Artist(s): Best Coast, Wavves, and No Joy
Date: Friday, February 4, 2011
Venue: Paradise Rock Club (Boston, MA)
Comments: For starters, it was a blessing that we actually made it to this show alone. Long story short, the concert sold out and we had no tickets! After a frusturating 24 hour journey, thee  Best Coast/Wavves tickets were finally in the palms of our hands and all was well in the KLYAM Concert Atending Universe.

Act I: No Joy-

If their name was their aim, then they did not succeed. I felt plenty of joy seeing this “female Deerhunter” as Glen put it (though half the band consisted of men) and from the moment they picked up their instruments I could tell we were in for a loud band. I know fans always say stupid shit like that ” from the very first moment it was gold blah blah blah.” Nah, it wasn’t earth shattering and I’m not saying I knew immediately they would be a sound opener, I didn’t, but I had a feeling from the first guitar riffs that whether good or bad they weren’t a band you could turn away from. Luckily, they put on a decent set and though they didn’t share the same pop qualities as their headliners, they did give off some summery vibes that fit with the mood of the evening. Overall, they rocked hard and clearly weren’t a band that begged for your attention, but rather let their music do the talking. I will be sure to further check out No Joy one way or another in the future, hopefully they will swing by Boston again sometime soon.

Act II: Wavves!-

Yes Best Coast is superb, but unlike most of the attendees on Friday, the KLYAMers were perhaps the few that hail Wavves as the one and only King of the Beach. That’s right, our boys Nathan, Stephen, and Jacob unleashed their best KLYAM attended set thus far- playing all the hits one would hope one of their favorite bands would play. Immediately following  a jab about innerband analingus, the trio exploded into King of the Beach classic, “Idiot” and the crowd erupted into moshing and pogoing and the whole nine. I could tell just from this intro that the band sounded better than they did the last time I saw them in June and that was a great performance unto itself. I could hear everything Nathan uttered, making it easier to sing along to all my beloved Wavves tunes. Speaking of which the group played a fair amount of the old (“Wavves,” “Beach Demon,” To the Dregs,” “So Bored,” “No Hope Kids,)  the new (“Bug,” “In the Sand,”) but mostly cuts from last year’s landmark record King of the Beach- (“Super Soaker, “Take On the World, “Linus Spacehead,” etc.).  All in all they were tighter than ever and the sound was great; there’s just this undeniable musical onslaught that hits you so hard, it’s terrific. I think their musicianship has definitely increased over this past year as well as their roles as performers. This time around they really came off as a “Rock Band,” in a good way. The set concluded with the 90s commericalish pop esque sounding “Post Acid,” a great choice for a closer, certainly leaving me with a smile.

Setlist (not actual set list, but songs they did play in no particular order):

Idiot
King of the Beach
Super Soaker
Friends Were Gone
Wavves
Beach Demon
To the Dregs
Linus Spacehead
Bug
In the Sand
Nervous Breakdown (Black Flag)
Take On the World
Green Eyes
So Bored
No Hope Kids
Post Acid

Act III: Best Coast-

Right now, I’m a little crazy for Best Coast and this set just jostled me into insanity. Bethany Cosentino, Bobb Bruno, and Ali Koehler offered Boston a 60 minute taste of the Summer, California, and youthful AM Pop heartbreak drenched in vintage, reverby Rock and Roll. The reverb was done just right, you could hear everything Bethany sang, which for this kind of music that is key. I noticed throughout their invigorating set the crowd enthusiastically sang along as if they knew the pain Bethany articulated (probably because they did)- though it was mostly the ladies that felt this connection, it seems. Right off the bat with “Crazy For You,” Bethany displayed excellent showomanship and almost naturally shared a wavelength (no pun intended) with the audience. Stand outs from the performance included “Boyfriend,” “When I’m With You,” “Our Deal” (a song NOT about weed, but mentions it!), “Bratty B,” amongst others. One of the most powerful moments of the evening was without a doubt the finale of “Each and Every Day” (CFY’s closer)- the trio rocked hard into the breakdown building up to Bethany’s soft, gentle vocals at the very end of the ballad. When she cried “Every day I wake up and I thank the stars above for sending me a man who I could really love if only I could convince you to feel the same way we could be so very happy each and every day” I could see the passion in some of the girls’ eyes and in just that alone I think Bethany and Best Coast have accomplished what they set out to do.

Setlist (Not in any particular order and I’m definitely missing some songs):
Crazy For You
The End
Goodbye
Summer Mood
Wish He Was You
Our Deal
Sun Was High (So Was I)
Bratty B*
When I’m With You
Something In the Way
When the Sun Don’t Shine
Fist City (Loretta Lynn)
Each and Everyday*

* For these songs seeing them live jolted me into excessive fandom for each in their own right; for whatever reason they never hit me before, but now I’m addicted :)

Final Comments: Some shows deliver surprises (Shattered Records Tour), others offer extreme visceral euphoria (Black Lips, No Age), and then there are simply those shows that satisfy exactly what you anticipated they would and a little bit more. This concert was definitely one of those shows. I can’t say anything was unexpected, but it didn’t have to be. All corniness aside, I think Best Coast/Wavves/No Joy did bring some Summer cheer to this froid as fuck region of the world. And as for first KLYAM attended concerts of 2011, what a way to kick off the year!

Grade: Strong 8 to Light 9