A Happy Halloween with Best Coast

For those Southern Californian listeners of USD Radio, Bethany Cosentino and the lo-fi beach gems of Best Coast have probably found a comfortable home on your sonic rotation over the past five months since Crazy For You was released. If you’ve not yet given it a listen (iTunes link below), I could ramble on about the Beach Boys meets Courtney Love (in the Best of ways) sound, but you’re better off just giving the tight 31 minute album a portion of your day.

Either way, I was fortunate enough to grab a short interview with Bethany before  her Halloween set at Spokane, Washington’s Stage 54 venue [link here]. There after, the costumed crowd slowly flooded into the venue through three openers. Spokane’s own synth-driven, five piece indie gang Young Professionals started things off followed by acts ranging from feedback, Sonic Youth style rock to a more rockability-oriented blues band immediately preceding Beat Coast. The gap just before Best Coast took the stage was filled with “Spooky music”, as Bethany noted, lazers and smoke to entertainingly set the scene. And to the crowd’s pleasure, Best Coast certainly did not forget the holiday. Bethany boasted a Cat outfit (hopefully in Snacks honor) and Bobb’s pirate attire would’ve given Long John Silver a run for his money.

The one quip of the set was a feedback loop that was playing through the first few songs. Bethany and Bobb asked to have it turned off in between two songs, then one of Stage 54’s hands passed her a note that read “Your vocal pedal has a repeat loop on”. After acknowledging their mistake, the band moved forward into an incredibly tight set. The list featured the entirety of Crazy For You, “The Sun Was High, So Was I” as well as some new material the band was working on. The hundred or so strong crowd was engaged and appreciative all the way through the set. And Stage 54’s sound set up did Bethany’s Fender Mustang and Bobb’s Twin Reverb justice, as Best Coast trade-mark beachy sound was very well transfered into the live set. We even got a two-song encore, which was impressive considering the young lifespan of the band and the duration of their pre-encore set list. All in all, Best Coast delivered an excellent Halloween set.

Purchase Crazy For You