Beach House @ The Pabst, 4/3/10

Sure, it's been almost two weeks since the Beach House show at the Pabst, and, sure, that probably violates some blogger code. But it's just a symptom of a larger problem I had with the Beach House show -- it just didn't make enough of an impression on me that I was itching to write a review. When I came out of the show, I initially had a pretty positive impression. I saw a slightly different element in their live show than I got from their album (i.e. a Beach Housian version of "rocking out"), which is a good thing. Plus, it didn't put me to sleep, which was a concern going in. But the more I thought about it, the more it struck me that I didn't fall asleep. It was an okay show, but it was the definition of sedate. Yet, there's nothing inherently wrong with sedate -- Jose Gonzalez doesn't exactly get people up dancing, but there's something about seeing the skill in his guitar playing and the ethereal quality to his live show that elevates his concert above most. But thinking back on Beach House, I feel as if I could have turned off the lights in my apartment (their show was movie theater dark), played the album on my good speakers, and gotten the same experience. Is that worth $15 to see live? I'm not sure. And that uncertainty is the lasting quality from their show. Is that a good thing? Probably not. Until we develop our own ranking, I'll give it a B-