I would argue most music arising from the genres often characterized as alternative and indie rock and metal (as well as their various sub-genres) sounds the way it does because of the musical styles and influences of two 1970s super groups – Black Sabbath and Roxy Music. In fact, I would say that most rock music I take seriously – from metal to punk, to synth pop to grunge – owes a huge debt to both bands. 
I credit Roxy Music / Brian Ferry / Brian Eno for introducing an experimental sound with a pop sensibility, and a distractingly colorful image (call it “glam” or whatever) to mainstream rock music, which was at the time trapped in the realm of spacey, guitar-based music, now identified as progressive rock. Ask any aficionado of 80s synth pop, new wave, or late 70s British Punk how Ferry and Eno affected those genres, or check with contemporary electronic pop, and rock artists who have covered or even adopted some of Roxy’s stylings wholesale (see the most recent Destroyer album as a rehash of the epic late Roxy album Avalon).
By the same token, I don’t think hard rock and metal could ever let go of the Sabbath influences (and they shouldn’t), but I love seeing the characteristics of their music creep into the compositions of less heavy acts. I could take or leave Ozzy Osborne (or even Ronny James Dio), but there is something about the rhythm section of Geezer Butler and Bill Ward that never fails to fascinate, and whenever I encounter anything close to the deepest darkest black hole base lines and extraordinarily creative and unpredictable beats (and don’t forget Tony Iommi’s brilliant riffs) that characterized early Sabbath tunes like “Wheels of Confusion,” “Hand of Doom,” and “N.I.B.” I am entranced. In any case, this excessive (and maybe even misguided) diatribe about my take on musical influences is a direct result of my attending the Silversun Pickups show last Saturday night – where I spent nearly the entire event thinking about Butler and Ward and believing that the Pickups and their supporting acts might just represent the perfect culmination of how Roxy Music and Black Sabbath have influenced rock.
I certainly wouldn’t have made such a connection about Silversun Pickups before attending the show – being a casual fan of the band, I perceived them more as a synth driven alt rock act with some catchy hook-sporting singles. However, the strong bass work and guitar riffs on display by all the bands during the show in the midst of radio-friendly singles such as “Panic Switch” and “The Pit” prompted me to consider if what I was experiencing was an amalgamation of the Roxy-influenced electronic-based radio pop and an indirect take on the classic Sabbath sound.
There is nothing much to report critically about the evening. As expected, all of the bands on the bill killed it. I was really looking forward to the show – In addition to Silversun Pickups, I find Cloud Nothings new album Attack on Memory one of the best of the year so far, and although I was only familiar with one song, the single, “Trojans,” by Atlas Genius, I was curious to hear them live. Cloud Nothings performance, positioned in the middle of the bill functioned as an abrupt diversion from the combination of bass heaviness and synthy keyboards of Atlas Genius (and the later Silversun Pickups set), as their sound and excessive energy is much more reminiscent of relentless metal and punk bands (which somehow fails to express itself with equal force in the band’s recording efforts).
From the outset, Cloud Nothings pummeled the audience with tireless, guitar-heavy, 8 + minute epic tunes like “Fall In” and “No Future, No Past” (the first and last numbers of the set). My favorite Cloud Nothings moment, however, arrived in the middle of the set with “Wasted Days” that by its midpoint merged into a nearly 12-minute jam initiated by a single screeching bass riff soon complemented by the band’s dual guitar attack. It was definitely a brutal (in the best way) 45 minutes and left those unfamiliar with the live intensity of Cloud Nothings (including me) with a bit of shellshock.
Atlas Genius began the show and absolutely killed it. The band played several tunes from their forthcoming album, songs from new EP Through the Glass, and of course the radio hit “Trojans” (or as lead singer Keith Jeffrey identified it “a song about a horse”).
I was mostly impressed with how this band fully develops its musical ideas. Songs like “On a Day Like This” and “Symptoms” were especially notable and after the initial hooks and riffs of these tunes, the band members aired them out with great bass lines, crafty drumming, and interesting guitar solos. The set reflected the musical talent and imaginativeness of this tight band, and I look forward to the release of their full-length.
Silversun Pickups’ lineup has been affected on tour with the maternity of bassist and backup vocalist Nikki Monninger. Her touring replacement is bassist Sarah Negahdari from the band The Happy Hollows (she is the lead guitarist and singer for that band). 
I’ve always felt that Monniger’s bass and cutsey harmonizing vocals establish what I’ve liked most about Silversun Pickups music, but Negahdari is without doubt an awesome bassist (judging by a few Happy Hollows YouTube clips, she also appears to be a solid guitarist), and as I have suggested the hard rock riffs offered by Brian Aubert combined with Negahdari’s deep bass lines provided a live sound totally born of Iommi and Butler (tempered with the peppiness of more explicitly Sabbath-influenced alt rock bands like The Smashing Pumpkins).
The performance of their radio hits was certainly nice, but the show was most enjoyable when Aubert and Negahdari let it rip during some of the side-two selections from Neck of the Woods like “Simmer,” and “Gun-Shy Sunshine.” The show hit its energetic peak with the performances of “Panic Room” – a favorite of mine anyway – and “Lazy Eye.” 
The intensity and resounding crescendos brought to these tunes with the booming bass and durable guitar riffs nearly bounced me and everyone else off the ceiling – the higher tempo moments of “Lazy Eye” particularly shined in a way the studio recording hasn’t for me. This was my first foray into a Silversun Pickups show, so I don’t know if the live lineup with Monniger is any more or less provocative than with Negahdari on board.
After all of these comparisons I’ve made between the bands of the evening and the bands of ancient history, I’m reminded of Geezer Butler’s comment directly after the cover art of Sabbath’s Born Again album was revealed to him – “It’s shit. But it’s fucking great!” 
Throw that image into a pot with the sophisticated swarthiness of Brian Ferry crooning like a vampire while wearing a white tux and black tie, and what emerges is an image of how I feel about this show. I love that contemporary rock music with all of its freshness (at least at times it’s fresh) can be nostalgic enough to unearth moments that remind me of the diverse, disjointed, and fragmented sounds that brought me into the fold in the first place and has kept me there ever since.