The Rickshaw is a favoured venue among several people I know. I get it, I suppose; It's small enough to provide a reasonable sense of intimacy, yet large enough and sporting the proper dimensions to move and thrash around, should one so choose. They sell beer, right there next to the stage- it certainly has thing's going for it. Yet I feel like I can't quite get behind the place. Perhaps it seems a little too analogous to the conveyance with which it shares its name. Aging, rickety, constantly at risk of falling apart- the celling was leaking after all. It might be a combination of seasonal and geographic issues. Being in Chinatown, it's a little beyond the realm of super fast public transportation that I'm used to, and is a venue more booked in the fall and winter, as opposed to places like the Malkin Bowl, which gain in primacy during the summer. In other words, I'm often walking to the Rickshaw or waiting for a bus to get there in shit weather, putting me in a less than stellar mood upon my arrival. On the other hand, I usually see a pretty decent light show there, something I would be reminded of when I saw Wavves and Best Coast. I have to express a touch of regret and disappointment that I couldn't see these groups on a warmer summer night, outdoors- these groups are growing more and more synonymous with my favourite season. Nevertheless, this was the date and location, so I dutifully went.
As I claimed- although it's hardly my opinion, more like accepted fact- Best Coast and Wavves are both musical groups obviously oriented around the beach, sun, and the summer. Wavves seems a little like the plucky side kick of Best Coast, representing the reckless and carefree joys of summer as all your responsibilities just seem to melt away in the heat and all that's left is to be king of the beach. Obviously this is an orientation directed at a slightly younger audience, one where school is really the only predominate source of stress and obligation. When school's out, it's two months of immature and delinquent freedom- that's Wavves. Catering to such a demographic, Wavves songs are colourfully goofy and bratty, with Nathan Williams fully embracing the hormonal and intellectual imbalance that leads kids to being narcissistic, short sighted drama queens. But in their music, they always seemed to do so in a mocking and ironic sort of way. By being so hyperbolic in his lyrics- things like “my music sucks”, “my friends all hate me”, “I'd say I'm sorry, but it wouldn't mean shit”, that sort of stuff- Williams seems to highlight the excessive immaturity of youth. But it's done so in such a charming way, even if he is screaming in such a bratty and volatile manner. There's something we can all appreciate in the care free innocence of kids who having nothing better to do than complain about non issues. It doesn't hurt that their frenetic house party hooks and rhythms are really well realized.
The problem with seeing Wavves, is you realize, shockingly, it's not an act. These kids really do come off as little shits that think no one likes them and their relatively conventional stoner rock is some grand act of defiance. It's not, it's just music that sounds pretty good. As Williams strutted on stage, wearing sweat pants and shoes that weren't tied, I was immediately concerned. We all know the tried and true tale of the hipster spending two hours in the mirror trying to make his hair look like he just rolled out of bed; In this case I'm pretty sure he actually did role out of bed, or get up from the floor. He had this obnoxious “whatever” kind of attitude, not so much casual nonchalance, just not giving a shit if he was even in tune. Seeing Wavves perform live tears down the illusionary wall of social commentary and irony that I, apparently mistakenly, thought they displayed so aptly in their music. They weren't being bratty, they were just brats. Who am I to judge though, as they were certainly playing to their crowd. Sure the majority of the populace there was certainly my age I imagine, they just behaved like they were still children- children with drugs. I can't remember the last time I saw a team of increasingly frustrated bouncers toss so many e tards and coke heads out on their ass. I was terribly amused, in my own bitter and perverse way, to be standing right next to the door to which at least 6 guests were forcibly and unceremoniously ejected from. Idiots. There was no worse offender than one of the professional- in the very loosest sense of the term- photographers in the press pit up front. More interested that dancing and being seen with his camera than actually using it, he was a distracting nuisance, and before long even the staff decided it was inappropriate for him to be there in any kind of official measure.
