It was hotter than West Palm Beach balls underneath the Cyclone, but the crowd was still amped for Surfer Blood to take the stage. Sadly, their sweat was shed in vain. Surfer Blood may have spouted that they were “stoked” to be on Coney Island for the first time, but they couldn’t have seemed more nonplussed.
John Paul Pitts’ energy hit an all time high during “Take It Easy,” when he paraded around the stage, flamboyantly presenting himself in front of the monitors for the drooling photogs (see: Jamie Hale) to snap a quick picture before retreating behind the mic stand. I kept waiting for things to escalate, but the band couldn’t seem to get past poking fun at their Toyota commercial success and flippantly dedicating their set to Metro PCS. I mean, I know, they’re like, SO over all that corporate jazz, but c’mon man, we’re on your side!
I have to make one concession: keyboardist Marcos Marchesani’s flowing black fro was wonderful to watch, and he actually seemed like he was happy to be there. The rest of the band acted like your 14-year-old brother and his gang of friends who have an inside joke that you’re just not in on.
Maybe if I had seen SB on their own, the set wouldn’t have been so “bleh,” but sandwiched between some truly amazing sirens (Apache Beat, Screaming Females, Earl Greyhound), they just came up short.
Surfer Blood – “Swim” [MP3]
More photos after the jump.
[All photos by James B. Hale/Knox Road from Siren Music Festival]
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