No
messing about for this one journey-wise either; I set off straight from
work, hitting the M4 then breaking my journey at Heston so I could park
up at the Bush as usual just after 6.30. Tubed it
over to the Electric Ballroom, hitting the venue just before 7.30 and
finding it actually pretty deserted early doors! Down the front
therefore for openers Amber Arcades, a 5-piece from Amsterdam (“kind
of”, according to the blonde vocalist) consisting of
3 guys and 2 girls. They joined us at 8, easing into a set which was
smooth, melodic and lush, recalling the likes of Stereolab, Luna and
(what I know of) Belle And Sebastian. A couple of their bouncier,
rockier numbers also recalled the excellent Alvvays,
and their set closer was a metronomic groove that built to an
impressive lengthy crescendo. Not entirely original, but seen a whole
lot worse support bands...
By
now I’d finagled my way onto the barrier down the front, pitching up
next to Julian, an affable chap who apparently remembered meeting me at
Nada Surf's Koko gig 4 years ago (“you’re the guy who
does a gig blog, right?”). So a nice chat about gigging experiences
whiled away the time before Nada Surf took the stage, dead on 9 to a
rapturous welcome from the by-now very amply full venue. Straight into
“Cold To See Clear”, the new album opener, which
eased in with a smooth refrain, then broke out into a strident bouncy
stomp with a deliciously soaring chorus and an impassioned vocal
performance from singer Matthew Caws. Brilliant stuff for openers, and,
bad knees be damned, I bounced along straight from
the off, already assured that this was going to be a special one.
Nada
Surf were quite simply brilliant tonight, totally “on it” from the
outset, also bucking the trend of their recent performances wherein
they’d largely eschewed the rocker aspects of their canon.
Nope, this was full on “rock” from note one, the band rediscovering the
visceral delights of simply playing loud and hard. Every one a winner,
even the sprinkling of already-familiar new numbers; I could honestly
wax lyrical about the delights of each and
every song in this set, but I’d get some serious writer’s cramp!
“We
first played in the UK 20 years ago across the road [in the Camden
Underworld],” announced Matt before a high octane “Happy Kid”; “it’s
taken us 20 years to cross the road!” “Happy Kid” was propelled
by a brilliantly Caldes-like octopus-limbed performance by drummer Ira
Elliott, prompting some wag down the front (OK, it was me...!) to shout,
“Ira, great job there!” which elicited the response of, “I’m just
warming up...!” The subsequent “Do It Again” was
also astonishing, the huge final crescendo hook of “maybe this weight
was a gift” both confessional and joyful at the same time. “80 Windows”,
plangent and lushly moody as ever, featured a haunting and elongated
middle 8 guitar riff from recent Surf joinee
Doug Gillard; “Jules And Jim” diffused the mood with some touching 60’s
melody and yearning vocals, and following the Replacements-style bluesy
stomp of newie “Animal”, Gillard was to the fore again during the
rampant “The Way You Wear Your Head”, tearing
off some hard-rocking power chords from a low-slung stance, prompting
SWDTF (OK, me again...!) to shout out, “Joey Ramone on guitar!” at its’
conclusion!
Prior
to this, Matt (clearly chanelling Mr. Chatterbox tonight) had lamented
not being able to visit London more often from his current base of
Cambridge, blaming the not-so-late late train, then
brainstormed an idea to build a tower with a zipline to all corners and
charge a pound for use! The lush harmonies of “Friend Hospital” was
bookended with a discussion on the premise behind the new album; about
getting out, meeting friends, and generally living
life to the full. Admirable sentiments as ever. Set finale “See These
Bones” was preceded by a story of Matt’s visit to an ossuary in Rome,
which turned out to be an uplifting experience, prompting him to “think
about today”. “See These Bones” was equally
uplifting, the absorbing repeated riff building to a crescendo overlaid
by another transcendent vocal performance from Matt, closing out an
utterly stunning set.
More
was to come; a 4-song encore opened with a kinetic, thrilling
“Hyperspace” and ended with the profane chant-along party-starter of
“Blankest Year”, closing out the onstage performance. However,
a few minutes later, Matt, fat acoustic in hand, led the band out to
the merch stand at the back of the hall, then played a singalong
“Blizzard Of 77” and “I Like What You Say” in the round to the remaining
punters. So we then got some face time with the band,
for pix, chats and getting my set-list signed. A swamped Matt
remembered me from old, which is always a nice surprise, and asked me to
pass his guitar over to the merch crew (!); Ira complimented my “Big
Dipper” t-shirt, prompting a quick chat about Boston
rock (doesn’t take much, really...!), bassist Daniel Lorca actually
signed my list this time (!), and Doug did a disappearing act!
I
finally and reluctantly made my exit and got back to the car at
midnight, home for a bleary eyed 1.15 a.m. Good thing I had the next
morning off... It’s only April, and I’ve got some pretty sparkling
2016 gigs already lined up (including “Month of Legends” in May – more
on that later...!), but I won’t be surprised if tonight ends up being my
Gig Of The Year. A completely and utterly flawless and faultless Nada
Surf show!
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