Beach Goth has become one of our favorite music fests of the year, hands down. It’s California cool meets Halloween weird, and we love every second of it. For the first time in its four years of existence, this year’s festivities were split into two days and again held in The Growlers‘ stompin’ ground of Orange County at The Observatory. Check out our Beach Goth 4 photos and recap of the music and people that made the weekend dope af.
Day 1
Saturday was the day to go all out. We cruised down early in the AM to the Costa Mesa area to meet up with the crew and and get adequately prepped in our costumes, properly lubed up with booze. A quick neo-cab ride over (Uber, Lyft, idk… We got there safe), and we found The Observatory grounds had swelled to a size well beyond any other festival held there, and the lines to enter were impressively long!
Despite arriving over an hour before one of our top pick’s scheduled set time, the line for our press credentials was just too busted and we had to hear most of The Adicts from outside the venue. We just barely made it in to catch the last few songs. Then, to our delight, the surf sounds of long-time faves, The 5, 6, 7, 8’s filled the silence between sets on an outdoor side stage.
Warpaint is usually quite a pleasure to see, but after catching the most mesmerizing set at Desert Daze earlier this year, their set just seemed a bit out of place in terms of the high level of energy that was all around them.
We stepped inside for fave Anarcho-punks the Subhumans. You ever see a REAL circle pit? ‘Cuz the Subhumans certainly BROUGHT IT and got the whole place slammin’. And in a perfect one-two punch, Fresno garage legends, The Mummies, took the stage for one of their first SoCal performances in 20-something years. It was pure gnar.
The night slowed down a bit from the raw power inside as we caught Grimes and her bangin’ set, followed by Wanda Jackson with her classic songs and cute stories of yesteryear.
And then, The Growlers. Dressed as skeletons, the dudes mystified all with their signature beachy, gothy vibes. It was a wonderful day.
Day 2
After a night of continued partying, we woke up, picked up a mad number of burritos from Miguel’s Jr., and cracked the fireball to get our engines running clean for Day 2.
We mostly had an easier time making it into the venue (aside from security really wanting to find those hidden doobies) and were able to catch The Coathangers. The grrrls killed it per usual with the added touch of their zombie make up. Next FIDLAR hit the outdoor stage and truly brought the ruckus and got the kids going wild over 40’s and skateboarding.
We later caught thee Weasel, Pauley Shore, as he provided his own brand of sleaze to the stage while Nobunny hopped around in his undies, playing his jangly garage rock.
Dude, Die Antwoord. Such a treat. Not quite a band we’d go out of our way for, but in looking forward to Beach Goth, they felt like the perfect act for the festival. And in fact, they were extra dope. So much energy, so much passion. And they even brought their daughter out to dance!
The Growlers again closed things out, (but not before an ultimate surprise performance of “Regulators” by none other than Warren G) making for a perfect Beach Goth weekend.
So happy to have seen all our friends and familiar faces – Already looking forward to next year. Thanks to The Growlers for making it all happen.
+++ Photos by Sergio Estrada +++