Nada Surf's Matthew Caws circa SXSW 2012 at Waterloo Records
This is a special two-parter because the nice gentleman from Houston who took the above photo almost forgot to send it, thankfully Nada Surf was on tour this Summer and their Houston appearance (before Austin) reminded him. Hey, better late than never with cool things is my motto.
Besides catching the Cult, Of Montreal and other great bands at Waterloo Records’ showcase, the big one I really wanted to see was Nada Surf. Oddly I get a reaction of “who?” more often than the anticipated “those guys who did “Popular” are still around?” whenever mentioning them. I’m glad they toughed it out since I’ve been hooked on them ever since 2002’s Let Go, I felt Elektra tried to transform Nada Surf into another Weezer with “Popular;” the song does bear some similarity to “Undone” and Ric Ocasek produced. Their current release The Stars are Indifferent to Astronomy is definitely shaping up to being my favorite album for the year. I’ll explain more as I go.
While I was waiting for Nada Surf to take the stage, I passed the time helping out my friend Chip; keeping him company and hydrated since he was in charge of the parking spaces reserved for the performers. Chip had to step away a moment so I was asked to keep an eye out for Doug Gillard. I said, he sounds familiar. Well yeah, he’s playing in Nada Surf currently but he’s been in other bands, Chip replied. I asked for others, Guided By Voices was the big one I could recall (Doug has a very impressive resume on allmusic.com). My music-geek answer to this was, “Doug Gillard is like Jason Falkner?” Chip made a face as his response, a face which told me he got my reference. It’s always awesome when a reference is understood!
Nada Surf’s brief set was great (a mix of new and old) as it was unusual. Bassist Daniel Lorca was out sick and they didn’t have a stand in thus the sound was composed of two guitars and a drum kit. The autograph session followed.
Lead singer/writer Matthew Caws is a really, really nice person. After my many years of meeting bands in person, I have a pair of theories. The first is based around the car mechanic anecdote; when your vehicle is fixed well, you tell a couple people, when it isn’t, you tell everybody. The same applies to rock stars being unfriendly, drunk or rude. The Internet has been a great leveler for bands and fans to get together without the old gatekeepers too. My second theory is generational. I think today’s bands are familiar with the tales regarding their heroes, thus they’ve taken a conscious effort to not emulate such behavior, especially in today’s music industry ecosystem.
Back to Matthew Caws. The guy smiles and has a genuinely sincere look on his face when greeting fans. For my facetime, I told him his French is fantastic on their cover of “Bye Bye Beauté” and I had Maud (an actual French person review it). Does he speak the language or did he learn the words phonetically? Matthew lived in France until he was five so he’s fluent (his bio says he attended a French immersion school in NYC too). I shared how I wore my Betelguese shirt as a tribute to the album title.
Doug Gillard was a funnier experience. While he was autographing my Stars CD, I disclosed the earlier discussion I had with Chip and how I used Jason Falkner as a reference point to understand his career. Without irony Doug mentioned he is friends with Jason and they recently collaborated on some music, like a hoot night. Chip certainly smirked, I had to contain my nervous laughter.
Based upon how wonderful these people were, I vowed I would do everything to see Nada Surf in concert at the first opportunity. Well I got my chance with a month. I couldn’t get anyone else to go sadly. They sure missed out and I managed to be in the front row.
Matthew on guitars/vocals
Opening up first was Austin band The Zoltars. A great power trio with short, amusing songs. Their sound was reminiscent of Man or Astroman and Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet (the transition music for The Kids in the Hall). Next was San Francisoc-based Waters. I think I could like them after a few more listens. The teens to my left were fans.
Bassist Daniel Lorca
Nada Surf hit the stage by 11 PM, my hopes of catching the 12:25 AM train were shot. They proved to be worth the pricey cab ride home. All the hits in my mental repertoire were covered except “The Future.” I was cool with them skipping “Popular.” What raised their stock for me was Matthew’s stories and explanations between certain numbers. I never gave much thought to “Your Legs Grow” nor would’ve imagined it being about overcoming heartache. Groundhog Day was the inspiration for “When I Was Young.” The funniest involved him meeting a young lady whose father was a Star Wars prequel producer years ago. She wanted to jam, do some covers. Matthew said, OK, what do you have in mind? She said “On a Dark Desert Highway.” Confused (as we in the audience were), he answered, ummm…I’ve never heard of it. Then Matthew imitated her singing the familiar line/melody which is the opening to the Eagles’ “Hotel California.”
Guitarist Doug Gillard
Concerts such as these are why I love music and their accompanying live performances. Great artists make a personal connection with their audiences. They make you want to return to the recorded material right away, recapture the insight you just received (or interpreted), especially if you feel a certain affinity to the lyrics. I certainly gained this from “When I Was Young.” Since we’re only a year apart in age, the references to afternoon reruns of Gilligan’s Island are more special.
The basis of a Nada Surf "mixtape" for those who would like to learn more.
Thanks to the memorable show, Nada Surf is now a permanent resident on my short list of bands to see every time they pass through Austin.