The anticipation was clear as fans sold out The Vic Theatre with a line stretching down the street. The classic theater setting has an open space on the main floor whereas seats on the second-floor balcony overlooking the stage. Most people, however, choose to be on the main floor even if it meant actually being further in the back of the room, closer to the bar than the stage. Those would be the mosh pit dreams, I suppose.

When Surf Curse stepped out on stage they were greeted with thunderous applause. The band wasted little time with introductions and instead went straight into the music. They opened up with one of my personal favorites, “All Is Lost”. Rattigan illustrates his greatness as a musician, playing the drums at a frantic pace while clearly singing the lyrics begging a loved one to stay when leaving is probably best for both parties. Near the end of the track, Rubeck softly helps on backup vocals as Rattigan repeatedly screams his pain during the chorus, “Cause I lost you again!” Gives me chills each time.

Surf Curse continued getting fans riled up, playing throwback tracks from their album Buds. Songs like “Heathers” and “In My Head Till I’m Dead” took me back, reminiscing over my early 20’s. The crowd was more energetic than I was because they began moshing instantly. The space on the main floor was tight, but that didn’t stop people from finding a way to crowd surf. I tapped out and went upstairs for an open seat to catch my breath and watch the show from up above in peace. 

Once seated, Surf Curse coincidently switched up the pace by performing songs off Magic Hour. Overall the album is much slower than their earlier work, which again shows the duo’s growth as artists, and how adding Kholl and Dillon gave the tunes more dynamics. “Self Portrait,” for instance, has a more complex progression compared to some of their poppy tunes that fans fell in love with. Luckily, the band was aware of this so they struck a nice balance during the second half by performing a classic followed up with a new track. For example, the band performed “Goth Babe” and then slowed things back down with “Randall Flagg”.

Of course, fans would’ve rioted if Surf Curse didn’t perform “Freaks,” a song that has found a second life as people continue to connect with it over the years. Thankfully for everyone Surf Curse obliged their adorning fans. Though Nick Rattigan sang, he didn’t need to. Fans passionately sang the lyrics in unison:

“Don’t. Kill. Me. Just help me run away, from everyone. I need a place to stay. Where I can cover up my face. Don’t cry, I am just a freak!”

It was beautiful to hear.

The band ended their set with “Sugar”, the first single dropped off their latest project. Once they left the stage fans right away began chanting: “Disco! Disco!” Surf Curse quickly rushed back for an encore performance of “Disco,” a vibrant tune and my favorite song off their album Heaven Surrounds You.

As you can tell from my enthusiasm, I’m a huge fan of Surf Curse. I even bought Magic Hour on cassette to go along with their other tapes. Biasness aside, however, the band did put on a great show. The first hour was lively when they were playing their early hits. The second half blended old songs with new tracks so the pacing felt like a wave. Almost like you were surfing. The energy of the crowd was also contagious and stayed consistent throughout the entire night. Everyone was there to have a good time and Surf Curse did not disappoint.

The post Surf Curse delivers “Magic Hour” to sold out crowd appeared first on Quip Magazine.

Once the stage lights turned off, the crowd roared anticipating the band’s inevitable arrival. However, first Surf Curse’s stagehands hyped up the crowd by introducing a special guest guitarist to help out with the show. The artist was none other than Lillie West of Lala Lala fame. To prepare for the chaos that was about to ensue, Lillie made the crowd do some hot yoga stretches. Once the two men finally made their way onto the stage the fans went berserk. Rattigan sat at his drum set as Rubeck grinned throwing on his guitar. They began with one of their classic songs, “Heathers.” Almost immediately a mosh pit broke loose with everyone storming the stage. Once their vocals were warmed up, Nick said he wanted to play songs off their new record, Heaven Surrounds You, and they did so with the introduction track “Map to the Stars.” The new music showcase continued with “Memory”, “River’s Edge,” and “Labyrinth.”

The band was humbled by the enthusiasm the wild crowd displayed knowing their songs. “Last time we played at Sub-T a few years ago, we were in the smaller bar downstairs,” Rattigan said. “We didn’t think anyone would remember us.” To show their appreciation the band switched gears to some of their older songs such as “Ponyboy.” Rattigan explained the complicated drum technique needed to pull for the next song and knowing exactly which song he was talking about, “All Is Lost,” I rushed downstairs and bravely got right to the front. After a couple of rounds of throwing elbows and catching body surfers, I took my exhausted, sweaty body back upstairs to meet with friends and enjoy the rest of the show from above. But had I known what was to come I would have stayed.

Looking down you can see the madness transpire. While people still had the energy to mosh pit, they didn’t care enough to keep on carrying people. A whirlpool of bodies fell on top of each other before being trampled. Others were thrown on stage knocking over Rubeck’s microphone and effect pedals a couple of times. The singer was understanding of the ordeal and respectfully brushed it off. They pressed on performing all three singles they released over the summer, “Midnight Cowboy,” “Hour of the Wolf,” and “Disco.” The first two are much slower in tone, finally giving the crowd a much-needed breather.

“Disco,” on the other hand, is the best song on the album, in my opinion, and a perfect way to end the set. The catchiness of the instrumentation and chorus was invigorating to hear. Nick stood up from his drum set and jumped straight into the crowd. The crowd completely engulfed Rattigan as they swayed him across each side of the room. Nick never lost composure hitting high notes before finishing the song and walked upstairs. Again people’s eyes were fixated on the stage not realizing the singer was walking right behind them. I gave him a hug thanking him for the fantastic show. Dripping with sweat, and out of breath Nick shook my hand again saying, “Thanks for coming to the show.”

As the band walked off stage to join Rattigan in the VIP room, fans screamed “Freaks! Freaks! Freaks!” to rally an encore. Surf Curse returned to the stage to give the frenzied mob exactly what they demanded by performing “Freaks” off their debut Buds album. This gave the restless crowd one last chance to mosh. Carrying on the trend of old songs, Surf Curse ended the wild night with their mellow jam “Forever Dumb,” giving the young fans something special to hold on to forever.

The post Surf Curse brings down the house, almost literally appeared first on Quip Magazine.