Sunday night’s Beach House art show paved the way for a Monday evening spring blowout. Following a pop-up installation at Brazos Hall, which capped at 200 ticket holders, the Baltimore pop duo added two backing musicians and 2,000-plus people for a sold-out show at the Moody Theater.
Balloons filled with luminescence batted around the crowd like beach balls as singer-keyboardist Victoria Legrand led the quartet through a diverse, 90-minute concert covering the band’s six-album career. Where Beach House’s offerings the night before had been limited to songs easily executed by her and core partner Alex Scally – primarily built from the duo’s 2006 debut and follow-up Devotion – live drums and a bass player let the pair dream bigger. And if you happened to be on back-to-back Beach House duty, the minimal overlap between the two sets showed a different, fuller side of the band.
Stunners from 2012’s Bloom proved 1,000-watt. “Myth” and “Other People” benefited from extra backup, allowing Legrand’s keys and Scally’s guitar slide to arc gracefully. Brooding bedroom ballad “Walk in the Park” soared early on, carried by Legrand’s husky alto and pulsing synthesizer lines.
“10 Mile Stereo” from 2010’s Teen Dream showcased Scally’s lightning-fast picking, which while adept and entrancing, easily collapses into the atmospheric soundscapes created by Legrand’s synth and a carefully orchestrated light display. At times, the intoxicating dream-pop felt dependent on the exacting visuals. As a backdrop of faux stars twinkled behind “Wishes,” sound and vision combined to transport you out of a room jammed with people and into ethereal space.
“The thing I love most about Texas is the fucking skies,” announced Legrand, as if prompted by the band’s own spectacle. “You can’t live without looking at the stars.”
This article appears in April 8 • 2016.