Outside it was snowing, but inside the High Noon Saloon in Madison, Wisconsin on February 21, 2011 it could have been a beach-party-movie-themed prom. Tennis‘s mix of surf- and retro-influenced rock & roll and seaworthy lyrics, coupled with the utterly adorable story of Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley falling in love and taking to sea made for a cozy night of adoration.
Kicking off with the sublime tune “Seafarer”, Tennis played a good chunk of their debut album Cape Dory as well as introduced a surprising number of new songs for having just put out their album a month ago. The new music was as chipper as ever and made it evident that a second album is something to look forward to.
While guitarist Riley was mostly in his own world, Moore seemed to feed off him while simultaneously connecting with the crowd. Her most endearing moment came late in the set when she danced the Pony, her tiny frame floating on the beat.
Though their set was on the predictably short side (their only album clocks in at around 30 minutes), Tennis was able to make everyone forget it was winter, if only for a little while.
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For more photos from the show, click here.
So here’s the thing: some albums are great and warrant in-depth analysis or paragraph upon paragraph of praise. On the flip side, some albums are great and could suffice with a review that simply states, “this record is well worth the half hour you’ll spend getting hooked.” Cape Dory is among the latter. Just as it’d be semi-ridiculous to bring War and Peace to the shore as your beach read, it’d be equally silly to bog down Tennis’s buoyant debut with a mountain of words.
Mixtapes|Heartbreaks 