This past Thursday I headed to the Glass House in Pomona for the first time to catch a powerhouse of a lineup featuring Boyo, Sadgirl, Slow Hollows, and Surf Curse.
I arrived in time for the last few songs of Boyo’s set and then headed upstairs to view the rest of the show at a safe distance where I could actually see since the floor was already packed and I fully expected the moshing to break out during Sadgirl’s set. And I was not wrong! They delivered an impressive, high energy surf rock set complete with jangly guitar solos and ’50s rock vocals. Next Slow Hollows took the stage, this time featuring a sax and trumpet player on several of their tracks as well. They played mostly songs from their new album, Romantic, which features mostly mellow indie styles with deep vocals.
When trio Surf Curse took the stage, the crowd appeared to experience a surge in energy when they opened with the driving “Christine F” and playing with such vigor throughout their set, I thought the drummer’s arms may fall off, but he kept on driving. Towards the end of their set, new songs were revealed that had similar energy to their recent album, Nothing Yet. Their setup was unique in itself, as the drum set was lowered to the stage level, and two guitars were lined up with the set to indicate they were all equals. I was impressed with drummer and singer, Nick Rattigan’s ability to play and sing with such vigor at once without missing a beat! And while they did come out for an encore, I couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed in not hearing one of my favorites “Falling Apart,” but it seemed clear that the crowd was more conducive to rowdy rock n’ roll.
But the real treat was what happened at the show after party at Acerogami for those that were lucky enough to be over 21. Surf Curses’ Nick Rattigan delivered an intimate solo set of bone-chilling songs that featured the incredible range and capacity of his vocals.
Surf Curse was the star of the night, showing incredible amounts of angst and depth in their music that most post-punk groups fail to accomplish.
Indiecation 