A
late shout, this one, but once I heard about it, it was pretty much essential…
Matthew Caws, leader of pretty much the best band making music over the last
decade or so, the majestic and heartwarming Nada Surf, announced a run of
record store appearances ostensibly promoting ‘da Surf’s forthcoming album
“Mirror Moon”, out at the end of the month. I’d already booked for their
November Islington date (unfortunately the closest to the ‘don on a limited
run) but had no hesitation grabbing a dice ticket for this one too (again, the
closest to the ‘don on a limited run!). Nada Surf have, for me, produced a
consistently magnificent body of work across their almost 30 (!) years rivalling
anyone else in rock ever (yup, ever…), journeying from their 90’s US
underground alt-rock roots into all-encompassing and life-affirming purveyors
of warm, heartfelt and melodic rock incandescence, so “Mirror Moon” is likely
to be another top-quality addition to said canon, and an early AOTY candidate
for me!
Stu was up for it as well, sorting very cheap train tix thanks to the missus’ work concessions, so we headed off just before 5, catching up on this year’s events given that this, rather disgracefully, was the first time I’d seen the man since Desperate Journalist’s Dareshack gig last October (gig 1,295)! Yikes! A slow tube to Aldgate East rather curtailed our pre-gig Brick Lane curry plans, however, so we hit the venue at doors, grabbing near-front spots, house left, and greeting young Mr. Caws as he wandered out of backstage. Our catching up took us right up to the appointed hour of 8 p.m., whereupon the lights faded to a dark blood red and Matthew took the stage, turned on the standard lamp next to his mic stand, and quietly strummed the intro to the yearning “Inside Of Love” on a shiny new acoustic, to utter hushed silence from the audience.
“Friend
Hospital” and “Never Not Together” deep cut “Come Get Me” followed, Matthew
elaborating on “CGM”’s subject matter with, “it’s about the subway; I do a lot
of my thinking on the subway; it’s like the shower commute!” He then treated us
to the first of the newies, the upbeat round reel lyric and brain hugging
choral joy of Track of the Year candidate “In Front Of Me Now”, preceded by a
warning on the dangers of multitasking (Matt having recently flooded his house
while vacuuming with noise cancelling headphones on!), the singer then rather
ironically missing a few couplets but styling it out with this usual affable grace.
A Minor Alps number, “Buried Plans” then followed, Matt teasing us with the
suggestion that he and MA partner Juliana Hatfield “may do another [MA record]
one day,” and wrestling with a temperamental squishy beat pedal during this
number. Lower-key newie “New Propeller” and the strident cascading hook outro
of “Looking For You” then preceded a reverential singalong to a hushed “Blonde
On Blonde”, before, for me, the highlight of the night… Matt challenged himself
to do “a long complicated one”, choosing the dramatic, undulating change of
pace of “Mathilda” over “See These Bones” and preceding it with a story of his
youth, in particular his father making a safe space for the young and rather
feminine Matthew to be himself, concluding said story with a heartfelt, “thanks
to the dads who let their sons be who they are”. Lovely.
A comment from the relaxed and unusually gregarious Matt about running over time (“we’ve gone over but I want to give you value for your hundred grand ticket!”) led into a story of the band treating him to the new guitar he was using tonight; then a singalong “Blizzard Of ‘77” preceded tonight’s finale... Matt commented, “it’s been the joy of a lifetime to play to really amazing audiences!” before bursting into an unexpected, upbeat and quickfire strumalong “Hyperspace”. Woah! Great though it was, I couldn’t do my usual thing of complimenting drummer Ira, who normally propels this one “live” with octopus-limbed gusto; no matter though, as this concluded a quite enchanting set from a marvellous and relaxed performer.
A short wait in the signing queue then got us some face time with the Star of the Show, and I chatted with him about “Matilda”’s premise, referencing my and Rachel’s unconditional support of our daughter Jami on their journey of gender exploration, changing their birth name and finding their “tribe”, which drew a comment of, “you’re one of the good ones,” from Matthew. Coming from a man who’s essentially composed of pure joy and sunshine, that’s praise indeed! We eventually tore ourselves away and dodged the Brick Lane curry barkers (too late for one now, sadly), settling for a pasty on the 10.40 train out of Paddington, then a wander back from the station, home for midnight. A quite delightful evening in the presence of a wonderful singer and (on tonight’s evidence) storyteller; now, bring on that November full band Nada Surf show…!
The
Set:
Friend
Hospital
Come
Get Me
In
Front Of Me Now
Buried
Plans
Oh
Yoko
New
Propeller
Looking
For You
Blonde
On Blonde
Mathilda
Intel
And Dreams
Blizzard
Of ‘77
Hyperspace
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