Photo by Zofia Gil

With their forthcoming LP, Lucky, less than a week away from its release, Brooklyn-based indie rock outfit Nada Surf kept things simple as they treated fans to a special sold-out acoustic performance at Seattle's Triple Door last night (Jan. 30). Seated on metal folding chairs, frontman Matthew Caws, bassist Daniel Lorca, and drummer Ira Elliot -- who used a plywood box, which he was seated upon, as his instrument of choice -- kicked things off with the sunbeam-y "Happy Kid," off 2002's Let Go, before launching into new tunes like "I Like What You Say," its sing-along chorus inducing just that, and the melodious "See These Bones." Seattle natives, pianist Gavin Guss and cellist Phil Peterson (of Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground) also fleshed things out as Nada Surf paid tribute to older cuts such as "Inside of Love" and "Blizzard of '77."

Caws interspersed the near 90-minute show with minimal banter. "I shouldn't denigrate this establishment by calling it a dinner theater," he quipped, referring to the Triple Door's choice to serve food during the show. But still adept at crafting catchy melodies, Nada Surf seemed to have shed their bittersweet lyrical inclinations for a more optimistic view on love and life, as evidenced in songs such as "Are You Lightening?" Yep, Nada Surf is all grown up. Oh, the irony; one can only wonder how Nada Surf's seething cult hit "Popular" might have sounded during such an acoustic set.

We asked: Nada Surf's forthcoming new album is titled Lucky. What good luck charm or superstitious ritual keeps you lucky?

Name: Matthew Hensley
Age: 24
Hometown: Seattle, WA
Occupation: Branch manager for bank
"I have lucky dunks (shoes) I wear for the Seahawks. They've worked in the past."

Name: Rebecca Makuen
Age: 35
Hometown: Seattle, WA
Occupation: Stay-at-home mom
"My Anna Sui lipstick ring. It's funky and no one else has it. I don't have to wear a purse either."

Name: David Makuen
Age: 35
Hometown: Seattle, WA
Occupation: Brand marketing
"My luck ritual is to drive to work really early in the morning and play my iPod really loud. I listen to Wilco, Nada Surf, Billy Bragg or the Long Winters."

Name: Jill Zawatski
Age: 30
Hometown: Seattle, WA
Occupation: Graduate student at Western Washington University
"I shower up with 'Honey, I Washed the Kids' by Lush, or I french press up some Stumptown coffee -- two morning indulgences that set the tone for the whole day."

Name: Paul Zawatski
Age: 29
Hometown: Seattle, WA
Occupation: Inside sales for IT company
"It's football based. I keep a 'terrible towel' -- a yellow hand towel -- from my favorite football team, the Pittsburgh Steelers."

Name: Derek Harn
Age: 37
Hometown: Seattle, WA
Occupation: Bassist for Himsa
"I have a thing where I like the sound of fingernails scratching denim, so I'll scratch my leg. It's a soothing sound for me."

More photos after the jump...