Surfer Blood and Japandroids at the Echo

Of the CDs I reviewed for GR63, Surfer Blood's debut was one of the best. I think I described their sound as having the melodies of Teenage Fanclub, loose sonic sound of No Age, and harmonies of the Beach Boys, but the more I listen to them, I realize that last part is more like the Mamas and the Papas. I'm serious. So it actually made sense on Friday night when I took a night off deadlines to catch them at the Echo, only to discover that the group wasn't some waify hipster group but beach hippies with a bongo drummer! At the end, they took the drum down to the floor and gave some kids some sticks. Check out another recent show, below...


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Headlining the show was another group I'd never seen called Japandroids. The name sounds kind of gimmicky to me, but it is impossible to deny the duo's work ethic and need to please the crowd. I swear the guitar player has a Bruce Springsteen vibe to him (although the music was closer to Nomeansno with occasional Misfits-like singalong vocals).



I thought we were going to just watch a couple songs and then go home and get back to work, but we wound up watching the entire set. The fact that the show was over at 11:00 p.m. for a dance club didn't hurt.



Nothing wrong with seeing a Pixies reunion show or U2 in a baseball stadium, but mixing in some hot young blood is only right...