Surf Curse headlined a sold-out show for all ages at The Portal inside Area15 to end Halloween weekend.
The show on Oct. 30 kicked off the band’s North American tour with the support of Oakland, California based band, Toner.
The quartet includes Nick Rattigan (vocals and drums), Jacob Rubeck (vocals and guitar), Noah Kholl (guitar) and Henry Dillon (bass). “Magic Hour,” the band’s fourth studio album, was released on Oct. 7.
Blue and purple lighting with celestial images projected onto the walls of The Portal to set the scene. The DJ booth in the back of the room played music as concert goers strolled in. Many attendees arrived wearing costumes including Lola Bunny from “Looney Tunes,” Maxine Minx from the film “X” and its counterpart “Pearl” from the prequel of the same name. People secured their spot around the stage barricade while they waited for the show to begin.
At 8 p.m., Toner ascended the stage and was greeted by cheering fans. Describing their sound as “melodic” and “influenced by punk,” lead singer and bassist, Samuelito Cruz said, “This is the biggest tour we’ve ever got offered to do. Every night is going to be something different, but we’re just rolling with it.”
Toner energized the crowd with their use of heavy guitar and fast paced music.
“My way is going out and giving it all back to the crowd because they’re the people that deserve it as long as they’re receptive and nice,” Cruz said. “I feed off of their energy, they feed off of mine.”
Surf Curse joined in on the Halloween festivities as each member dressed up as a different version of Elvis. “Jacob over here is classic Vegas Elvis, we have Noah and he’s Jailhouse Rock Elvis, Henry is a very obscure blue Hawaii Elvis and I’m generally Elvis” Rattigan said in his best Elvis voice to the audience.
Once on stage, the crowd went wild as the band opened their set with “Christine F”, a song from their “Nothing Yet” album. People of all ages could be seen jumping and singing along to the music, some sat on the shoulders of whom they came with to get a better view of the band.
Surf Curse formed in Reno, Nevada, though they now reside in California. Rubeck described Las Vegas as, “our home away from home.”
The band broke the barrier between artist and fan by engaging in conversations with the audience, asking questions like what area they come from. As they descended the list, the volume of the cheers determined their answer. Rattigan asked, “Anybody here go to Green Valley High School? Me too.”
Photographer and concert attendee Adrian Pinto said, “My favorite part about the show was watching how much energy the crowd had, and how Surf Curse interacted with the crowd.”
One fan threw a shirt onto the stage. As the band finished one song and transitioned to the next, Rubeck took a moment to give a piece of advice.
“If you love living here I’m happy for you,” said Rubeck, “but if you ever want to leave don’t think it’s not an option to go. Maybe you need to come back, maybe you don’t, but this song’s for you no matter who you are.”
An upbeat guitar accompanied by a catchy drum rhythm introduced “Midnight Cowboy” from the album “Heaven Surrounds You.” Fans bopped their heads to the beat and danced along.
“Sugar” was requested by screaming fans, it began at a steady pace and gradually picked up in speed and intensity. It set the tone needed for the performance of “Freaks” from the band’s debut album, “Buds.” Red lighting and fast moving spotlights helped energize the crowd which broke out into head-banging, crowd surfing and a mosh-pit.
After the performance, Surf Curse exited the stage.
As the crowd chanted “one more song” in unison, the band huddled together and, after a moment of contemplation, re-entered the stage. Rattigan teased, “one more song, how about two more songs!”
The band followed up with “I’m Not Making Out With You” from the “Sad Boys” EP. Surf Curse closed the show with the 2019 single, “Disco.” Rattigan and Kholl banged on the drums together to bring the show to an invigorating conclusion.
Fans stuck around the venue to buy merchandise in a line that went from one end of the room to the other. Members of both Surf Curse and Toner hung around to talk to fans and take pictures with them.
Surf Curse will be performing up until December across the U.S. To find out more about the band and purchase tickets, readers can visit the band’s website.
