Nada Surf brings summer to Boston.
I hate Cambridge weather. And I’m sure you do too. I know it’s not too bad out today, but it took two-thirds of the semester to be over before even decent weather smiled down at us.
I say that because I have to explain the mood at the Nada Surf concert at the Paradise Rock Club last week. The mercury hit the mid-sixties for the first time in months, and even the sexual sculpture outside Lamont had been finally unfurled. Remember that day? It was beautiful, and everyone was happy. That night, I took the T over to BU and walked into one of my favorite venues to see one of my favorite summertime bands.
The Paradise Rock Club has a few interesting quirks that make it a great place to see a band. At one point during the show, Matthew Caws, Nada Surf’s lead singer and guitarist, said that the Paradise reminded him of a courtroom because of all the different levels and places for people to sit and stand. Plus, it’s wide and thin, so there’s not a bad place to watch the band from.
There were two openers. The first, The Minus Scale, were the kind of band whose CD you give to your 13-year-old, Hollister-wearing, doesn’t-know-any-better sister. Every song was the same. And bad.
Then the Jealous Girlfriends took the stage. They have received a modicum of mid-level TV exposure but are still relatively unknown outside their native Brooklyn. Holly Miranda, the lead singer, reminded me of Ellen Page (Juno), and her voice was as syrupy and sexy as you could want. The first half of their set was brilliant, and I’m still listening to such gems as “Roboxulla” and “Something in the Water.” They didn’t perform their best song, “Lay Around,” but it’s definitely a song you should look into.
Do you have a soundtrack to your sex life? Put “Lay Around” on it.
Nada Surf came out with just under two hours of unadulterated pop. It wasn’t exactly a concert; it was more like a big party. The Nadas just released a new album, Lucky, but they happily performed most of their (best) album Let Go, including my favorites “Blonde on Blonde” and “Happy Kid” and the stoner anthem “Blizzard of ’77.” Their big single from the ’90s, “Popular,” unfortunately didn’t make the set list, but I’m not sure it would have worked with the mood anyway — the night was too energetic. This was one of the most active shows I’ve been to; it ended with the crowd singing, “Fuck it! I’m gonna have a party!” over and over, shouting the chorus to “The Blankest Year” until the band left the stage.
The best moment for me came in the middle of one of their better songs from 1996’s High/Low, “Stalemate.” Smack in the middle of the song, Nada Surf went into Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart.” This band is no stranger to revamping older songs — they open the new album with “If You Leave,” an OMD cover, and this ’80s alt rock creed displayed their expertise. Unfortunately, and embarrassingly, I don’t think many in the crowd realized they were diverting mid-song into a cover, but I enjoyed it nevertheless.
Nada Surf’s latest album, Lucky, may not be as good as Let Go, but it does have a few gems. “Whose Authority” will remind you of “Always Love,” a pensive pop cut that goes perfect with a sun-drenched landscape and rolled-down windows. “Weightless” is a mid-tempo cruiser, a nice contrast to the poprockin’ and sure-to-get-stuck-in-your-head “I Like What You Say.”
Whether it’s the “flying jerky patterns” line in the much-loved (and overrated) “Fruit Fly,” or the simple rhymes of “Inside of Love,” I was constantly reminded that these guys aren’t poets, but they’re not trying to be. They’re trying to be a fun, smooth, and somewhat-sophisticated three-piece pop group. And they are.
The Nada Surf show was a perfect reminder that even after five months of miserable snow full of nights in Lamont, shuttle rides, and dining hall food, your life will improve with the weather, and Nada Surf will be there to enjoy it with you.
Ray Duer ’11 (duer@fas) likes it in the summertime when the weather is hot.