Nada Surf w/ Prism Tats
Neptune Theatre, Seattle, WA
05.18.16
Even after 25 years together, Nada Surf’s eighth album You Know Who You Are captures their everlasting relevance. During this mid-week stop at Seattle’s Neptune Theatre for their 2016 tour, lead singer Matthew Caws exclaimed “Everything is well in Nada Surf Land,” and despite being short one original member, the band didn’t miss a beat the whole night.
Between songs, while tuning guitars, Caws filled in with small talk. Talking about his day, going for a run around Seattle, and how he hated running but always loved having run. Like Hemingway. He loved the natural high it gave him and that it felt great for tonight’s show.
Before “Inside of Love” Caws took the opportunity to ask the crowd to dance along with the next song. “The two-step dance,” he said “just take one step left and one step back. It’s really cool when everyone does it.” Dancing along with us, Caws kept the crowd coordinated for one of NS’s oldest and sweetest songs.
At the back of the stage sat their witty drummer, Ira Elliott. Making faces, he used his drum sticks to make alien antennas on his head, as entertaining to watch as his actual drumming.
“Was so much better writing with him,” noted Caws of the first time writing this record as a four-piece with their longtime touring guitarist Doug Gillard, before starting “Friend Hospital.” He also gave a hint to the audience to stay after the last song “See These Bones,” because just like at a movie, there might be some special features at the end of the credits.
And sure enough, after leaving the stage, they came back on a few minutes later to play three more songs before finishing their encore with a rock party sing along. During “Blankest Year,” NS directed the crowd to sing the fun part of “I’m going to have a party” after he sang “Oh fuck it!” This was probably the most danced party song of the night for this rock band.
After leaving the stage for the second time the four members returned with just acoustic guitars for another encore comprised of just one song. Leaving their mics and guitar cords behind, they walked out to the edge of the stage to play “Blizzard of ’77” unplugged.
Opening up the night was Los Angeles-based Prism Tats. A rock band that’s inspired by sparse electronic elements, lead singer Garett van der Spek used electronic microphone modification to distort and translate his vocals. Surprisingly, it created a kind of kazoo sound that complimented their rock songs perfectly. Like The Black Keys with a little bit of Franz Ferdinand thrown in, this open act was captivating.
Photos and Review by Logan Westom
Nada Surf
