Best Coast
June 27, 2015
The Wiltern- Los Angeles, CA
Calling it the only city in which she’d wear bedazzled tights and a one-piece on stage, Best Coast’s lead singer Bethany Cosentino kicked off the last show in their 3-week tour in their beloved hometown of Los Angeles at the Wiltern on June 27, 2015.
On paper, Best Coast is categorized in a genre called “jangle-pop,” but their sound is anything but fake. While high pitched up-strokes and fast-paced bass lines support their tunes, Cosentino’s celestial vocals and yearning, melancholy lyrics, along with lead guitarist Bobb Bruno’s uniquely soulful and smart flair make the full package exciting and delightfully intriguing.
Clean and soulful, bright and deep, Cosentino electrified her loving hometown crowd with her vocal presence, accompanied with the sweet screeching of amps and the punch of pop-punk drums.
Their album California Nights dropped May 4th of this year, and fans already knew the lyrics to most of the tracks, standout ones being Feeling Ok, In My Eyes, and California Nights. Beloved older tracks put the audience in a trance, with bodies swaying back and forth in a blissful high.
After their non-stop hour long set, the crowd pulled the band back on stage for an encore, where Cosentino dedicated their final song to the recent Supreme Court decision on marriage equality. Singing Boyfriend for all those now legally allowed to marry, her bittersweet farewell to the crowd was an emotional and heartfelt message that left the crowd feeling warm and hopeful.
Best Coast holds within it the polished glamour along with the wistful and forlorn reality of the West Coast and LA in particular. Rolling guitars coupled with vocals that are “Heaven Sent” shed light on both sides of the city with no center. Cosentino and Bruno balance the scales of glitter and grunge, creating a psychedelic and sorrowful atmosphere within their music that takes listeners away while intensifying what’s real.
Review by: Jasmin Toubi
