100 Shows of 2010 - #63: Best Coast/Cults @ Rock'n'Roll Hotel, 9/8/10

In which your two favorite Terribles set out once more on a playdate, and end up witnessing an abundance of the following: LOTS of hair, lots of rock, and lots of sweltering heat. Undoubtedly, Cults and Best Coast brought most of the first two, and while they definitely brought a whole lotta hotness, I think the cramped quarters can be blamed on the latter. To quote my beloved partner, by the time the show was over, things were smelling a "little ripe" up in the Hotel. Chris has brought up the issues with this particular show already (bad lighting, bad smells, bad sound), so I'll nod in agreement and skip on over to the gushing. And...go!

MINI RECAP: Cults = Cultishly Captivating! Best Coast = Bestest Coastest! Overall Score: B+

I've decided that Cults, awesome band #1 of the evening, has more hair on their collective head than any band I've ever seen, outside of the Richmond metal scene, that is. I dug them lots and lots, finding their boy-girl vocals delightful, with the grounded boy balancing the spritely, somewhat ethereal lady. Very jaunty, very shimmering, with a hearty dose of lollipops and candy drops. Yes, I said it. "The Curse" was a favorite of mine, a spooky little song sung by a spooky little girl. 'Twas very nice indeed, as was their entire set. I found their sound to be very appealing, and when I heard a xylophone, well, be it programmed into the keys or no, it earned my eternal love and devotion for Cults. In the end, they left me wanting more, and I guess that's precisely what you're supposed to do, eh? Leave us starry-eyed and clamoring for more?

So then, after some pungent downtime, it was Best Coast's time to shine. Which I'm sure they did, we just couldn't see it thanks to the pretty bad lighting going on at the Hotel. But thankfully, Best Coast could be heard. And that was very, very good because I loved them. Loved, loved, loved. Basically, I'm already predisposed to like bands that do some serious California dreaming, and if you throw in that retro surf thing I'm yours for life. Bethany and Bobb totally rocked my world, with their combustion of lo-fi fuzziness swapping spit with upbeat jauntitude. Those are definitely some great tastes that taste great together! Bethany has quite a strong, sassy voice on her, though she keeps it sweet and girlie, too. The venue's sonic shortcomings somehow worked for the band, in my opinion, adding to their fuzztastic noisiness. Kinda like, at times, throwing girl group songs into a blender with My Bloody Valentine and a Beach Boy or two. Which, as I'm sure you'll agree, sounds pretty darned fantastic. I like to think of bands like Best Coast (and Cults) as a sort of popgaze, where you can close your eyes and see home movies of summertime picnics and afternoons in aging houses, soundtracked by this most splendid post-shoegaze poptasticness. Well, I thought it was poppy. My partner might disagree, but maybe he just couldn't hear it (wink wink nudge nudge).

In short, venue issues aside, this was another one of those well-planned bills. Cults and Best Coast were purrfect together. It was all sorts of ramalamadingdong, y'all. I look forward to seeing both of these bands again soon. Just perhaps not in summertime.

mp3: Boyfriend (Best Coast from Crazy For You)