So I was super excited when I was given the chance to go to review Best Coast, I’ve had a bit of a girl crush on singer Beth Cosentino ever since the release of their debut Crazy for You last year, and well who wouldn’t? For those who aren’t familiar with the band, they’re a three piece based in Los Angeles whose emotionally charged garage pop tunes about falling for boys and being stoned are crazily catchy and perfect way to see out the summer.
When we arrived at the Forum it was immediately obvious that the place was looking pretty empty. Generally a largish venue, it seemed ten times as big with no one there and I must admit it set up a weird vibe for the rest of the evening.
Melbourne outfit Otouto were on first, and although they had some really pretty songs and unique compositions, they looked awfully lost and empty on stage, but perhaps it was the lack of audience that caught them of guard.
Then it was best Best Coast’s time and I was beaming with excitement. Opening with Crazy for You and powering through the set, Beth delivered her contagious songs all doe eyed and with plenty of attitude. At this stage a little bit of the minimal crowd decided to make their way down closer to the stage but the strange vibe persisted and as a whole everyone was largely unresponsive and awkward.
Further into the set, Beth finally attempted to engage with the crowd but they weren’t bouncing back and you could tell the lack of excitement started to rub her the wrong way. To be honest the crowd was a bit bored for a reason; Ali the drummer sat there looking unimpressed like she’d rather have been someplace else and bassist Bobb hardly looked up for the majority of the time. Largely like Otouto before them, the stage looked far too big for them as they failed inspire some excitement into the crowd.
Anyway, I don’t want to focus too much on the bad because overall they really sounded great. Their songs were a little more fat paced and grungy than the album’s beachy 60’s vibe, and the vocals were filtered with reverb in place of Beth’s signature double harmonies, which added an interesting dimension to the songs. But simply sounding great just is only half of the deal, a live show should be fun and energizing and something more than just watching a band piece together a string of their songs from their albums. I’m sad to say it lacked the spark, but I hear they were amazing at Golden Plains so I’m happy to excuse it on their behalf as the weird workings of the night itself.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
