Concert Review: Zach Rogue and Nada Surf

These guys could be my buddies. At least, that’s the thought that almost every audience member probably had after the double-wammy of make-you-want-to-puke-they’re-so-flippin-sweet, mid-song banter. These are guys you can bring home to Mom and Dad to change their perceptions about dating musicians. Gosh, what nice fellows they were.

Comfortable, confident, and casual, Zach Rogue took the stage first and played some great tunes. He tilted his head side to side throughout the performance as if weighing pros and cons. It gave the whole concert a very practical feel. These were not songs written on an impulse or in a drunken bout of utter despair; no. These songs were sat down and thought out. They are reasonable songs, very sensible. I liked them. They were songs that introduced themselves to you at the bus station of the town you were leaving and gave you pause as to your motivations.

Though Zach’s faux-British? singing accent made it hard to understand many of the lyrics, certain lines escaped from his lips and hung in the air like a puff of smoke. Lines like “I want to suck the juice out of its sweetness” made chills of satisfaction shoot down my spine. And just when I’d start to elevate this songster a tad, he’d remind me that he was just ol’ Zachy from the block, here to share with me some songs he wrote once.

Zach Rogue’s opening set, perfectly prepared the audience for their pals, Nada Surf. Nada Surf’s new album, Lucky, is full of some peppy tunes, but there’s also some unprecedented depth. Songs like “See These Bones” and “I Like What You Say” show a sophistication in lyrical astuteness, while songs like “Beautiful Beat” fulfill the slightly-over happy craving that many fans undoubtedly turn to Nada Surf to cope with. Nada Surf played all of these songs to a concert hall full of loyal, lyric-reciting fans, though without the isolating tinge that many seasoned bands tend to illicit when you don’t happen to be one of the eager, mouthing mass.

You can see why Rogue Wave and Nada Surf got along so well on the road (as they obviously did, given their constant praise of each other). Nada Surf’s songs are unabashedly fun, properly utilizing all classic techniques of songwriting. Given the simple formula Nada Surf sticks to, I guess I was initially perplexed by their ability to sustain their popularity for so long, but after watching their show it makes perfect sense. They haven’t worried about burning out, so neither has their audience. They just continue to crank out solid song after solid song, and audience members keep digging them. It’s because the music is so devoid of gimmickry or pretension that they are able to continue to do what they’ve always done: make people happy onstage.