Additional coverage provided by Paul Grunelius (de Paris).

This past week, San Diego and its residents were blessed with a heat wave that is more reminiscent of summer than the dead of winter. The natural order of things seemed to be out of place. In comes Nada Surf on Saturday night in support of their brand new album The Stars are Indifferent to Astronomy. Nada Surf delivered a stellar performance which whizzed through much of their new record, but also pulled from their reservoir of older material. The Soft Pack, in their supporting role, offered the crowd a take on indie rock’s newer incarnation, and a stark contrast with the headliner. The combination of these two groups brought together a distinctively age-diverse crowd: pulling from those who heard Nada Surf’s 1996 hit “Popular” on their favorite radio station to the hippest indie-rock aficionados, who discovered The Soft Pack during one of their daily blog surfing sessions. The concert’s bill was an unlikely occurrence: but like our weather report this week,  it was surprisingly refreshing and satisfying.

The Soft Pack:

DJ: Would Matt Lamkin smile for 5 bucks? Probably not. He’d probably shoot the person offering. I couldn’t help smiling myself while watching The Soft Pack play a cocksure 40 minute set. While Lamkin looked less lively than a zombie, his vocals and The Soft Pack’s instrumentals (two guitars, bass, drums, and effects) were captivating in their style and delivery. The garage, surf and punk rock elements were all evident, and the avant-garde, “i don’t give a shit” attitude of the group was equally apparent. The bass, drums, and vocals were superb throughout, but the guitar was lost at times. The most dynamic moments were downbeat songs, which gave Lamkin’s bitingly off-key vocals room to sink in. High point: Lamkin throwing a Kafka book in the crowd.

Paul: The main opening act at the 4th & B this Saturday night, and they did way more than just entertain the crowd before the aging alternative rock band Nada Surf, were San Diego natives The Soft Pack. I had heard a lot of good things about this indie quartet and I wanted to check it out it live: I was not disappointed at all. And even though the sound was not perfect in this beautiful downtown venue (too much bass, sometimes hard to distinguish and hear the two guitars), they honored their deliciously post-punk influences with some punchy songs that are actually more complicated that they seem. With a very elegant and sophisticated relation between the two guitars, the Soft Pack (formerly called the Muslims) delivered an hour of irresistible music with its leader and singer Matt Lamkin and his charismatic “I’m-on-stage-in-front-of-hundreds-of-people-but-I-don’t-care” attitude in the front line.

Nada Surf:

DJ: Rockability has been known to fade with the years, but Nada Surf is a living testament to the contrary. Sparking the set with Clear Eye Clouded Mind was a good move, not only because it showcased their new album, but also for the sanguine drums and confident vocals. With the house lights trained on Caws, the highlight of the night were the vocals. Caws boasts a versatile range, and his live performance rivaled the studio sound on the newest material. The crowd swayed lightly to new material, and lips mouthed every word of Nada Surf’s classics. Other than a somewhat serious aside by Caws about the future of the band, the set was predictably upbeat and drenched in dual guitar strumming (courtesy of Caws and Doug Gillard) and some serious bass slapping by the talented Daniel Lorca (who could be seen playing with one hand while taking pulls from a cigarette). The overall effect? The large salon of 4th and B became was pierced by emotion and a sense of nostalgia. There was a tangible youthfulness though, and I imagine reality was suspended and people were brought back to 1996: to Nada Surf rocking out in their formative years.

Paul: The main reason why all these people were gathered in this room that night was the beginning of New York alternative/indie rock band Nada Surf’s world tour. It’s pretty impressive to see that this band, whose best years are behind them, still has a solid and faithful fan base. But despite the communicative energy and presence of the band, thanks notably to leader Matthew Caws and bassist Daniel Lorca (who has definitely the craziest hair in the whole indie world), all these songs sound really academic and a bit outdated. Except for the massive and thrilling hits, the new songs don’t really differ from one to an other. In short, I miss days bygone.

In what might be the most high energy, bass heavy turn of events, Dim Mak record label founder Steve Aoki and none other than Datsik have teamed up to go on an American tour. The Dead Meat tour, in support his upcoming album, Wonderland, will be Steve Aoki’s largest tour ever.

Steve Aoki has spent over the last decade developing his record label, Dim Mak. I had the opportunity to discuss his upcoming album release, Wonderland, which drops just eight days from now on the 17th, in our interview. I’m looking forward to hearing the album live. Steve Aoki absolutely destroyed at his sold out San Francisco show at the Warfield. As an added bonus, a number of the other of my favorite Dim Mak artists will be opening on the tour. The names include Alvin Risk, Mustard Pimp, Autoerotique, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike and Terravita, who will perform throughout the trek on alternating dates. To see who is playing when and where, click here.

Datsik was an interesting and amazing choice to partner with Steve Aoki for a tour. I can only imagine how the audience will react and enjoy the combined energy of Aoki and bass of Datsik. I’ve seen Datsik a number of times, and his destructive sound never fails to obliterate eardrums. Tracks like Firepower kill regardless of who plays them, check the energy when Rusko drops the track on Starscape (with the man himself standing close behind).

With all these excellent artists, where could you go wrong? Make sure to catch one of the many stops of the Dead Meat tour.

Tickets

There’s no doubt in my mind that most people at San Diego’s House of Blues had a damn good time this past Thursday. Andre, who goes by many monikers, knows how to hype up a crowd with a good selection of classic and fresh tracks so that everyone hears their favorite song by the end of the night. House of Blues supported the act well with a sound system built to handle the heavy bass on many of Nickatina’s songs.

That said, Andre Nickatina was rapping over tracks which seemed to be coming straight off his CDs, and often competing with his own recorded voice. It was unnerving when Nickatina wasn’t rapping, but the track was filling in Nickatina’s verse. A lot of the live flavor was lost as a result of this poor decision. But who knows, with Nickatina being so high that at times his eyes were merely slants, maybe the recorded backup was a smart decision after all.

Highlight:

Acapella of “My Homeboy’s Chevy”

Most repeated phrase:

“Put your playboys up”

Funniest interlude:

Into “Scottie 15.” Take out your phones, it’s a booty call.

DJ Skills:

Static Jon’s scratching

Most unexpected:

Mac Dre tribute “Since ’84″ (Nickatina didn’t rap it though, unfortunately)

Note to Self at HOB San Diego:

Security in yellow coats caught and kicked out several dozen people who were tempted to light up inside. Either toke before, risk getting rapped, or sneak a few pipe hits.