Live 105’s Not So Silent Night concert is a consistently-epic showcase of some of the top acts in the indie, alternative and underground rock world. Over the years, such heavy-hitters as Death Cab for Cutie, the White Stripes, Modest Mouse and Green Day have graced the NSSN stage, and this year’s show is no exception.
The 2010 event boasts a stellar lineup featuring French electro rock/pop ensemble Phoenix; the red-hot and fabulous, platinum-selling rockers My Chemical Romance; the collaborative project between producer/musician extraordinaire Danger Mouse and indie-rock mega-star/Shins mastermind James Mercer entitled Broken Bells; the rough, raw and foot-stompingly catchy blues-rock stylings of the Akron, Ohio-based Black Keys; and last but not least, headlining this year’s Not So Silent Night is one of the most intriguing, die-hard, well-known acts of the last 20 years in rock.
Despite in-fighting, breakups, reconciliations and breakdowns, the project that catapulted Billy Corgan and his bandmates into the spotlight has been reformed and is in the mix once again. Although the original, classic Smashing Pumpkins lineup is but a glimpse in the rear-view mirror of ‘90s nostalgia, a new and invigorated incarnation of the band lives on, still fronted by Corgan himself.
Indie pop rockers Finish Ticket won the local band contest to open the concert. Hailing from Alameda, members of the band were entrenched in studying for college finals when they received the news. Vocalist Alex DiDonato was studying at UCSC when he got the call from his family back home. “My little sister screams in the phone, ‘Alex you guys won! You guys won!’ I had to have her repeat it for me like three times before I could comprehend it.”
A Christmas Memory 
