The Best Coast, "This is the only place for me"

“We do these free shows for the fans, not for the money or the publicity or any of that. We do this for you ‘cause you guys have supported us since the beginning,” said Best Coast lead singer, Bethany Cosentino, in the middle of their set on the Santa Monica Pier.

The Best Coast show was the last night of the 28th Annual Twilight Concert Series held on Sept. 6. Fifteen-year-old Leslie Ascencio came out that night to see Best Coast perform live for the fifth time.

Ascencio, standing first in line at the merchandise booth and debating which t-shirt would best sport her Best Coast love, said she keeps coming back to the shows because of the incredible energy and the way she can feel and relate to the music.

Los Angeles natives, Consentino and Bobb Bruno make up the indie rock duo known as Best Coast. Their melodic tunes were given a more electric feel for the live performance, but Consentino could still be seen swaying along to the strumming of her own guitar.

The band played from both their first album, Crazy for You, their newly released sophomore album, The Only Place, and threw in some pre-album oldies.

Before playing the song “The Only Place,” Consentino announced, “This song is about California,” and the crowd went crazy. The song includes lyrics: “Why would you live anywhere else? We’ve got the ocean, got the babes Got the sun, we’ve got the waves, This is the only place for me.”

Although the songs are generally laidback, the attitude of the crowd was anything but. Erika Sanchez and Tania Negrete said that, “No one was really into it, and they were pushy.”

No matter though, they wouldn’t let that stop them from enjoying the music. They still danced and sang along to their favorite songs, and overall liked the performance.

The highlight of the show was definitely the encore. By this time the rowdy crowd had settled down and the fans could be heard singing along to their favorite songs, including “I Want To,” and Best Coast’s top hit, “Boyfriend.”

Despite Best Coast’s songs having yet to hit radio stations or achieve mainstream popularity, they have an impressive and passionate following of fans. If you missed them at the Santa Monica Pier, they will be appearing on Sept. 16 at the Oceanside Pier with Fiona Apple, Oberhofer, and many others.