Silversun Pickups bring Eliza and The Delusionals to Charlotte for their first visit

Women Rock the Carolinas

Photos by: Kris Engelhart

What a busy night it was in Charlotte for shows, as well as here at Shutter 16. Pulling double duty we zoomed into the Fillmore Charlotte with lightning speed to see two very talented bands, the opener of the night Eliza and the Delusionals, and headliners Silversun Pickups.

Following the release of their critically acclaimed debut album NOW AND THEN, Eliza and the Delusionals returned to the U.S. for the first time since the Covid insanity that nixed their previous trip to the states.

The Australian-based rockers were established in 2016. They won Rock Song of the Year for “Just Exist.”

Guitarist ,Kurt Skuse, enjoyed the spotlight and we were there for it. His guitar playing is ear catching and the fans were not shy to the fact they seemed to really have a great interaction going on.

If you’d like to listen to their latest single you can do so here:

The debut album NOW AND THEN is out now via Cooking Vinyl, you can also grab their merch here.

106.5 The End had their rep out hyping up the Silversun Pickups and while the crowd got hyped we anticipated a show we would remember. We were not disappointed. Here’s a little backstory if you are unfamiliar with the band. They are a rock outfit from Los Angeles, composed of Brian Aubert, Nikki Monninger, Christopher Guanlao, and Joe Lester, and formed in 2000. Their sound is a very unique style that was emulated by many bands to follow them. In my mind it’s always if the Talking Heads and Death Cab for Cutie had a baby, add in a sprinkle of the intenseness of Smashing Pumpkins and Fiona Apple’s eclectic writing and you can start to scratch the surface of what you might experience.

The stage glowed blue and the band opened up the set with two songs off the new album, “Stillness (Way Beyond),” and “Sticks and Stones,” while the crowd jammed. As the night progressed we jumped in and out of new and old jams. The setlist was solid and made the fans very happy.

The fun part of the SSP show even if you were not familiar with the new album was there was no way to stay still. It helps when your drummer is a beast. Chris Guanlao while set to the back was very much at the forefront of this performance. His energy bled into each strike of the drum. The band fed off his energy and led us in a trance of heavy beats, swaying, and sing-a-longs.

The lights hit sparkly shoes, bounced off our lens, and onto the fans behind us squished on the barricade. An array of diversity and community blanketed the venue. The band bounced around their greatest hits as well as new stuff, as expected heavy on the new album. They had an energy that kept your attention.

The blue wave continued to envelope the band which was pitch perfect to depict the vibe of the set. The haunting vocals get me every time!

The band known for their single chord chunky strumming over a raspy vocal is steamrolling the US they will start-up again in Tulsa Oklahoma on December 5th making their way around the East Coast and Midwest, culminating the tour on March 9th, 2023 in Austin Texas at one of our beloved venues Emo’s. —

Just in time for SXSW that starts the next day. We look forward to bringing you coverage from SXSW and SSP.

Butch Vig is taking over their weekly Digital Thrills show Weds Nov 30th. Episode 14. 12pmPT/3pmET to celebrate the digital release of SSVU this Friday! Only on Amp https://live.onamp.com/sspu

New album “Physical Thrills” out now! 👋📀 https://sspu.lnk.to/physicalthrills

See full gallery of the night here.

If you happened to capture any shots of the night, feel free to tag us on social media at Shutter 16 Magazine and throw in #Shutter16 and #TwitFromThePit for the world to see.