CONCERT REVIEW: Best Coast @ Union Transfer

Photo by PETE TROSHAK

BY JONATHAN VALANIA FOR THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER There are two kinds of bands in this life: the ones that write all kinds of songs, some great, some good, some not so much. Think the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac. And then there are the bands that write the same song over and over again, but we are willing to overlook that fact because it’s a great song. Think the Ramones or the Jesus and Mary Chain or Metallica. Best Coast, the blogger-beloved Cali fuzz-pop duo fronted by former indie-rock It Girl Bethany Consentino, fits into the latter category. I’m not the first one to point this out, which may help to explain why they’ve begun to mix it up a bit, breaking out of the Phil-Spector-by-way-of-the-Vaselines template that circumscribed their debut and early singles. Still, the basic premise of Best Coast — two-minute doses of eternal sunshine for spotless minds — remains blessedly intact, and such was the case Monday night when Best Coast delivered a sultry, sold-out performance at Union Transfer. MORE