It was another one of those nights on Saturday evening in San Francisco: too many gigs to see and not enough time. Playing on this fine night were both UK faves Starsailor and the men behind my second favorite album of 2003, Nada Surf. but which band to see? Both you say? Good call!
The night started off at a packed Slimís for the aforementioned ëSailor. The Wigan quartet has just released their sophomore album here in the States, Silence Is Easy, and their live show has increased in quality with the new material to cull from. Starsailor were amazingly dynamic on the evening and frontman James Walsh was both excited to be in SF and on fine vocal form, working through numbers from both records. ìAlcoholic,î ìMusic Was Saved,î ìLullabyî and the title track from the new album were all extra shimmery on the evening. But it was the discotastic ìFour To The Floorî that got the crowd moving the most. And almost as soon as it had begun, it was time for me to leave. I had seen 45 minutes of Starsailor and it was time to rush across town to catch Nada Surf.
And catch them I did, missing only the first song of the evening. Yay for staggered start times. The NYC trio sounded great, even if bass player Daniel Lorcaís dreadlock mullet left much to be desired. The material from Let Go, such as ìFruit Flies,î ìInside Of Love,î ìBlonde On Blonde,î and ìBlizzard Of 77î was exceptionally good live. The crowd ate it up, grooving headlong into the night to the indie gems emitted into the Great American Music Hall. And, as bands are wont to do, Nada Surf saved the best for last, launching into ìThe Way You Wear Your Headî as their encore number. It was a stellar way to wrap up a great night of concert going and I want to give a shout out to the lovely ladies at Slimís & Great American Music Hall, Tracey Buck and Pat Danatar for enabling my music obsession.
Related:
