Nada Surf, Delta Spirit - Trocadero, Philadelphia, USA - Thursday 4th December 2008

Whilst in Philadelphia, I was keen to do something other than work, so it was good to see that Nada Surf were playing. I had seen them at Glastonbury back in 2003 (and in the 1990s also I think), and they were quite good (especially as the sun was out at the time), so I downloaded their new album, had a listen, and bought a ticket for the show. It seemed like I was one of the only ones that did, as I got an email the day before, advertising 2 for 1 tickets on the door. Given that the venue was like a converted cinema, so couldn't have held more than 1000 people, that constitutes a real struggle to sell their tickets.

The support band were called Delta Spirit, and having been banished to the balcony if you wanted a beer (and been banned from leaning over the balcony with a drink in your hand, presumably lest the evil substance pollute the under-21s below), we settled down to watch them. They had a very radio friendly sound I though - what Americans call "alternative", but the UK thinks of as mainstream. So, they played songs that sounded, well, nice - they played them very well, but I didn't think they were particularly exciting. Towards the end of their set, they got a lot better - they pulled out their one or two really good songs, and also played a mini-encore as well, featuring a cover. The last 10-15 minutes of the set was actually pretty enjoyable, but it was a shame that the previous half hour wasn't as good.

Then, Nada Surf appeared, to a hall which was actually decently full by the time they arrived. I recognised their first couple of songs, and they seemed to be getting a good reaction from the audience. I have heard 2 of their albums - current album Lucky, and their 2002 album Let Go. Given that, I recognised probably the majority of the songs they played, which was quite pleasing. Pleasing because it meant I enjoyed the gig more, but also because I presume that the stuff I know is the good stuff! They had a female vocalist join them on stage for one song, which featured some nice chorus harmonies, but for most of the gig, they were a 3-piece.

Generally, most of Nada Surf's songs were again quite radio friendly alt-rock. During the show, I was thinking about this, and how strange it is that there is lots of this kind of music in the US, but relatively little appetite for it in the UK. Nada Surf would be highly unlikely to be very successful in the UK - because there just doesn't seem to be the market for what they do - no huge network of competing commercial radio stations, no advertisers that demand inoffensive content that sounds nice, but is fairly bland.

Having said this, Nada Surf have a tidy collection of some pretty good songs, as far as alternative radio rock goes, they are definitely among the best of the bunch. A very "American" experience here - not the type of show and tour you would see happening very much in the UK. So, an interesting experience, I was very glad I went.