As Matthew Caws quietly plugged in his guitar and confidently strummed the familiar melancholy riff of "Blizzard of '77," it was clear Nada Surf had disproved its critics.
Nada Surf has dealt with the stigma of being labeled a fluke since the buzz-worthy video "Popular" received frequent airplay in 1996. After the video ran its course, Nada Surf was unable to release a single that could capture the same momentum, and its debut LP "High/ Low" was banished to used-bin purgatory.
Since then, the group has quietly recorded two pop masterpieces, "The Proximity Effect" and "Let Go." Predictably, Sunday's set list comprised of material from the two most recent records - save for a few surprises - and no acknowledgement was given to the era of "Popular."
The highlight of the evening was Nada Surf's homage to popular Manchester bands Joy Division and the Smiths.
Halfway through the performance of "Stalemate," Caws and company performed a flawless transferal into the Joy Division classic, "Love Will Tear Us Apart." Nada Surf completed the cover before returning to the latter half "Stalemate," much to the astonishment of the crowd.
A moving performance of "Paper Boats" followed a dismal song about self-refection, misery and dejection. Nada Surf quickly adhered to the depressing tone with a poignant rendition of "Happy Kid," a paradoxical hymn about presenting a jubilee exterior while keeping one's pain on the inside.
Through the duration of the set, dreadlocked bass player Daniel Lorca - mysteriously dressed in black - casually chain-smoked while plucking his notes, a feat that's much harder than it looks.
During the encore, Nada Surf exemplified its admiration of monumental Brit-rock heroes the Smiths by covering a song off their classic LP, "The Queen is Dead." The band perfectly executed a cover "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out." Front man Caws jokingly explained that the band chose to cover the song ever since the "Check Engine" light of their van broke. Sadly, the Smiths' cover went unappreciated by most in attendance. The choice was not one of the more popular Smiths songs, and Caws failed to identify the band he was covering to those in attendance, leaving many scratching their heads in confusion.
Ozma opened the show in support of its latest record "Spending Time on the Borderline." While the band has matured since its previous records, Ozma members have still failed to establish their own identity, as the shadows of Weezer still lurk.
