Cutie, Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand, and Jack's Mannequin (We'll be honest: we've never heard of Jack's Mannequin. Is that bad?). A pretty epic lineup: we like to call it the "Hot Indie Bands Of '04 Who Have Gone To Major Labels" lineup. Okay, seriously though, enough snark: If you do in fact want to go, there's a presale this morning (Thursday) at 10. The password is "oakland". Indeed.

Not So Silent Last Night: Spoon @ NSSN 2007

Some would say that it is silly to go to a radio holiday gig where you only have interest in two bands, and really are only going for one of those two. Those who say such things would not be us. We here at H.A.D. heard Spoon was playing NSSN 2007, and were determined to check it out. Modest Moust being on the bill didn't hurt either - they've got there fair share of respectable tunage. We managed to score a last minute ticket for $20, so you can't really argue with that. Plus, Spoon delivered, so we're happy campers.

The band was definitely in "rock" mode, and hammered through a set that consisted almost entirely of aggressive, rocking renditions of some of the band's better known songs. It was refreshing to hear some of the band's more "pop" material take on a more rock vibe. The opener "Fitted Shirt" (an H.A.D. favorite) was edgy and aggressive, and great for the big arena vibe.

Halfway through the set the band busted out "My Mathematical Mind", and let the guitars wail. The song is known for being Spoon's go-to "rock out" song, and this case was no exception. The band delivered a feedback drenched barage of noise that got the crowd rolling straight into the shaker-driven grooves of "Don't You Evah".

When the band finally busted into "The Underdog", it was clear that all the radio play has been paying off: the crowd was immediately on board for the latest hit. The rendition of the tune was fabulous, save for the synthesized horns: it seems like they should either drop them, or get a real trumpet. The crowd love of the "hit" was all that much more notable as the band closed the set with a killer version of "Quincy Punk Episode". At the close of the tune, Britt Daniel tossed his mic to the ground, and the band left the stage amidst a wall of sound.

The setlist was as follows:
Fitted Shirt
You Got Yr Cherry Bomb
The Way We Get By
My Mathematical Mind
Don't You Evah
I Summon You
The Underdog
Quincy Punk Episode

More photos at the H.A.D. flickr feed.

Not So Silent Night: It's Like The Treasure Island Festival, But Indoors!

Okay, okay, yes it's a snarky headline, but come on: the same two headliners as a local festival that occured less than 4 months ago? Someone needs to ramp up the creativity in the booking department over at Live 105. That being said, we here at H.A.D. love us some Spoonage to the max, and them Modest Mouse kids ain't half bad either. Despite feeling like corporate shills, we'll see you there.

Tickets still on sale over at ticketmaster...