Nada Surf, Dec. 15, 2012, Bowery Ballroom, Manhattan

By Kara Sprague

2012, Nada Surf's 20th as a band, was a busy one.
They released their seventh album, "The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy" in January. The band toured the U.S., U.K. and the European Union in support of the album.
The band got a little time off after doing 25 shows in 35 days throughout Europe, it got a few weeks off. Back on the road, it wrapped up the year and its tour with an eight city, ten day swing through the Midwest and East Coast.
A pair of sold-out shows at the Bowery wrapped up the "Stars" tour this past weekend. It might have been a long, tiring year on the road, but the band showed it had plenty of energy to wrap up the tour with aplomb.
I'd seen Nada Surf twice before in Nebraska, in 2003 in support of "Let Go" and 2008 in support of "Lucky."
Both times, the band was in the same three-piece formation it had been in since prior to recording its 1996 full-length debut "High/Low": singer/guitarist Matthew Caws, bassist Daniel Lorca and drummer Ira Elliott.
In the period since "Lucky" band had added a not-so-secret weapon to its arsenal in Doug Gillard.
Gillard's lent his talents to a number of bands over the years, most notably Guided by Voices.
Coming on board to play guitar on "Stars", Gillard joined the band for the subsequent tour,
As good as those three-piece shows were, Gillard is a clear case of addition by addition. His stinging, strong clean and mean leads and solos, gave the songs additional punch and his recognizable tone.
There was plenty of opportunity for the additional punch, as the band played for a long time, 26 songs in all onstage.
"High/Low" was a blessing with a catch. It did provide the band with a radio/MTV hit in "Popular", but it also meant label pressure for a follow-up hit. When the band's label didn't like the second album, "Proximity Effect", the result was the band being stuck in purgatory before finally being able to release the album four years after the debut.
While the delay might have cost the band some external momentum, it didn't show up in the finished product.
In reality, the debut album had its definite high points, but was also an uneven affair.
Over the ensuing years, the band honed its chemistry and songcraft. Instead of being a fairly standard, if smarter, band of alt-rockers the debut might have suggested, they turned into one of the best power pop bands around. They kept enough punch to avoid becoming overly twee or precious and enough modernity to avoid sounding like slavish revivalists.
The songs and the chops were on display throughout the evening, starting with the two songs that kick off "Stars" -- "Clear Eye and Clouded Mind" and "Waiting For Something."
Lorca, with his bass slung low, and the rock-solid Elliott, a key weapon on drums, held down the rhythm.
The main 21-song portion of the set was made up of mostly of songs from the band's last four non-cover records,. The band waited until midway through the set to play three songs from "Proximity Effect" in a row "Hyperspace" (a good set and mix closer, actually), "Amateur" and "80 Windows."
That was definitely well-received by the supportive hometown crowd, but pretty much every song was. It wasn't too difficult to look around and see fans singing or mouthing along to the words. It was also a diverse fan base with fans young enough to be kids (or at least nieces and nephews) of the band (and this reviewer) and fans more of, well, my age.
Hooks and melody hold no age and that's what continued to shine throughout the night -- from "Concrete Bed" and "Whose Authority" early in the evening to "Inside of Love", a "Let Go" classic and "Teenage Dreams" off "Stars."
The one album not represented though the set was "High/Low", which changed with the encore.
A surging "Deeper Well" off that album kicked it off. "Popular" followed, coming off a bit too rushed, sacrificing the universal deadpan humor of the verses for a faster, just shy of auctioneer, delivery.
Things got better quickly with the tempo dialed back for "See These Bones" and "Always Love."
The encore wrapped up with an obvious end-of-the-night choice -- "Blankest Year" a song about when things get bad enough that one just says "Fuck it. I'm gonna have a party"...with the added benefit of providing the audience the opportunity to sing "Fuck iiiiiittt" at the appropriate spots.
Stretching out the catchy little number, the band was joined onstage by some dancing audience members of varying age and dancing skills.
It was the clear end of the night, one that began with Jennifer O'Connor's pleasant and entertaining opening set of indie singer-songwriter pop and folk. One that ended with 26 songs of often terrific power pop/rock that shows the band retaining freshness two days in.
It was the clear end of the night...except it wasn't.
Some 10 minutes or so after the house lights had been turned on and people started clearing out of the Bowery, Deb and I made our way to the merch table. I made a purchase there and soon heard music starting behind me.
I  looked up and there was Caws, with an acoustic guitar, singing to the remaining fans as he stood on the stairs between the exit and the merch table.
His performances of "Blizzard of 77" and "The Future" were a nice little bonus, the cherry on top of a tasty musical sundae.
All in all, a winning sendoff to 2012 for a winning band.