Surfer Blood is a fun band to see live, because the songs they play live sound faithfully like those they've recorded, and they seem to have a decent amount of fun playing them. Their music also fits well in an almost-outdoor venue like Flamingo Cantina, especially when it's crowded and the weather is nice. But beyond that, there honestly wasn't much memorable about this Friday afternoon set.
For such a talked-about group, they got an odd slot in the lineup, after Owen Pallett and before Telekinesis, Menomena and Okkervil River. Each band's set that day seemed truncated, and while some reacted by getting aggressive and running roughshod through their thirty minutes, Surfer Blood just sort of seemed to accept not having much time to talk or engage the audience. But however much it seemed like going through the motions, the five of them still occupied an enjoyable thirty minutes of my Friday afternoon.
