Nada Surf/Riloy Kiley - Higher Ground

May 21, 2005
Another Coachella 2005 act, Rilo Kiley, came through town with New Zealand duo The Brunettes and NYC alt-popsters Nada Surf in tow. I missed The Brunettes who must have put on a good show judging from the merch sales -- their albums and EPs can be hard to find in the stores Stateside. Songwriter Jonathan Bree hung out and greeted fans in between sets and after the show.

The sparse, youngish crowd huddled close to the stage for Nada Surf. These kids have forged their own relationship with Matthew, Daniel, and Ira after Nada Surf faded into obscurity on the heels of their 90's hit "Popular." The band kept their career afloat in Europe -- they've always been big in France, recording a couple tracks en francais -- then started making a comeback in the States with the surfacing of their sophomore effort The Proximity Effect in 2000, which had been deep sixed by Elektra in the late 90's. They signed to indie label Barsuk Records and released their third album, Let Go, in 2003.

Nada Surf's set included (not necessarily in this order) "Blizzard Of '77," "Happy Kid," "Inside Of Love," "Fruit Fly" (amazes me what Matthew can write about), "Blonde On Blonde," "Killian's Red," and "The Way You Wear Your Head," plus "Hyperspace" (a favorite of mine) and "80 Windows" from The Proximity Effect, and new songs "What Is Your Secret," "Always Love" (first time live), and "Imaginary Friends" from the just wrapped The Weight Is A Gift due out September 20th (see full tracklist below).

01 Concrete Bed
02 Do It Again
03 Always Love
04 What Is Your Secret?
05 Your Legs Grow
06 All Is a Game
07 Blankest Year
08 Comes a Time
09 In the Mirror
10 Armies Walks
11 Imaginary Friends

All I knew of Rilo Kiley going in was that like Bettie Serveert it's the name of the band not foxy lead singer Jenny Lewis, and I'd heard their current single Portions For Foxes (chorus: "baby it's bad news, bad news, bad news"). I missed them at Coachella, so I was happy to see a stop at Higher Ground on the band's itinerary. RK successfully walk that alt-country line with enough pop appeal to graduate from indie label Saddle Creek to Warner Brothers for their latest release More Adventurous (2004). Check out their official site here.