Beach House performing at Saturn. (Photo by Casey Marley).Casey Marley - Editor-in-Chiefeditor@insideuab.com
“Man, I could feel it...it was shaking my arm hair,” said a stranger behind me shuffling out Saturn’s concert pit after the sold out Beach House show.
Along with a huge drop in temperature, Saturday, Oct. 3 brought the Baltimore area indie-duo to Avondale’s Saturn, a chance for Birmingham’s hipsters to sway and tap along to the band’s glossy sound.
The show began with a performance by Jessica Pratt, an L.A. Native and Stevie Nicks look alike. Like her doppelgänger, Pratt’s crooning, scratchy voice brought to mind a “Landslide” like quality: thoughtful, melancholy and emotional. I hadn’t heard of the demure-acoustic singer before the night’s show, but with fall’s drear already upon us, I will definitely be adding her song, “Game that I play” to my walking to class playlist.
In between Pratt and the main act, I spoke to a Beach House fan from Montgomery. He told me that the group had come to Bottletree back in 2012, but that they “sold out in five minutes”. He said he caught them in Atlanta shortly after the Bottletree let down, and that I should prepare for an amazing show.
When Beach House finished up their opening songs, Alex Scally the lead guitarist, mentioned that sold out Bottletree performance. “It’s been like three and a half years,” he said on their last Magic City visit.
Beach Houses’ dreamy, sad pop about love lost and loneliness set the mood for the new fall season. Off their newest album “Depression Cherry,” the band performed “Space Song” to perfectly timed projected snow (or fallout depending on perspective) that began to fall on a gauzy background as Victoria Legrand repeated her lyrics, “fall back into place.”
While the whole show provided a dream’s soundtrack, the highlight of the set occurred when they mesmerized the crowd with “Myth” from their “Bloom” album. The crowd collectively swayed as Legrand began with its opening “drifting in and out.” People mouthed along, holding their arms up to the music, making the song’s line “what comes after this, momentary bliss?” even more poignant.
After dedicated cheering and rapid clapping from the crowd concluded the main portion of the show, Beach House returned to the stage for a finale. Before starting, Legrand thanked the crowd and recalled nostalgic memories of Birmingham and the now closed Bottletree Café. “Perseverance is everything. Good job Bottletree. Good job Saturn... I hope that—no it’s a fact— Birmingham will always be a part of our lives.”
Beach House’s newest album, “Depression Cherry” is out now and is available on Amazon, iTunes and Sub Pop’s Mega Mart.
