Let’s be honest. The once admirable indie-minded festival Coachella is no longer indie at all. Without that, that leaves Southern California without a real, solid music festival that focuses on music for music’s sake. Sure, there is FYF Festival, and it’s not too bad given the circumstances. But given FYF Fest’s increased cooperation with mega promoter Goldenvoice/AEG, FYF feels less like “Fuck yeah!” and more like Coachella Lite. The bill there has even progressively become more like the blander variety of Coachella bookings, and seems to lack the teeth of daring choices. This void in an area overflowing with obsessed music fans must be filled. Enter today’s subject matter, the now annual Beach Goth event in Santa Ana. The festival is kind of run by, and essentially headlined by local act The Growlers; though it may have been initially started as a self-serving event, it is now a real thing. Visual estimates alone would put the crowd on hand at near 10,000. Did it live up to the promise of being the heirs apparent to the once jaw-dropping Coachella?

All photos for mxdwn by Owen Ela

The answer to that comes two fold. In terms of talent, surely it does. In terms of organization, comfort and services, it’s got a long way to go. On an axiomatic level, cramming too many people into any modest space is just a recipe for disaster. Here, two smaller stages were slotted inside the venue The Observatory and the main stage was set up in the parking lot directly outside. The main stage allowed for more than ample viewing room, but the inside was a mess of titanic proportions. The so-called “The Graveyard” stage inside the venue was overflowing far past levels what would cause a dutiful fire marshal to have a full-on coronary. Every inch of space was filled by fans eager to see legendary British punk act The Subhumans. The main entrance that filtered off into three different directions became an impassable wall of people writhing and pushing with reckless abandon. Never mind when the band finished and everyone tried to exit the space. By the bar in the back, there were nearly three fights in as many minutes. No security to be seen anywhere.

Still, outside was decently more comfortable. Indie pop stalwarts The Drums brought the daylight hours to a close with a solid set. Not quite full on danceable, there was still enough spring in their music to inspire movement from the throngs present.

Swedish metal band Ghost (generally stylized for legal reasons in the U.S. as Ghost B.C.) came next on the main stage and more than lived up to their stellar reputation. For the uninitiated, Ghost is a Swedish metal band, but one blissfully absent of guttural dry lung vocals. The lead singer takes on an almost nasal Mike Patton-ish vocal intonation and the music steps just a bit shy of death metal. The rub is essentially every member of the band is unnamed and not revealed as to their true identities. All the musicians are known only as “Nameless Ghouls” and the singer goes by the moniker Papa Emeritus III (yes, whomever this Papa is, he’s the third man to play the role). On stage the Nameless Ghouls are decked in black with devilish silver masks adorned with horns. Papa Emeritus III wears a cardinal outfit and crown, though styled as a satanic priest. Each song revels in anti-God, decently satanic lyricism. Is it serious? Do they really worship the devil? Honestly, it’s 2015. Who cares? This band kicks ass. And, even if they are hoping for the arrival of the dark lord their demeanor is pleasant. They work hard to put on a great show and constantly egg the crowd on to have a good time. Here, their set was abbreviated, only allowing for five songs (four of which were from their new album Meliora): “From the Pinnacle to the Pit,” “Year Zero,” “Cirice,” “Absolution” and “Mummy Dust.” They made the most of it though, brilliantly balancing the line between credible counter culture metal and accessible hard rock. Nothing in their music—voice, drums, guitar or keyboards—is over used. Each piece gets a moment to shine brightly in a wonderful balance of fun, driving rock.

Later, Mac Demarco took things in a completely different direction. His music is hard to pin down; it blends the line between surf rock and early 80’s alternative music, it’s professional musicianship that never truly rises above laid-back tempos. It’s never as mellow as good-vibes musicians Jack Johnson or Donavon Frankenreiter, it’s fun without being boring and intricate without being indulgent noodling. As odd a character as Demarco is himself, his backing band seemed to give as much commentary as he did. One even went so far as to offer the sage council, “If the person next to you doesn’t feel like being pushed, don’t push them. Be courteous.” True that. “The Way You’d Love Her” got a huge cheer from the crowd early on. “Let Her Go” and “Ode to Viceroy” were technically impressive and jubilantly fun.

Back inside, another legend Wanda Jackson again had the room overflowing with people. Jackson, now 78 years young, still gleefully jams rockabilly like the legit icon of the movement she’s known to be. She happily regaled the crowd with stories on her long career and did a solid cover of Elvis’ “Heartbreak Hotel” explaining she performs one cover of his at every show. She also spoke about her partnership with Jack White on her 2011 album The Party Ain’t Over. Before performing her cover of Amy Winehouse’s “You Know I’m No Good” she explained how White convinced her to cover it, “He has a sweet way about him and he told me to just try it.”

Finally for us was rising Canadian star Grimes (nee Claire Boucher). Grimes has wisely been building up anticipation for her next album, Art Angels, the follow-up to her breakthrough hit Visions. The new album—apparently to be released literally any day now—this quasi headlining set featured a few unnamed songs from it. If they are any indication, Grimes has shifted from the more ethereal and ghost-like approach of her earlier music and dialed up the dance beats to an almost frenetic pace. As far as performance is concerned, all the instrumentation is triggered by Grimes at a pedestal adorned with sequencers near the back of the stage. She then sings and runs about frantically, dancing sometimes, others running back to the pedestal to alter the backing tracks. Fans present had no trouble picking up the pulse of early career track “Devon” and Visions cut “Be A Body.” She performs with exuberant determination throughout, and she really cares about what she’s putting forth. That’s a good thing. It’s hard not to compare her to another rising star FKA twigs though, given the presentation. It’s a similar confection, and given her legit background as a dancer, somehow FKA twigs just comes across as a more polished presentation. This rings a little sloppier, though still fun.

Some other sights from the day:

Sir Mix-A-Lot

The Adicts

The Aquabats

Toro y Moi

Warpaint 

All photos for mxdwn by Owen Ela