Best Coast Live Review - Time Out Sydney, January 2012

Best Coast

Wed 25 Jan , 

Alternative, 

Big Day Out, 

Book Early, 

Gigs, 

Indie, 

Music, 

Rock, 

Sideshows

Recommended

The Californian's surf pop sound brings a glimmer of sunshine on a rainy day

First published on 21 Nov 2011. Updated on 26 Jan 2012.

On the eve of Australia Day, and ahead of Big Day Out, the evening’s torrential downpour of rain is an unexpected disappointment. Thankfully, Best Coast has a permanently sunny disposition and plenty of good vibes tightly packed up inside their infectious and concise lo-fi songs.

It’s been over eighteen months since they released their self-titled debut, which was showered with praises by most, and its twelve tracks still carry plenty of weight against the multitude of West Coast sounds on offer.

The crowd is worryingly scarce shortly before the band is due on stage. Satisfyingly, the venue fills out once support act Dune Rats have finished making a racket which comes closer to ‘garage sale’ than ‘garage rock’. This makes much sense.

Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno greet fans alongside their current touring band mates and somewhat quirkily kick things off with ‘The End’, one of many tracks centred on woes with boys. ‘Crazy For You’ is pulled out the band’s bag of tricks early and has the desired effect of loosening up the audience, with Cosentino’s sweet and sultry vocals romanticising her relationship confusion (“I want to hit you then I kiss you/I want to kill you but then I’d miss you”).

‘Summer Mood’ is restarted again after an amplifier malfunction to provide another fine example of bittersweet lyrics being sugar coated with syrupy melodies; as is ‘Goodbye’, which immediately follows. It isn't until the band dips into their bag of tricks once more and pull out the pop perfection of ‘Boyfriend’ that any life is truly injected into the receptive but reserved crowd. Cosentino and Bruno knocking back a ‘chip shot’ on stage – which replaces the typical salt of a tequila slammer with the licking of a Dorito – breaks the ice further.

The comparatively sombre pace of ‘Honey’ precedes the all-too-real sadness of ‘Our Deal’ (a song which has greater poignancy when listened to with its West Side Story influenced video, directed by Drew Barrymore).

Almost an hour has passed by the time they commence ‘Something In The Way’, which would’ve been a strong finish to a stretched out (their album clocks in at just over thirty minutes) but accomplished set. Sadly, it is inopportunely followed by a handful of new songs and early singles. Quite often, less is more.

When they eventually wrap things up, many people make their way to the door, and after a couple of minutes even the strongest devotees at the front of the stage have assumed it is time to leave. Then, to everyone’s surprise, Cosentino and Bruno return on their own to tease their forthcoming album with a minimalist airing of new track ‘Up At Night’, which is far longer than the rest of the material played before it.

Given their many positive attributes and their gratitude for applause, Best Coast is a band it’s difficult to become annoyed with. But whilst they unquestionably put on a good show, tonight could easily have been half as long and twice as fun.

Words by Stuart Holmes