Nada Surf
Iron Horse
Northampton
Oct. 18

Dedicated fans and curious concertgoers greeted Nada Surf at the Iron Horse in Northampton Saturday night, as they performed their surf-rock-meets-Beatles’-pop music.

As singer/guitarist Matthew Caws took the stage, it was obvious that the band was in light spirits and that the show was going to be informal. Drummer Ira Elliot and bassist Daniel Lorca soon followed Caws up on stage, picked up their instruments, bantered with the audience for a bit and began playing.

Although the band joked around with the audience and told stories between songs, it was very clear that they took their rock seriously. The band played songs from their first album, “High/Low,” from their hard-to-find release, “The Proximity Effect,” and from their latest, acclaimed album, “Let Go.” Despite ignoring the pleas to play their sole hit song, “Popular,” Nada Surf tried their best to perform a crowd-pleasing set, honoring most of the audience’s requests.

Nada Surf is a relatively low-key band that doesn’t rely on much more than good songwriting and melody. So rather than putting on flamboyant performances, the band lets the songs speak for themselves.

“The Way You Wear Your Head” is a pop gem that finds Caws singing, “I want to want you / I need to need you / I’d love to love you,” as he strums away on gentle chords.

The band played “Fruit Flies” after an audience member shouted out a request for it, but it was at that time that the show seemed to lose its luster. The band would – jokingly at first – complain about the no-smoking ordinance and their need for a cigarette. But by the last couple of songs, it seemed the band was running out of steam and falling apart. Lorca was pure energy at times and had to lean against the wall for support at others; but still, they pressed on.

It didn’t help that their set list seemed to be divided. They began with faster, upbeat songs and ended with slower tunes.

However, despite these problems, much of the show was a success. “Happy Kid” from “Let Go” was one of the standout performances of the show. During “Stalemate,” the group broke into a cover of Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” and then seamlessly transitioned back to the original song.

The show ended on perhaps the highest note of all. As Elliot and Lorca left the stage and sat down, Caws refused to leave. He began strumming his guitar and broke into “Blizzard Of ’77.” Elliot and Lorca ran back into the spotlight to perform background harmonies as Caws sadly sang, “I miss you more than I knew.”

Nada Surf’s pop beauty was illustrated perfectly once again. Despite a few setbacks it seemed that no one left the Iron Horse disappointed, and Nada Surf surely pleased their old fans while they made a couple of new ones.