There are few bands that I will spend over $20 to see, and few shows that I would wait five hours outside the venue to guarantee a front row spot. Nada Surf is one of the few. My sister and I, along with two new friends, bonded over Japanese candy and the fact that nobody else felt strongly enough to come as early as us. By the time opening act Sea Wolf pulled up in front of the Fillmore, we had been hanging out for hours.
Sea Wolf took the stage right at nine, and the six piece (guitar, bass, cello, drums, keys, and various other instruments) played a standard 40 minute set. The young girls next to me were freaking out and singing along to the songs, trying to get the attention of the admittedly cute bassist. Sea Wolf had a great energy, and werent too bad looking either. But my attention just cant be held very easily, and we were all very anxious to see Nada Surf.
The first time I saw Nada Surf, I only paid $8. This show was three times that amount. And worth it! The boys, along with their long time friend and collaborator on the keys, kicked off the set with “High Speed Soul” and proceeded to treat us two nearly two hours of music. As usual, I tried to keep track of the cigarettes that Daniel chain smoked while playing bass and lost track around five or six. And also as usual, Ira was the man of the hour, being amazing by wearing a gold lame shirt, and looking so incredibly young for being over 40. The crowd was not as lively as I had hoped, but I had plenty of fun dancing. The band played songs from almost every record, including “Popular,” the hit that started their career way long ago. I cannot believe that song came out over ten years ago.
Nada Surf is one of the most fun acts to see live, and also one of the loudest, ever since I can remember Ive noticed the two things are often connected. The band played a good portion of their new album Lucky, including my favorite “I Like What You Say,” in which you could find me screaming, “baby, I only wanna make you happy,” along with Matt Caws and all the people around me. I felt a bit old, as I decided to wear ear plugs this year (I dont want to go deaf, so Im sacrificing some of my cool power to the bright orange plastic). The band also played yet more favorites: “Eighty Windows,” “Killians Red,” “See These Bones,” “Blonde on Blonde,” “Always Love,” and “Blankest Year,” during which Daniel hoisted many girls on stage, and others followed for a crazy dance party that always seems to come along with that song. After two encores, I was ready to go home and listen to some Nada Surfwithout earplugs or fear of inner ear damage.
