Those Darlins: 9:30 PM, Independent Media Center
Walking into the IMC prior to the show you could hear a pin drop. People sitting down watching this act just wasn’t going to cut it. Those Darlins chugged through their set playing a ton of new material, “Nightjogger” from their new 7” as well as their exclusive b-side track “Funstix Party”, which they played earlier in our very own studio. Their energy on stage is phenomenal and the sound wasn’t overbearing in the IMC. Describing the show as wild wouldn’t do it justice. — Patrick Singer
Cults: 9:45 PM, Canopy Club
I am a huge fan of noise and experimental bands, so Cults did not disappoint me in that regard. Everyone seemed on cue and the music was very tight and together (for as much as an indie noise band can be). The band cycled through all its top hits (“Go Outside”, “Most Wanted” and “The Curse”) with sprinkling in some newer work, they even had the full range of instruments that were used to record the songs. However, I couldn’t say that they impressed me on stage. The music and the band’s presence on stage culminated into what could be described as statuesque. No one in the crowd seemed to move very much and when large name songs like “Go Outside” were played I didn’t see many that were phased by the more upbeat tones. Overall it was great musically, but energy wise I felt like I was watching a still life painting. — Colin Lateano
With only three songs released, Cults seems to be the big buzz band of 2010 and to be honest, they deserve it. Their take on ‘60s dream pop is really cool and it definitely translated to the stage on Thursday. Cults had quite the crowd for the void room and everyone seemed to enjoy the show very much, even when the band would say “this is a new song” almost every song. But it was fine, who cares. They were really fun and played well, that’s all that matters. I’m really looking forward to when they actually release something big though, especially after their performance. — buzz music editor Dylan Sutcliff
Psychic Twin: 10:45 PM, Canopy Club
The second to last act on Thursday night was Psychic Twin, a new musical venture from Erin Fein of Headlights. Although this performance was held in the smaller void room of the Canopy Club, the group managed to pack the area their audience was allotted. I had a hard time getting good visibility of the stage, but I could hear just fine, and what I heard was very pleasing. I was surprised to hear from someone that could see the stage that aside from just Erin Fein, drummer Brett Sanderson and guitarist Tristan Wraight (both also from Headlights) were part of this new project. The sounds were much more along the lines of the current “chill-wave” trend than anything Fein has previously done. The show mixed keyboard based songs with both live and electronic drum beats and simple but catchy guitar hooks. Although I didn’t have a good sight line, I was able to see the climax of the final song that incorporated wo people getting on stage wearing lighted headgear and shooting silly string into the audience. This was definitely one of my top three favorite acts of the night; I went in expecting a set very similar to Headlights, but was rewarded with something much different. — Evan Metz
Surfer Blood: 12:30 AM, Canopy Club
Florida-natives Surfer Blood stormed through Canopy Club, bringing songs from their stellar debut Astro Coast. Headlining the night and playing last, you’d think that the crowd might be a bit lazy after seeing all the acts prior. Wrong. Midway through the set people were climbing up on stage, and eventually the stage was completely filled with dancing audience members. Insane to say the least. They tore through their set with standouts “Twin Peaks” and “Take It Easy”, as well as the Surfer Blood staple track “Swim”. Hell, they covered Guided By Voices’ “Game of Pricks”. Fantastic set all around, and after seeing Of Montreal the night before and thinking it couldn’t get any wilder, they might’ve reached the same level, just in a less weird way. — Patrick Singer
I saw Surfer Blood at Pitchfork this year and I have to say I was a little underwhelmed. However, they’re show at Canopy was very different. I don’t know if it was because they were able to be really loud or they were doing something different but the band from Florida really controlled the stage. There live show differs from the album in that the reverbs are no where near the same in a live setting, however this just makes them sound like a straight rock band, which is perfectly fine with me. At the end of the show the band invited everyone up onto the stage, and a lot of them obliged. There were at least fifty people dancing up there, me one of them, and I have to say, it was fun. Surfer Blood really knew how to finish a night of rock ‘n roll. — buzz music editor Dylan Sutcliff
