All photos by Billy Bennight for the Los Angeles Beat
I got wind of Ghost Beach soon after their successful stint at CMJ. I sandwiched them in after Danny Glover and before a night of much needed sleep for a very busy following day with the cast of Madmen and Calista Flockhart. I slipped into the Echo Plex filled with the newly planted locals, young and fresh, ready to be entertained. I had listened to Ghost Beach’s digital EP “Modern Tongues” the previous day and liked what I heard. CMJ reported they possessed an 80’s vibe. I’ll be more specific. There is the ever so slight undertow of the Police, more or less referencing “Ghost in the Machine”, Visage “Night Train” and/or Ultravox’s “Lament”. No, the vocalist doesn’t sound like Gordon Sumner. Ghost Beach’s singer has greater range and much more of a traditional singing voice than Sting. Ghost Beach songs featured big echo laden vocals, bright synth sound with some cutting guitars riffs mixed with big pounding drums that all roll between arty funkiness and anthems. You’d think they were putting on the Blitz! Contemporary comparison that come to mind are Fenech-Soler or Neon Gold. This doesn’t mean you have to through out your WolfMother Cd’s or give up on Black Mountain weaving harmonies and bluesy riffs but Ghost Beach has rhythm drive and catchy Indy Pop songs!
To my surprise I was early or they were late?! Nonetheless, once acquiring my wrist band I headed to the area I’ve frequented over the years to locate myself on a cushy side seat to suck in the sight and gauge the audience. The crowd was a hundred to a hundred and fifty strong on a Thursday night. Good show on a night during the week. So Ghost Beach wouldn’t be singing to the walls of the Echo Plex. I drank it all in for the next 20 minutes or so before the bad was ready.
Once on the stage Ghost Beach are a high energy lot. They were ready to tare it up! The fans tightened while I located myself close to the stage for photos and to check out their chops. Mid-set folks moved up more and joined in singing with the hit song, Been There Before. Then it was fallowed with more of my personal favorites, Tear Us Apart and Faded. I could see how some of these songs could easily slip into Dub-step with the right DJ moves and tinkering. Especially, with the song Been There Before. They put on a fine show and locked in the audience for the whole set with presence and contagious energy. It was nice to see something new and fresh that had some vitality to it. I’ll be checking their progress and will likely see them again. It was a solid show by a new up and coming band!
Photo Gallery after the jump…
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- All photos by Billy Bennight for the Los angeles Beat
