Pros, bros and their ho's from Huntington Beach and beyond showed up to the U.S. Open of Surfing's concert stage in droves to watch LA-based band Best Coast rock the board shorts off the surfer crowd.
Their debut OC performance proved to be a successful one as their mostly mellow, indie surf rock gave the sandy crowd something to dance and relax to as Wednesday's surf competitions came to a close for the day.
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Though the music is almost the polar opposite of hardcore, two circle pits formed and crowd surfers wearing next to nothing bravely immersed themselves in arm-flailing action. Lead singer Bethany Cosentino stared plainly at the audience and voiced her safety concerns to the crowd surfers. “Seriously guys, I saw some chick eat shit, so be careful,” Cosentino announced as she launched into the summery, saccharine tune “The Only Place,” the title track of the band's latest full-length, released in May. The track's lyrics from Best Coast's newest album The Only Place were perfectly placed for the U.S. Open of Surfing: “We were born with the sun in our teeth and in our hair…we were born to stare…we always have fun.”
Considering the surroundings, could you really ask for a more apropos tune?
The band's bright,creverb-laden guitar and pop lyrics created a nostalgic lo-fi surf rock sound that that, despite their city roots, had more in common with the coastline than some of the board-carrying members of the competition.
Critical Bias: I love love love to surf.
The Crowd: Bikini-clad ladies crowd surfed and somehow managed to keep almost everything intact. And in case you want to fit in, strip to your skivvies and write some obscene suggestive request on your oh-so-chiseled body and see how many creepers troll your path through the clouds of sand, dust and pot smoke.
Overheard: “Oh my God, where the fuck did you park?!”
Random notebook dump: I thought I've seen it all at concerts until someone literally crowd surfed on a boogie board.
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