The second and final day of Beach Goth saw biblical flooding, delayed set times and an unforgettable closing to the weekend. Despite the day beginning with a rough start due to heavy rains and the entirety of the Outdoor RX stage closing, nearly all of the bands managed to play – with the one major exception being Grimes’ cancelled set after her equipment was damanged. Many performers were forced to move their set time and in some cases the stage they performed at. At the end of the day, most importantly, amongst all of the chaos artists on the day two bill still found time to crank out some incredible tunes.
Out from the rain and under the safety of the Observatory, Broncho stepped out onto the blue lit stage and began their set with a howl. The band remained largely stationary compared to the bands that played there the day before, but nobody can deny that their dance moves and body rolling were unrivaled. While they played their indie rock the audience bobbed their head with approval.
Shortly after Broncho, the audience prepared themselves for the next performers. If there are two women in leather booty shorts twerking and one of the performers getting the audience to chant phrases about oral sex, that could only mean that it’s 2 Live Crew. Horribly misogynistic and terribly fun, their performance was one that audience members will carry with them long after the festival is over. Whether they were getting the crowd to decide who liked having sex the most by seeing who could shout inappropriate phrases louder or when one of the members proclaimed, “I would tell you where we are, but I’m high as fuck,” it’s obvious that both the band and the crowd enjoyed themselves.
When The Adicts took the stage, the rain had begun to pick up. This did not deter the crowd. Big, inflated beach balls bounced throughout the crowd and the band, who were all wearing their signature costumes, bowler hats similar to Alex in A Clockwork Orange and mime makeup, jumped around energetically across the stage and rain.
Out of all the performers of the day, the one stood out for being different in the lineup was Devendra Banhart. His signature freak folk proved to be a nice departure from what had been playing most of the weekend and the mood his music sets complemented the rainy weather. He played with the same cool demeanor that he does at each of his performances. He engages with the crowd before quickly transitioning back into his cool, hipster persona he is most associated with. Just as he was about to leave, the crowd chanted for one more song and he obliged ending with the clever and danceable “Carmensita.”
All while the bands were playing it began to rain harder and the Outdoor RX stage had begun to flood. The street where the crowd had gathered, huddled in a corner to avoid the growing puddles. The puddles eventually combined and transforming into one gigantic miniature pond. While the pond was growing, She Wants Revenge was playing under the safety of tents that had been erected right before their set began. Justin Warfield apologized for staying under the tents and cited his fear of electrocution, which would prevent him from coming out and engaging more with the audience. Their performance, however, did not disappoint. With Warfield’s monotone vocals and the dark wave synth that he sang over, it was hard to not be engaged with what they were playing. It began to rain harder and they ended with one of their biggest songs, “Tear You Apart.” One could see Warfield’s struggle to stay under the tent, but he nonetheless conveyed his intensity through his vocals and expressions.
“It’s wet as fuck up here,” were the first words from Hemlock Ernst’s mouth. For those unfamiliar with Future Islands, if you enjoy the music of LCD Soundsystem or simply enjoy synth-pop, it they are worth a listen. They sound like half LCD Soundsystem, half U2 with vocals sounding quite similar to Dicky Barrett from the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Their synth-pop was a much needed pick me up. Those who could not gain entry to the Observatory instead watched Future Islands. At the beginning, many seemed disappointed that they couldn’t be indoors, but once the band started their set, disappointment melted away and was replaced with dancing.
Not long after She Wants Revenge finished, the Outdoor RX stage was closed due to flooding. This meant that most of the band scheduled to play there were moved from the original spot to somewhere new. At 7:55, however, the stage reopened and RL Grime was finally able to perform. The crowd had diminished considerably, but those who managed to stick around to see RL Grime perform were elated that they did so. His set included all that should be expected from an electro house performance: fog machines, flashing lights and confetti.
Closing out the festival was French electronic duo Justice. Their hype music before coming out on stage was the theme music to 2001: A Space Odyssey and from there they transitioned into a remix of Prince’s “1999.” Their performance explored all different decades from the 80s, 90s and even the 60s. They remixed songs “I Love Rock N’ Roll” from Joan Jett and “I’m So Excited” from the Pointer Sisters. Just in case people became too comfortable with the 80s, they ended with Marvin Gaye’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”
Just as Justice finished, the fog began to roll in and weary concertgoers dragged their feet along the damp concrete. People with brooms and dustbins swept up cigarette butts, empty beer cans and any other evidence of this damp and unforgettable weekend.
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