Beach Slang/Lithuania/Worriers

Live in Toronto (2015)

mikebored

Taking 2015 by storm, Beach Slang have got to be one of the busiest and talented punk acts to come up recently. 

Their sound, clearly influenced by The Replacements, show the continuing presence and effect the band makes thirty plus years after the inception and the new generation of Punk meets Alternative and at times meets Emo Bands (the good kind of Emo..).

Debuting with their first full-length release The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us on Polyvinyl Records, a solid real introduction of the band to the world, they embarked on a tour throughout the U.S and Canada in support of the release. 

Weaving their way on November 23rd to a cold and snowy Monday night at The Cave in Toront,o they showed little signs of wear and tear to a pumped and excited crowd.

Starting the night off was Brooklyn NY's Worriers, who funny enough actually seemed a little worried when taking the stage. At this point the room was still a little bare with people still coming but after a couple of songs and a warm response from everyone the band was slaying it with their songs.The whole band was tight and swapping vocal duties song after song helped keep things fresh and cheerful, a perfect band to be on the same bill as Beach Slang considering their punk/indie sound which gave me a similar vibe to Cayetana.

Moving further into the night was Lithuania. These guys sure make playing live look like it's one of the easiest things to do, with a totally relaxed vibe the band pumped out song after song like it was nobody's business.They seem like the perfect college rock type of band, the set sounded very stoner rock but with a grunge-punk kind of twist to it that I kind of wish I had known of them before as their songs were really catchy but I didn't know the lyrics to them so it was mostly just me kind of half-humming the notes to myself. Thank God it was loud in the venue so nobody heard me do it…..

With Lithuania done playing, Beach Slang was finally up next to perform. By then the venue was packed and really sweaty, it kind of sucked that there was no coat check so everyone had to hold on to their jackets - at one point I lost my sweater because it slipped from me walking through the crowds trying to find a decent spot to hang at. Not fun.

At last the band came in to a roaring applause and starting off the set with "Filthy Luck" followed by "Kids." Brilliant tracks coming straight off their E.P Who Would Ever Want Anything So Broken? - people were singing aloud to almost every word belched out in these songs.

Introducing themselves and thanking for the crowd for being here on a cold Monday night the band mentioned that their bass player was unable to play the show due to some border crossing issues so they had Eric from Lithuania fill in last minute (and learn the songs last minute as well). They managed to actually Skype their bass player while he was in the shower and had the crowd greet him while he was awkwardly hiding behind the curtains….

Moving to some tracks from the new release, the band didn't waste time in introducing us to the new numbers which are a true testimony to the good stuff in store from this brilliant band. Tracks like "Throwaways" and "Noisy Heaven" took everyone by storm and made us love this band even more, as we were getting a first hand experience of their new songs.

Eventually and fittingly enough, "Bastards of Young" were covered by the band as well as "Save Your Generation" by Jawbreaker. A joke was made about the band being a cover band as a short rendition of "Lua" by Bright Eyes was played. These covers had a really cool and modern spin to the originals with a slight change in tempo and the cool reverby/chorus tone the guitars are naturally sound with Beach Slang. 

Eventually "Get Lost" was played along with a couple of newer tracks with "Punk or Lust" topping the night off which almost seemed like it was too soon even though the set was already clocking in over an hour.

Missing my opportunity to see them in Montreal earlier this year, I don't regret coming to see these guys at all. Their intricate songwriting and style resonate with everything that a good band comprises of. Their live performance really brings these songs out even more and connects with the crowd, there's tons of band that can do that but what really makes these guys different is their distinct sound that pays tribute to the pioneers of punk/alternative but at the same time really brings a fresh spin it. 

These are one of the few bands lately you can listen to and love it in seconds whether it be live performance or a studio recording and they definitely proved it with this show.