LIVE REVIEW : MATTHEW CAWS HOXTON SQUARE BAR AND KITCHEN 05/03/2014

Matthew Caws is a busy man. He managed to squeeze a couple of solo shows (one in London and one in Valencia) in-between writing sessions in New York with Ira Elliot and Daniel Lorca, his two Nada Surf band mates and flying back to the US to appear at The South By South West festival in Austin. When that is finished he will come back to Europe and will be touring with his side project Minor Alps for one month.

Hoxton Square used to be pretty close to where I used to stay but from my new flat in Harrow it's one hell of a trek. I'd been there once before to see Geraint Watkins at The Underbelly but I'd never been to The Square Bar and Kitchen. The venue is actually separated from the main area of the pub/restaurant and has it's own bar which greatly limits the coming and going of punters that you usually have in pub gigs. The gig room was nice and I manage to secure a spot right under a cooling fan which means I didn't sweat a drop for the whole gig :). I missed the first opening act Kafka Tamura (my apologies to them) but I managed to catch most of Monument Valley who were pretty good. Very good singer that sounds like a less mannered Morrissey, good songs and interesting arrangements (https://www.facebook.com/monumentvalleygo).

Their set finished at almost 9.30 pm so Matthew Caws came on stage almost straight equipped with his Gibson Jumbo and an Iphone. The song selection covered every album of Caws career with the exception of  Nada Surf's first album High/Low. The night started with "Weightless" from Nada Surf's Lucky album and was followed by a surprisingly good cover of a Simple Mind's song called  "Speed Your Love To Me" that Caws introduced by saying that songs you liked at seventeen years old stayed with you for the rest of your life. The rest of the set-list mixed a few Minor Alps tracks with Nada Surf Classics and rarities. Even if the few Minor Alps tracks played didn't have the immediateness and catchiness of Caws output with Nada Surf, they definitely showcased a side of his songwriting that was kept away from the public ear. Most of the Nada Surf songs were pulled from what I consider their best albums (Let Go, The Wight is A Gift and Lucky) with some rarely aired tracks that must have pleased the fanatics (End Credits, Are You Lightning ?). Only one song from The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy (Waiting For Something) and Proximity Effect (80 windows). Caws will be with Minor Alps at The Shacklewell Arms on the 25th of April.