GIG REVIEW: Best Coast @ Joiners, Southampton

On bank holiday Monday (3rd May) I went with some friends to see Best Coast at Joiners in Southampton. We got there about 8 o’clock and the venue was pretty much empty, which was a bit worrying because I hate going to gigs when it’s really intimate and there’s no-one there, it makes it really awkward, especially if the band isn’t even that good, so we went outside for a cigarette and meanwhile walked past the kickass chinese guitarist Bobb Bruno, I really wanted to get a picture with him but it’s corny and sort of weird. We went back in half an hour later and the venue had filled up a little more. On the stage was one man, Yaaard (Christopher Michael Cosmos Catlin) with a laptop with a bunch of scarves on a table hiding loads of buttons and electronic things, and I asked my friend if this was it or he was just setting up. Turns out that was it. It was a mixture of lo-fi and electronic, it was quite catchy and repetitive which made me feel like I was in a trance but it felt slightly awkward and lonely and it didn’t really feel like he was into it. The second support band was called ‘Elders’ and they were really bad. It made me question why the venue didn’t get support bands that were of a similar genre to Best Coast. Elders reminded me of the kind of music that a typical ‘dad’ would like. Even though they were ‘good at their instruments’, they just didn’t really grab the majority of the crowds interest (who were clearly only there to see Best Coast) and were slightly cringeworthy at points, especially the last song ‘Black Metal’ which pretty much sums up the lameness of the band.

Best Coast came on the stage at about 10pm. Bobb Bruno came on the stage and started setting up his pedals and guitar right next to us, and then sat down on the stage and asked how it was going. I wish I had a more decent conversation with him, he seems like a rad guy. Ali Koehler, the drummer of Vivian Girls (friends of Best Coast) was also drumming for the band that night. Bethany came on the stage and revealed to us that Bobb was pretty drunk which was funny. He then complemented my friends MALE BONDING t-shirt. They played about 13 songs, some of which were new and were pretty okay. I noticed that almost every song was about a guy, but I think this is the kind of music where you don’t really listen to it to ‘appreciate the lyrics’, it’s just catchy and fun to listen to. The crowd looked as if they were enjoying it but there wasn’t much dancing cause the place was full of hipsters, except when they played ‘When I’m With You’ (check out the new music video of this here cause it’s cool) there was a bit more movement. This song was already one of my favourites and it was even better live. The crowd also persuaded them to play another song after they’d finished, so they played a brand new song that was apparently not properly finished which was kinda cool. The merch was pretty cool aswell cause they were selling a 7″ called ‘Obsessive Compulsive Frequency Vol.2′ which is only available in the UK. Overall, I really enjoyed seeing Best Coast and really recommend seeing this band live, but maybe skip the support band and turn up a bit later (unless you’re lucky enough to have an exciting, more relevant support!?). Check out Best Coast’s blog here.

Downloads:

“Far Away” from the Obsessive Compulsive Frequency Vol.2 7″

“When I’m With You” from the Black Iris 7″

By Rose