Bands: Beach House, Bachelorette
Venue: Paradise Rock Club (Boston, MA)
Date: March 28, 2010

Act One – Bachelorette – Bachelorette was boring. It’s not really the music that’s boring, it’s more of the process as a whole. She plays guitar for thirty seconds, turns the loop on, records into one microphone, loops that, turns on a drum pad, and then does another round of singing. She reminded me (at her best) of High Places and at her worst like your average shitty electronically styled opening act (cough Many Mansions cough). Some dude was apparently loving it so much that he thought it was wise to shout “you boring fucks need to learn how to move your body” after her first song. Yeah, maybe if I was tripping on shrooms like you…idiot. llalallalaallalala bum allalalalalal bum. Relaxing stuff, but annoying.

Act Two – Beach House – A very kind band. Kicking off the set with “Walk in the Park,” my personal favorite, was a wise choice. I could tell the sold-out crowd was made up of a lot of Teen Dream era fans so this opener definitely resonated with all of us. Lead singer and keyboardist Victoria Legrand amazingly executed her parts and that’s not without saying guitarist and back-up singer Alex Scally wasn’t awesome. He was. Speaking of Teen Dream, somebody commented that they played every song off of that. And you know what? I think they did! They also played a few old songs that many people were able to appreciate. Legrand and Scally’s between song banter was charming as they said things like “you guys are very lovely. Thank you for having us.” They genuinely seemed happy to be playing. They ended the set with Teen Dream closer “Take Care,” but that was only a little tease. It’s a great closing track and would certainly lead one to believe that was all they had left. But no! They came back for a one song encore of “10 Mile Stereo,” another great ditty off of Teen Dream. This song is the band’s heaviest offering (at least live) and I actually can’t imagine a better choice. Overall, I really enjoyed listening to one of my favorite albums of the year (and the other songs) performed in such a relaxing and enjoyable setting. If you haven’t heard Beach House, I’d recommend giving them a try.

Grade: A-/B+