My issues with Wavves demeanour aside, they still managed to perform admirably. This shouldn't come as too much of a surprise as their music- as much as I really do enjoy it- is about as complex as three strings, a bass and some percussion. It's simple, easy to replicate, hard to screw up, even if you have just awaken from your scheduled 10:30 nap. The sound in the room seemed fine; all the instruments sounded distinctly audible so all parts of the songs were respectably intact. Williams' voice was expectedly slightly hoarse and flat, but it works just fine with their brand of music, all he needed to was scream and wail and he nailed it. Wavves is actually the type of band I'd recommend if you don't go to many concerts. All of their songs really just center around one or two catchy hooks and are usually over and done with before it drags on for too long. They played a number of tracks I really love- “King of the Beach” “Super Soaker”, “Linus Spacehead”; I wish they would have played the excellent send off “Baby Say Goodbye”, but you can't win them all.
The lighting was really awesome, definitely a highlight of the night for me. There was nothing so spectacular as lasers or flood lights, rather just a really powerful and prolific fog machine strategically placed right below an assortment of spot lights all throwing out different sets of colours in randomized combinations. The result was nebulas of fog engulfing only parts of the group on stage with constantly shifting, and gorgeously rich colours of blue, red, green, purple, and, and yellow. It was a dazzling array that for me added a great deal to show; I can only imagine what it was like for the people on copious amounts of drugs.
If Wavves is that type of summer time experience where there is nothing to do but screw around in the sun, then surely Best Coast is equally representative of some other experience that is connotative with the summer. Best Coast is like having an entire summer to spend with only one person, only your nervously aware it will end at some point. Their music is imbedded with romanticism and just a bit of angst or remorse. It's not as if these themes are anymore mature or juvenile than what Wavves does, just that it's a more universal concept. It's something that we can all appreciate, no matter what our age or situation. The stakes seem more important with Best Coast; compared to Wavves at least, they had heart. Unlike Wavves, Best Coast was reassuringly, a lot like I'd hoped they would be. Relaxed and congenial, but committed to the moment, with Bethany Cosentino willing to show her more emotionally vulnerable side. Her voice seemed a little more weathered and seasoned, slightly rough around the edges. I won't say it is better or worse than how she sounds on the album, or anything else so normative. But it was a nice change of pace, it made the music seem a little more fresh and unexpected. As a whole the band comes off with a slightly harsher and more grizzled sound than I would have expected. When they played the now iconic “Boyfriend” it moved a slightly faster pace with a bit more of a metal sound to it. Sort of like the way “Get Innocuous” by LCD Soundsystem gets a little more tough when performed live. The group still managed to retain their breezy and hopelessly romantic character throughout. Elsewhere, as she sung the final words to another favourite “When I'm With You”, she seemed to slurringly force the words out as opposed to the more euphoric studio recordings. If my description sounds harsh it's not to imply anything negative, I quite liked how it sounded. Furthermore Bobb Bruno had a number of fantastic solos and hooks in general, especially on the few new tracks they played. I can't recall the names of these new offerings, and they ran pretty much the same course as the rest of their body of work, but they seemed like more than suitable contributions- anything to stretch out their set I suppose, as they don't have a huge number of tracks to draw from. His extended part in “When I'm With You” was especially poignant. The notes seemed to just drip from the speakers, but at a blinding fast speed- I really liked it.
I didn't like it when they played “Bratty B”. I love that song, it's irresistibly fun and silly. That is until they messed it up. I don't know if someone skipped a cue or some other minute distraction cropped up causing her to forget the words, but before the crowd or Bethany knew it, she had skipped ahead about 5 lines. She tried to redirect the song along the right course, but that just made it fall apart even more. Eventually they just stopped and started over. Not terribly impressive, but they got it right the second time and I guess we all had a good laugh afterwords. It was quite amusing when they finally reached the song's conclusion, Bethany walked right up to the edge of stage, comically and intimidatingly shouting “What!!?” I also wish the lighting and smoke effects matched what I saw earlier with Wavves. It was definitely more subdued and practical offering. I might defend the decision by claiming Best Coast can rely on their own merits and don't need any shinny distractions in the way that Wavves did. But I like the shinny distractions. The other problem with Best Coast is they don't have a good send off song yet. No grand finale kind of song that you know will cap off the evening, as a result, the set seemed a little inconclusive. I hope this is something they address in future albums. When they do, I'll be ready to see them again; just as long as they remember the words. And next time play in the summer!
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