Best Coast, Lemuria
Emo’s East, June 3Emo’s East hosted the best smelling show of Chaos in Tejas; crust punks were traded in for hipsters and preteen dates. Best Coast headlined, but main support Lemuria stole the show. Although they only had the stage for a half-hour, the New York trio packed short, fast, and fantastic songs with serious passion. The guitar tone was perfectly punk rock, with drummer Alex Kerns occasionally jumping in on vocals which paired beautifully with Sheena Ozzella’s strong and lovely singing. Afterward, it wasn’t that Best Coast didn’t deliver the hits – crowd favorites were plentiful and tons of fun. Yet other than singles, the sunny L.A. crew focused on slower songs. A cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Storms” felt indulgent in the absence of new album anthems like “My Life.” It was the last show of this tour, and very late on Sunday, but those don’t seem like great excuses for vocalist Bethany Cosentino messing up a song twice, then giving up. “The Only Place,” “When I’m With You,” and “Summer Mood” were standouts, the issues being set list choices and attitude rather than skill. Lemuria gave its heart, while Best Coast seemed bored. No love lost for the latter, but the former bears adoration.
This article appears in June 8 • 2012.