It was a sold out show on Friday night at The Fonda for the last stop of Surf Curse’s US tour. The band has developed a feverish following in Los Angeles since releasing their BudsLP in 2013. In the six years since, their songs have evolved from lo-fi garage bangers into a more polished, full sound. Their latest release, Heaven Surrounds You, finds the two piece taking a deep breath and inviting new sounds and vocal strategies to their arsenal. For their performance on Friday, they had a full band on stage to support these wider ambitions.
The place was packed from the start. Rarely do you see a pit so full for the first opener but it was pretty clear people wanted to have a good spot for the headliners. After two sets from Spitting Image and Dirt Buyer, Surf Curse took the stage and immediately ripped into old favorite “Heathers”. Over the next hour, the band made it through almost all of their new record and I think everyone in the pit may have crowd surfed at one point. Drummer and vocalist Nick Rattigan showed off his impressive multi-tasking skills and guitarist Jacob Rubeck had his John Hughes look down pat. A major highlight of the evening was their performance of the new cut “Hour of the Wolf”. It’s a great song on the record but it really comes jumps out of the speakers in a live setting. The night ended with their biggest hit, “Freaks”, and the terrific “Forever Dumb”. On the way out I heard a group of people saying that it was their 7th time seeing them and it gets better every time. Based on Friday night I’d believe it.
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By: Andrew Ameter | Exclusively for @Music, Why Not!
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