Jordan Kleinman on January 16th, 2017

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“We just decided to play this right now. We haven’t played this in like eight years, since it didn’t really seem necessary during Obama,” Silversun Pickups frontman Brian Aubert said Saturday night, introducing “Rusted Wheel,” a song penned during the Bush Administration that’s basically about feeling stagnant, about feeling that whatever wheels were moving you forward have stopped turning.

After an impromptu onstage rehearsal of the song (from SSPU’s 2006 debut “Carnavas”), they played it. It was part of one of the more personal and intimate performances the Silver Lake darlings have given in recent years, and part their catalogue-spanning, headlining performance at Love Trumps Hate, a night benefiting the American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood.

In all, six bands and two DJs soundtracked the night at the Bootleg, where a silent auction (featuring collectibles and ephemera from other artists) was held to raise money as well.

Opening with “Nightlight,” SSPU brought as much energy as they could’ve mustered had they been plugged into amps. As the set continued, the floor shook hard as the audience sought some kind of catharsis.

Before jumping into a rousing rendition of “Well Thought Out Twinkles” Aubert took a moment to assure the crowd that their days were not, in fact, numbered. “I haven’t felt this good since probably eight years ago, and by this good I mean this shitty,” he said. “We all know why we’re here right? But that’s OK, don’t be too afraid or too scared, don’t get too freaked out. We had it rad for a little while, but we have it rad now too. Expect to fight, and a lot more of this [pointing to the crowd]. You can’t fight human dignity because if you do, in 30 years you’ll be on the wrong side of history.”

Before closing the set with “Panic Switch,” Aubert provided the band’s own political anecdote: “At one point we didn’t let this one Republican guy use this song, but now he can use it because he seems like Mickey Mouse at this point. Sorry, Mitt.” The song featured an extended breakdown during which Aubert left the stage, giving bassist Nikki Monninger a pat on the shoulder before venturing into the crowd with a shaker in one hand, taking a video of the whole audience with the other. Guided by cheers, he returned to the stage, put his guitar back on and conducting the crowd in the rapturous “waiting and fading and floating away” chorus and throwing the shaker into the crowd, nearly hitting a writer.

Local psych-art-rockers James Supercave opened their set with a high-octane delivery of “The Right Thing” followed by fan-favorites “Better Strange” and “Esther Reed.” Frontman Joaquin Pastor took a moment to address the crowd, “Good people, you’re good people … We got handed the fight of our lives; everyone in here is doing a good thing. Thanks for keeping up the good fight, we need it to survive.” What followed was the set’s biggest twist, the band’s even darker spin of Beatles classic “Happiness is a Warm Gun,” including a perfectly timed belt of “gun” at the end by Pastor. The band finished their psychologically danceable set with “Burn/No Pressure”.

“We’re a band with a big back catalog of cynical songs about the end of the world that now seem more relevant than ever to use,” explained YACHT vocalist Claire Evans before delivering the bombshell tracks “The Earth Is On Fire” and “I Thought The Future Would Be Cooler.”

YACHT put it all on the line, including a mid-set phone call that included the audience and a red telephone-microphone. On top of tackling poignant observations, the set also featured some playful periods including “I Wanna Fuck You Till I’m Dead,” which featured a robo-vocal addition from the group’s music mastermind Jona Bechtolt, including an in-time-beat-drop-mic-toss to finish out the last chorus. At this point in the set the crowd had been warmed up past the typical frozen L.A.-swaying, Evans said it was time to do a happy song, beginning “Psychic City” and jumping into the crowd, where women and men of all ages were chanting along, jumping up and down all the while with Evans lead the entire room in a mosh pit. “Isn’t it nice to be all together,” she said. “Let’s take that away that separation.”

Declaring “he’s not my president,” surfer-turned-singer Bloodboy (aka Lexie Papilion) dedicated her final song to the president-elect and delivered aggressive rendition of the single “Fuck Yourself.” In perhaps the most politically vocal performance of the night, the alt-pop quintet delivered a visceral set.

Beginning mere moments after Expo 86, Nick Waterhouse opened his set by joking, “I couldn’t get a full band out for tonight so we’re gonna do some stripped-down stuff from the new record.” Waterhouse was loosening knees and getting hips greased, as fans’ moving inclinations were inspired by the jazzed-up retro-soul tunes. Waterhouse led his trio from atop a barstool, including the highlights “Straight Love Affair,” “Sleeping Pills” and “Rain.”

Expo 86, a new group of L.A. players, made its debut performance of Death Cab For Cutie covers, mostly covering the seminal 2003 album “Transatlanticism.” The dreamy renditions of indie-goodness were a perfect nod to the rest of the night. The set included “The New Year” “Title and Registration” and “Soul Meets Body”. The band closed out with an emotional, trumpet-led rendition of “Lack of Color” which featured the Bloodboy rhythm section on backup vocals.

Photos by Lexi Bonin