Snow Patrol @ Bender Arena

Friday I took my first ever trip up to American University to catch Snow Patrol, OK Go & Silversun Pickups play Bender Arena. For a basketball gym, it's not a bad venue at all. There's plenty of room to move around on the floor and there are an abundance of seats along the side and back of the gym, so everybody's happy. The sound was great too. Can we move all the shows at DAR up here ASAP?

As for the gig, I viewed Snow Patrol as a second rate u2 going into the show and my opinion hasn't really changed that much, but they were still much better than I thought they'd be. Gary Lightbody is a very capable front man and he's skilled at grabbing the crowd's attention and not letting go. Playing all those songs with big choruses that people love to sing along to certainly doesn't hurt. Crowd participation is a big part of their show, so I think seeing them in a big arena is the way to go. They stayed away from most of the stuff I know off of Final Straw, but all in all, not too bad.

I had seen OK Go once before, opening for Rufus Wainwright. I wasn't very impressed back then or with their set on Friday. Their songs sounded unremarkable and hooks were far and few between. The best thing they did all night was a cover of ELO's "Don't Bring Me Down." I think at this point it's safe to say I'm not a fan. However, I will give them propers for not dancing this time.

I've gone on record many times saying that I think the Silversun Pickups are bovs and they did not let me down. They were alloted a very short set, which was perfect for them because they played their five or six best songs and got the hell out of there. When I saw them last year, I predicted they'd be mega once they got a proper sound system behind them and I was right. They'll be ready to headline shows like this in a few years.

Related:
Check out my Silversun Pickups interview from last year.
Silversun Pickups on AOL's The Interface.
Silversun Pickups on Woxy's Lounge Acts.
Scroll down for all three Silversun Pickups performances at KEXP.

As far as I can remember, that was the first time I've had the opportunity to shoot an arena show and I was unsure as to how to go about it. I brought all four of my lenses and it took me a long time to figure out which one worked best. The SSPU's were lit by this searing blue light and red fills and OK Go was bathed in straight red and I had a hard time getting any good shots. Snow Patrol's set was easier because they relied more on their lighted backdrop and some straight flood lights. I always bitch about not having enough light to shoot shows, right? Well Friday I got what I asked for and I had a hard time coping. Every time I start thinking I'm getting good at this photo thing, I have a gig like this that sets me straight.

No rest for the wicked though. I have a very full week ahead of me. I might be going to see The Decemberists in Bethesda tonight(although I doubt the tickets will come through), then there's Say Hi To Your Mom and De Novo Dahl on Tuesday, Cold War Kids on Wednesday, Ted Leo on Thursday, Raps @ Wiz on Friday. Whew.