It was a warm, November night in Charlottesville, Virginia (weird). Teens and adults alike buzzed with excitement as they herded one by one into the belly of The Jefferson, awaiting the concert of their indie rock dreams. As the stage crew scouted the area for things that needed last-minute touching up, I heard someone say, “Maybe they’re looking for Beach House,” and decided I like this crowd.
After waiting for about an hour, we saw Alex Scally, James Barone, and Victoria Legrand walk across the dimly-lit stage and gear up for a performance that challenged boundaries between the material and the immaterial.
The band reeled us in with “Levitation”, a song off of their most successful album Depression Cherry. I found myself mesmerized by the drummer (no surprise there), and when he disappeared for a few songs, I felt really disoriented.
Then, a moment so powerful, so palpable—bright lights flickered in harmony with the beat of the kick while the crash directed Victoria’s spell-binding exorcism. At least one person blacked out. Once the purge was finally over, Victoria uttered a quick “thank you,” and the band members took their leave, which set fire to the hungry crowd. The angel herself was first to reappear. She bowed before us, palms pressed together. Her bandmates emerged a moment later for the encore performance.
Of the songs on the setlist (which can be found here: http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/beach-house/2016/the-jefferson-theater-charlottesville-va-43fae3bb.html), I enjoyed “PPP” and “Elegy to the Void” the most, but “Space Song” and “Myth” conjured the most nostalgia, flooding my mind with memories of my ex.
