"In five years, they'll be gone and we'll still be Nada Surf." -Daniel Lorca
In 2006, I was lucky enough to smoke a cigarette with Daniel, the bassist for Nada Surf. It was after their short 30-minute set at the WFNX Block party. They had been the 3rd of five bands playing at the now-defunct Avalon. I complained that a less renowned and much worse emo band had gotten the top bill with an hour-long set. Daniel simply shrugged and said the above quote. Five years later, his arrogance has proven to be completely correct.
It is that lack of regard and respect for Mainstream music that has driven Nada Surf all these years. After their 1996 hit "Popular" slowly faded away from radio, so did any recognition for the band. The following 14 years, Nada Surf carved out a unique niche in the Indie Rock scene. With a lack of mainstream singles and overblown ambition (think Rivers Cuomo), this trio has relied on a combination of incredible pop sensibility, relentless touring, and above all, consistency. Matthew Caws, Ira Elliot, and Lorca have been together since the very beginning, and that confidence Lorca displayed is due to the band's camaraderie. Let other bands deal with the Bullshit, Nada Surf is here to enjoy themselves.
And enjoy themselves they did. Adding a touring keyboardist and extra guitar to the lineup, Nada Surf was able to display the fuller sound of their newer albums. Early on, Caws told the crowd this was going to be the longest set the band has ever played. He wasn't kidding.
They ended up playing 25 songs in total, a blistering two hour set that covered their entire catalogue. As my fellow concert goer Christophe Porier noted early on (when he wasn't musing on proper concert drink etiquette...3 fingers on the side with the pinky stabilizing on the bottom), these guys just love playing live.
In fact, they seemed to outlast the somewhat sleepy and unenthusiastic crowd last night. Nada Surf's style does not inspire overt enthusiasm, let alone something along the lines of a mosh pit. It's easy to take such a consistent band for granted. But the sold out crowd was especially dormant. The fact that Nada Surf's new release is an album of covers did not help. It's a tell-tale sign that an older band is losing creative momentum. And that showed somewhat in the audience last night.
Luckily, the band had no dearth of energy. "Weightless" off of their last album Lucky opened the show, leading into "Hyperspace", the relentless and fast-paced opener off 1998's The Proximity Effect. Elliot is in charge of pumping up the band, as are most drummers, and "Hyperspace" gave him an early chance. Lorca, famous for constantly smoking during
performances, was without his trademark billow of smoke surrounding him. Either he's chosen the healthy life, or The Paradise finally insisted on enforcing the law. My guess is the latter.
"Bad Best Friend", a rarely played track from Proximity Effect, was a great treat for any hardcore fan of the band. As was "Neither Heaven Nor Space", one of Caws most beautiful and eerie tunes. Let Go is widely considered their best release, as well as the album that rescued the band from non-existence. Nada Surf affirmed that view, playing 7 tracks off the 2002 release. They also played a whole lot of covers. Of the seven played, six are featured on their new cover album, If I Had a Hi-Fi. The seventh was an unexpected version of "I Fought the Law" that closed out the 25 song set. For my money, Caws has one of the best voices in pop music and to hear it live is pretty remarkable. It is an effortless and natural style, as though he was born singing elaborate melodies.
Inevitably, the time will come when this mid-90's trio closes up shop. But it wasn't after being deemed a one-hit wonder in 1996. It wasn't after being kicked off their record label in 1999. It wasn't five years ago as their bassist gave some cigarette-smoking nerd the time of day. And it certainly wasn't after last night's barn-burner of a show. Lets give it another five years or so.
SET LIST:
1. Weightless
2. Hyperspace
3. Happy Kid
4. Whose Authority?
5. I like What You Say
6. Killian's Red
7. What is Your Secret?
8. Bad Best Friend
9. Your Legs Grow
10. Electrocution (cover)
11. Enjoy the Silence (cover)
12. Blizzard of '77
13. Neither Heaven Nor Space
14. Hi-Speed Soul
15. The Way You Wear Your Head
16. You Were So Warm (Cover)
17. Unknown Cover (by unknown, I mean I didn't recognize it)
18. Unknown Cover
19. Unknown Cover
20. Blonde on Blonde
21. See These Bones
ENCORE
22. Do It Again
23. Always Love
24. Blankest Year
25. I Fought the Law (cover)
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