Gothamist went to see Nada Surf at Southpaw last night. They mainly played songs from their wonderful (rocking, but with a pop sensibility) Let Go for a good ninety minutes until 1:20AM. For Gothamist, one highlight was when they broke into Joy Division's Love Will Tear Us Apart - lead singer-guitarist Matthew Caws does a spookily effective Ian Curtis, which then brought to mind that Caws' dancing style was Ian-Curtis-meets-Beck. Sorta (see 24 Hour Party People to get a sense of Curtis' dancing style). As Southpaw patrons know, the venue allows for intimate enjoyment of the music as well as excellent photo coverage(at least five people in Gothamist's immediate vicinity had digital cameras). more ›

Artists get screwed over all the time in the music industry, and while some manage to get back at the labels, other bands struggle a little more. Ethan Smith's Nada Surf feature a few weeks ago revealed that they had to go into a holding pattern of sorts, and as the Daily News pointed out, it ain't all that glamorous to be a musician [via Gawker]. I started to listen to their new album, Let Go, and I'm really enjoying it. Check out some of their songs and videos on the Nada Surf website. And lyrics like "don’t push me cause i’ll fall in love/with the way you wear your head" from "The Way You Wear Your Head."
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