Phew, that was a long show. I spent just over five hours at the Mezzanine last night, catching the Not So Silent Night pre-show party. The lineup was a little over the place, but the crowd was into all of the bands. All photos are courtesy of our illustrious staff photographer, Laura Ciekot, and are displayed in marquis order (i.e. reverse chronological). [Review and photos after jump.]

Vampire Weekend

Click on photos to enlarge

Everyone’s favorite preppy indie rockers put on a pretty impressive show. Vampire Weekend is easy to make fun of, but the fact is that their debut record is filled with good songs and they put on a great live show. A legion of young San Franciscans seemed to agree as evidenced by constant indie-bounce-dancing throughout their set.

Vampire Weekend – “Oxford Comma”
Vampire Weekend – “M79″

Cold War Kids

LA’s Cold War Kids threatened to overshadow the headliners by putting on one hell of an energetic performance. With members wandering all over the stage, switching instruments and rocking through songs from both Robbers & Cowards and their 2008 release, Loyalty to Loyalty.

Cold War Kids – “Something Is Not Right With Me”
Cold War Kids – “We Used to Vacation”

Chairlift

I was surprised by what I heard when Chairlift finally got started (after serious sound issues). Since my only introduction to them was through their iPod commercial, I was a little surprised by how dark, mellow and atmospheric they were. I also couldn’t help but feel a little bad seeing how excited the crowd got when they broke into “Bruises” — and it almost seemed like the band was annoyed too. I’m sure the iPod factor is both a blessing and a curse.

Chairlift – “Bruises”
Chairlift – “Evident Utensil”

Audrye Session

I had actually never heard Oakland-based Audrye Session before and wasn’t sure what to expect. Their sound was kind of emo-meets-Radiohead (Muse maybe?) and their song-writing mixed ballads and more straight-forward rock tunes.

Audrye Session – “Waltz #2 (XO)” [Elliott Smith cover]