I admit that I went into the show last night to see Rogue Wave, maybe a few songs by Nada Surf and then head home. Well, I ended up being very impressed with Los Angelas based opener Inara George and (to my surprise) nearly everyone was there to see Nada Surf.

Besides being one of the most beautiful humans I’ve ever seen, Inara’s music was delightful. I found my ears being tangled in a web of punk and folk music, and I must applaud the Annex crowd last night because for all 3 bands the crowd was nothing but ideal. Alright there was that one incident with that really drunk guy during the Nada Surf show, but one bad apple can’t spoil the bunch. So thank you to everyone there for being respectful of those around you.

Rogue Wave’s set was amazing. I was surprised with their live show. I dig their albums quite a bit, but I didn’t know how it would translate into a live performance. They started off with one of my favorites from their new album, “Bird on a Wire,” and nine songs later they ended their set with a fantastic version of “Love’s Lost Guarantee.”

Next up was Nada Surf’s set which just by looking at the set list in front of me, I knew the audience was in for a long night. Like most people, I was turned onto Nada Surf through their breakout hit, “popular.” I was pleasently surprised by the band and how I seemed to be the only person in the whole audience who didn’t know the words to every song. Ripping through song after song, some of their familiar to me were off their most recent release, The Weight Is The Gift. Zach Rogue joined the band for a song before the encore and rocked out pretty hard with the guys from Nada Surf.

There are only a handful of US tour dates remaining on this tour, so if these guys are coming to your town, I would recommend checking out all three of these acts.

I’ve got a really exciting giveaway tomorrow, so make sure you check back here for details. If you were at the show last night, feel free to add your comments about the show. I’m always interested in other people’s perspective, especially those of you who were there to see Nada Surf.

Rogue Wave on MySpace
Nada Surf on MySpace
Inara George on Myspace

Head over to Civility in Public Discourse for a video of the Rogue Wave performance at the Annex.