On Sunday, April 6, Paul Collins played at the new dBs here in Utrecht. He had promised “60 minutes of Power Pop” beforehand, and that’s exactly what we got: in a blistering 1-2-3-go rhythm, he blasted through nearly all the classics from the first two The Beat albums, along with a handful of gems from The Nerves. Collins was the undisputed King of Power Pop, pushing his much younger backing band to great heights with the flair of a true James Brown. Next to me, I saw my two sons, 21 and almost 23, watching it all with big smiles. During Hanging on the Telephone, a spontaneous family dance broke out, and for a moment, we found ourselves in Power Pop heaven. What an amazing night!

#powerpop #utrecht #dbs #hangingonthetelephone #thenerves #thebeat

A few weeks ago, Nada Surf played at Paard in The Hague — another legendary Dutch venue, though one I don’t often visit. After a long day at work, I wasn’t really feeling up for it. It’s a bit farther than Amsterdam, and there were plenty of reasons to skip this one. But I’m so glad I didn’t. It felt like the band had something to prove, playing outside their usual Amsterdam stronghold, and the audience didn’t entirely know what to expect — I got the sense many were there just to hear Popular. They got that, sure, but the heart of the set was built around songs from their fantastic new album, Moon Mirror.

Matthew Caws is a great singer, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard him sing with such range and clarity as he did that night. When everything falls into place like that — and it really did — you realize just how powerful a deeply personal song like Mathilda can be. How behind their controlled, thoughtful sound lie beautiful stories and gorgeous guitar work. Nada Surf doesn’t go for big emotional gestures — they’re not flashy or showy — but on nights like this, you listen more closely and discover an intimate beauty you rarely find elsewhere.

And then, as if that weren’t enough, they played Cold to See Clear — a hidden gem in their overwhelmingly rich catalog.

#NadaSurf #MoonMirror #LiveMusic #IndieRock #AltRock #ConcertReview #TheHague #Paard #Utrecht #IndieLegends #ColdToSeeClear #Mathilda #Paradiso #Melkweg #NewMusic #StillGotIt