I had the hottest ticket in Philly last Friday for the Beach House + Washed Out show in the sanctuary of The First Unitarian Church. To be totally honest I was not amongst the masses to worship at the altar of Beach House. That isn’t to say I don’t appreciate their music I just think their are other acts out there that are more exciting. When given the opportunity to see them live though I figured I should check them out; see if the secret is in the set.
To get the evening started Washed Out, much buzzed about electronic artist out of Georgia, was tasked with getting people at the packed Sanctuary show in the Beach House spirit. It is rare that I find an one man electro act something worth watching – usually I’m most happy dancing like a crazy person to their music – however, Ernest Greene dancing around his keyboards, laptop and other odds and ends was plenty intriguing. He mentioned it was his first seated show and it was immediately apparent why. Washed Out makes music that requires dancing; to not move to his effect laden loops would be almost disrespectful.
Starting with luring base beats Greene slowly builds a dense series of loops and effects. It took a mere two minutes before kids were on their feet tranced out his work. It was a brief set but he successfully revved up the crowd in preparation of Beach House’s pending arrival.
Under the shimmery diamonds hanging from the ceiling Beach House – Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally – claimed their spot on a dimly lit stage. The set up was basic; Scally and his guitar, Legrand on keys and a live drummer as was the stage banter. The group kept their focus on their music channeling a mesmerizing amount of energy into putting on one transfixing show.
Legrand’s voice was raspy and seductive commanding the attention of everyone in the room. She has a voice reminiscent of some of the great pop female vocalists Grace Slick’s howl, Stevie Nick’s ethereal hum even a bit of Dusty Springfield’s twang. Watching her produce the words live give the lyrics a richness and sincerity missing from their records. When not singing she is pulsating over her keyboards keying out lush synths and providing a visual expression of the energy her voice usually carries.
Countering the richness of Legrand’s voice and instrumentals Scally weedles his way deftly through the intricate guitar lines. I noticed that there are a few parts that I had previously credited to the keyboards but are actually his careful picking on an effected guitar. His fingers effortlessly made quick work of the clean rhythm lines it was incredible to watch him at work. The few moments when he wielded a slide were complete bliss.
The set list flowed beautifully, punctuated with the occasional “thank you.” Where I had been expecting to hear wave after wave of fuzzed out rock I actually got a well framed and potent live show. I am still not the biggest fan of their recorded material but, having heard the music live, I now better understand the skill behind their sound. Beach House’s real magic is in their astounding live performances and that is more than enough to make me a champion of their cause.
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