When I saw Best Coast headline at The Regency Ballroom on February 29th, I had no idea that it would be the last live show I'd see in SF for the foreseeable future.
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Best Coast @ The Regency Ballroom 2/29/2020 photo by Marc Fong |
It was the second to last night of the 27th annual Noise Pop Music Festival and I only had a few days at home between working Envision in Costa Rica and Okeechobee Music Fest in Florida. I been approved to cover Bag Raiders at The Independent the night before which was the only show of the week long Noise Pop Festival bill I had planned on going to.
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Best Coast @ The Regency Ballroom 2/29/2020 photo by Marc Fong |
A few hours before doors opened I got a text asking if I wanted to go to the Best Coast show, turns out my friend had a +1. It was a Saturday night and I already had plans to meet another friend for dinner but The Regency was just down the street, I could totally do both. Get in some double friend time hangs while I was home and see a show. After dinner I hopped in a lyft, got to the venue, waited in line and collected my ticket at will-call. I met my friend inside and got a beer as we chit chatted during most of the opening set.
With a longtime, loyal following in the Bay Area and a recently released ew album it wasn't surprising to see the main floor packed by the time Best Coast went on. The aroma of pot and rolling applause filled the air. I don't remember as many people being in the band, in my head Best Coast has always been Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno but there they were, all four of them on stage.
More than half of their set, which consisted of 15 songs, came off of their new album, Always Tomorrow. Two years after their 4th album Best Kids, Always Tomorrow dropped on February 21st so again, it's no surprise we heard a lot of it at the show that night.
In a power-suit with the band's initials embroidered on the lapels (which also happen to be her initials) Bethany was looking svelte. The high knot bun she was rocking gave her an alt-rock edge but it was definitely noticeable that the front-lady was carrying herself with a new confidence.
There weren't too many pauses between songs which is something typical of the LA surf-rock rockers but when there was banter it felt lighter than the previous times I've seen them. Bobb kept to himself as he usually does, behind a fan that softly blows his beautiful long locks around as he plays but there was something different about Bethany, something good and it made me feel happy for her. It was the most personable Best Coast show that I've seen and the crowd was lively so I think they felt the new vibes, too.
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Best Coast @ The Regency Ballroom 2/29/2020 photo by Marc Fong |
I had bought a ticket to see Glass Animals at The Independent on March 12th, I don't buy concert tickets often but I was so excited to see that Glass Animals were playing smaller venues I couldn't miss it! The show was a couple of days after I got home from Okeechobee, things were already starting to feel weird and parts of SF were already a ghost town but I still had hope that afternoon that the show would go on. Sure enough it got canceled. And then all shows everywhere got canceled.
The neon signed that glowed on stage that night at Best Coast has been burned into my memory, Always Tomorrow.
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Best Coast @ The Regency Ballroom 2/29/2020 photo by Marc Fong |
Tomorrow is a funny thing because it never really comes but you can't give up hope.
Best Coast at The Regency wasn't suppose to be the last show that I saw in San Francisco this year and maybe it won't be...
Whenever tomorrow comes, that day when we can go to a show with friends, it will be the best day.
I'm really looking forward to it.
Best Coast set-list 2/29/2020
1. California Nights
2. Different Light
3. Wreckage
4. The Only Place
5. Crazy For You
6. Goodbye
7. For The First Time
8. Seeing Red
9. Everything Has Changed
10. Our Deal
11. Rollercoaster
12. Make It Last
13. No One Like You
14. Feeling OK
15. Graceless Kids
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