Best Coast - The Wiltern - 5/18/12
See also: Our Best Coast Slideshow, The Branding of Best Coast: The Duo Partners With Urban Outfitters, Inspires Internet Wrath
Timothy Norris Best Coast
Best Coast, Jeff the Brotherhood, Abe Vigoda
The Wiltern
5/18/12
Better than: listening to The Only Place on a "My First Turntable" from Urban Outfitters.
Last night I was officially converted to a full-on Best Coast fan. Fronted by the magnanimous Bethany Cosentino, the band was back on their home turf, playing to a nearly sold-out crowd at the Wiltern. After having somewhat of a mixed reaction to her new album The Only Place -- which struggles from serious identity issues -- I was among the skeptics in the crowd.
Produced by Jon Brion, who backed up the band on several songs last night, The Only Place strays from the brash, lo-fi aesthetic of the Best Coast's early material, embracing a more touched-up, glossy feel that basically removes any sort of edge from the equation. In a live setting, however, they certainly made up for it, selling the new songs with a passion spearheaded by Cosentino's unrelenting stage presence.
Local indie band Abe Vigoda kicked off the show and Nashville garage-rockers Jeff the Brotherhood followed with a brief but explosive set that showed off the young Nashville natives' exciting potential. They took they stage around 9:30 with matching see-thru drums and guitar. They shied away from any stage banter and instead used their 30-minute set to expound upon jam-heavy material from their recent full-length and new Hypnotic Knights EP, which is set to be released next week.
Containing only two members, brothers Jake and Jamin Orrall, Jeff the Brotherhood shreds on stage with the power of a four-piece, drawing from classic rock influences and nouveau punk, including deceased fellow Tennessean Jay Reatard. Watching much of the audience singing along and clearly enjoying the set, it's worth noting that Jeff the Brotherhood and Hanni El Khatib seem to be taking the reigns from their garage-rock forebears Jack White and The Black Keys. The difference, it seems, is that the new generation has learned from the missteps of their elders, sticking to a formula that works rather than branching out in to gimmicky, overproduced territory, to the chagrin of a dedicated fanbase. 
Timothy Norris JEFF the Brotherhood
After pummeling their way through the heavier end of their catalog with songs like "Shredder" and "Ripper," Jeff the Brotherhood took a few minutes out for a couple down-tempo numbers and then immediately returned to the madness with their new single "Sixpack," released earlier this week. The two members complement each other incredibly well on stage. Jamin bashed away on the drums like a young Patrick Carney while Jake wandered about in a trance, channeling the distorted glory of early Black Sabbath on guitar.
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