Beach House, The Roter Salon 02/25

@@@ out of @@@@

I saw Beach House — whose last two albums have been making their rotation through my speakers probably more than any other band as of late — at the Roter Salon in Berlin last night and they definitely lived up to their number one spot on my playlist. And the "Red Salon" does its own part and lived up to its name, from the obviousness shown in the photos above to its history as an old East German Socialist theater. Despite my hatred for red attire, luckily I am not at all against red walls and red lighting. And it was one of those perfectly sized venues - just small enough to feel an intimacy with the performers and large enough to not feel completely overheated and packed in.

Due to an extreme and unusual punctuality we found ourselves in the front row for a majority of the show. It's certainly been a long time since I've been that close to the music and it was nice to have a complete view of the duo. Despite their atmospheric almost melancholy music, they both are quite entertaining and the boredom that sometimes occurs at a mellow concert never crept in. He in an approachably cute way, playing his guitar in just socks, making subtle yet sweet jabs at his first Berlin audience and adding a gentle harmony to her throaty vocals. She head-banging her shaggy hair intensely trying to fight off any "dreamy" label the group may have gotten in the past, snapping her golden ringed fingers with a shimmy stomp to her feet.

This reference may be way too off base for some but I used to seriously be into musicals as a kid, and Victoria is such a hipster version of Broadway actress Bernadette Peters — raspy and brash yet completely sexual and alluring. And speaking of sexy, let's get to their music. I read in an interview they wanted "Teen Dream" to be the kind of album you can fuck (excuse me, make love to) and from her longing moans to the up-tempo down-tempo melodies just fast and slow enough to hit the right spot, I think they may have gotten their wish. Finally, they sound just as good if not better live than on the album, and for a girl who has been obsessively listening that is really all I could've asked for.