Beach Fossils brought more than their stark, drone-y style of indie rock to The Tralf Monday. They also brought a wonderful sense of humor and playfulness that they often masked under an exaggerated lackadaisical attitude.
The Brooklyn quartet's tight, screeching set energized the 100-plus crowd with the upbeat melancholy of early songs like "Daydream" and "Sometimes." But the real fun came near the show's end, when lead vocalist Dustin Payseur offered commentary that was far different than your usual stage banter. With their set drawing near a close, Dustin announced, "We're going to play two more songs and then we're going to. . .kill ourselves on-stage." From there things just got weirder.
The band's performance of "Crashed Out" ended in a long blaze of screeching guitar and static that would make even the most ardent noise-rock junkie cringe, and Dustin's paranoid moaning vocals would make Cage the Elephant singer Matt Schultz seem calm by comparison.
They returned for an encore performance of "Twelve Roses," and then Dustin and guitarist Tommy Davidson stuck around for a "Q&A" with the audience - only they mumbled unenthusiastically and never gave a straight answer to anybody's question. When one person asked what Dustin's favorite album was, Dustin replied, "Uh, your album," and later commented, "this is the stupidest thing we've ever done, I can't believe you're all still standing there." After an impromptu sax solo by drummer Tommy Gardner, the band left the stage entirely.
The ending was so non-chalent it felt funny, bizarre and perhaps even a little stupid. But it's this same lazy but committed grunge-like attitude that embodies so many of their songs, and in a way, it was almost fitting.
Haha, I think that's my head obnoxiously ruining the shot. Agreed though, what a good show. It was a lot different than their one in February, because, as you said, it was fun and memorable.