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Review and photos: Beach House play an immersive second night at First Avenue

  Play Now [9:13]

by Raisa Elhadi

September 24, 2015

Beach House vocalist Victoria Legrand couldn’t stop thanking the audience for being at the show—and through their enthusiastic approval of every song, the crowd echoed the sentiment.

After an understated set from opener Jessica Pratt, the Maryland-based duo took to the stage for a second night in a row, following up Tuesday’s sold-out show with another packed house. The Minneapolis show is part of an international tour following the release of their latest album Depression Cherry, a record that returns to the simpler melodies and lighter sounds of previous albums.

The set began with a dark stage and quietly echoing synth chords, slowly increasing the light and the sound to open with “Levitation,” the first track on Depression Cherry. Each song began slowly and gradually escalated, a microcosm of the concert as a whole.

A couple songs in, Legrand greeted the audience. “Sometimes the second night is way better than the first,” she observed, to which the audience responded eagerly. The show then took on an aura of ephemerality, illustrating a central theme from Depression Cherry with lyrics like “won’t last forever...or maybe it will.” Starry lights lit a filmy backdrop for “Other People,” whose intensity built and then carried over into “Norway.”

The band kept a steady energy throughout the night, never allowing a lull despite the airier quality of songs off the new album. They held the audience in a trance, pulling them back and forth as the show oscillated between low and high dynamics.

Each song came closer and closer to a pinnacle, escalating toward peak energy, filling the crowd’s chests with bass and then drawing back. As the night progressed, the drums got heavier and the band loosened up, launching themselves physically into the performance. Legrand appealed to Twin Cities pride by nodding to the area’s impressive music scene before admitting, “we don’t know when we’ll be back.”

“Maybe that’s the trick, though—never knowing where you’re going. You just end up there,” she continued as she and bandmate Alex Scally launched into “Space Song.”

Both artists and audience became fully immersed in the last three songs of the show as the set reached its peak. Strobe lights and heavy bass made for a visceral finale as the band concluded with “Sparks,” leaving the audience with echoes of “alive” as they exited the stage. A good three minutes of passionate ovation later, and they reentered. “Are you sure?” Legrand asked the crowd, and they roared back with eagerness.

The night ended with an encore of “10 Mile Stereo” off 2010’s Teen Dream, a culmination of augmented energy that climaxed in a zenith of drums, light, and cheers from the crowd.

Earlier that day, Legrand and Scally visited The Current's studios to talk with Jade. Listen to their conversation:

Set list:

Levitation

Gila

PPP

Wildflower

Other People

Norway

10:37

The Hours

Space Song

Take Care

Astronaut

Myth

Beyond Love

Wishes

Sparks

Encore

10 Mile Stereo

Jessica Pratt

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Beach House

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Writer Raisa Elhadi and photographer Bridget Bennett are both students at the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities. 

Clean Water Land & Legacy Amendment
This activity is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.