Beach House ends its tour with sensuous concert


2010 was a curiously strong year for music, yet few acts enchanted the indie circuit like Beach House. Comprised solely of Baltimore natives Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally, the dream pop duo released their third album, Teen Dream, to bubbling critical and commercial acclaim.        

Lusher than the band’s previous outings and filled with icy, melodic murmurings worthy of Brian Wilson or Neil Young, the album signalled a new aural height for Beach House, but also a new challenge — creating a live show worthy of Teen Dream’s haunting power.

On Wednesday night, Legrand and Scally delivered just that to a sold out crowd at The Music Box in the first of two final Los Angeles concerts before the duo returns to the studio.

San Francisco lo-fi outfit Papercuts opened the show with a labored set that seemed to borrow sonic influences from Beach House, particularly some occasionally shimmering guitar work from front man Jason Robert Quever. Sadly, what Papercuts packed in effect pedals, its five members sorely lacked in song structure and urgency. The set concluded to polite applause, with few hoots and hollers.

Just after 10 p.m., the curtains rose to reveal Beach House’s minimal gear setup against some of the most simplistically gorgeous stage decorations to have come through the Los Angeles concert scene recently. Three paper pyramids were erected behind the instruments, one for each band member. After a few excited moments, Legrand and Scally emerged with their tour drummer to tumultuous applause.

Dressed in a seafoam green blazer with her long curly hair characteristically disheveled and wild, Legrand wordlessly exuded a genuine, brazen sensuality not often found in American musicians. As the band drove into the quivering intro of “Gila,” both Legrand and Scally, sitting with his Stratocaster, bobbed and swayed as though suspended in a liquid. The crowd followed suit, surrendering itself willingly to the beautiful sounds bleeding from the amps.

The band’s early numbers benefited from an unusually rich sound setup. Each instrument rang with clarity, from Legrand’s electric organ to Scally’s reverberated guitar tones. Even the live drums added a kick to Better Times and Walk In The Park, both of which were recorded using synthetic percussion. The paper pyramids also did their job effectively, illuminated by different shades of color for each song, lending the show an air of elegance.

“This is our first show in LA since 2008 that’s been our show,” Scally said to the audience, thanking people for coming before commenting on the smell of incense in the venue.

Surprisingly, the set’s already solid beginning turned out to be a prelude for the visual power of a later number. As the reedy organ, guitar chimes and crashing drums of Norway rang out, the lights suddenly darkened and an entire wall of twinkling stars appeared behind the band, the pyramids glowing a ghostly blue. The crowd went wild for the moment, which instantly recalled the endless nights of Hammerfest as well as the magical realist dreamscapes of Petersen’s The NeverEnding Story.

The performance and visual realization of “Norway” were so astronomically sensual that LeGrand and Scally had difficulty topping them for the remainder of the show. Still, the two maintained their rhythmic energy and precision admirably.

The stage set also changed occasionally, with intense jets of fog during Silver Soul and Lover of Mine leading Legrand to scoff, “We’re a smoke-friendly band.”

Some surprises came near the show’s finish, beginning with a lovely rendition of the band’s earlier, rarely-played “Astronaut.” Here, the stars returned, now under lusty red lights, their former brilliance turned to something more human and desirous.”

Also played was a new song called Frightened Eyes,with heavy layers of guitar feedback and distorted organ, even synth-like sounds, but with the same melodic pulse found on Teen Dream. If the song is any indication of what Beach House might be up to after the tour, fans will be in for quite the jolt on the band’s next album.

In a rare moment of error, Scally missed the guitar entrance at the beginning of Used to Be, causing the band to begin the song again, laughing it off. It was a brief display of self-deprecating warmth from the otherwise mysterious, coldly elegant band and the affection stuck right through the final verses of “Take Care,” the concluding song of the initial set.

Upon returning to the stage for an encore, Legrand gave profound thanks to the crowd and bade all a “sweet dream.” The band’s final number, the majestically melancholic 10 Mile Stereo sent fans and converts off into the night, silent and squinting in the obnoxious glare of Hollywood lights.