One of my favorite things about attending Boston Calling was learning about lesser known bands. I had no idea who the Aces, the Linda Lindas, or Bleachers were. I didn't know who Fletcher was. The Beaches were one of those bands that I learned of. In describing them, I compared the Toronto foursome to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Less in their sound, and more in their chemistry. Think about the dynamic that John Frusciante, Flea, and Chad Smith have. Intuitively, they're so connected that singer Anthony Kiedis just steps and lets them jam. Unlike in RHCP, the Beaches are all synched more closely.
Leandra Earl is that "Flea" of the band. A multi-instrumentalist with a big stage presence, she's jumping of risers, flirting with bandmates, performing some crowd work, and bringing additional instruments like cowbells and tambourines to the performance. Her stage presence and vibe is currently what I'd describe as the Cars' Ric Ocasek as a 30 year-old queer woman. A "Ric Ocasek Mk II" if you will. Jordan Miller is the Benjamin Orr to Leandra's Ocasek. A bassist and lead singer whose onstage energy reminds me of a young Liz Phair. Jordan's sister Kylie is more quiet on the stage, letting her excellent guitar playing do the talking. Eliza McDaniels' drumming provides a solid foundation that her bandmates can rely on as a structure to build from. Keep in mind that when I describe these ladies' stage presence, that is just a facet of the people who we as fans are increasingly learning about. Michael Stipe's "goblin" makeup can serve as an example of how a stage presence can be a part of what put him into the performer headspace when singing with his REM bandmates in front of an audience. It was an interview that the Miller sisters gave on Tom Power's "Q" program that showed me a more reserved side of Jordan. She spoke about the heartache and breakups that the band transformed into a musical rocket fuel. The more intimate interview allowed Kylie to explain the band's journey through the music business, giving fans a deeper understanding of the woman behind the guitar. This increased level of recognition (adorned by highlights like an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel's late night show) is building, and now friends and family are starting to hear the Beaches on the radio. Honestly, I'm so happy to see the Beaches start surging like this in the music industry.
The setlist was mainly composed of songs from the new album (2023's "Blame My Ex"). This also made room for older material. "Grow Up Tomorrow" is a song that I think continues to resonate with many millennials. Especially those of us with aspirations in the creative field. Compounded with seeing friends' milestones, there can be a feelings about comparisons between different life journey and "adulting". The wider varieties of said adulting, and combine with feeling less a need to fit any specific mold. In a mixture of pros and cons, previous generations were more consistently raised to follow a very set blueprint on how to live life. Faced with not only the feeling that we have to "keep up" with certain peers, there can be condemnation and other forms of discouragement. That makes it all the more of a personal responsibility to keep an eye on goals, and the process of manifesting. Personally, I think that it could be a fair guess that the increased practice of manifestation and intentions may be in part due to people's increased willingness to follow less conventional life paths.
Another of the older songs that caught my attention was "Back of my Heart". Listening to the driving beat, Kylie's lead guitar has small moments as the song progresses. Jordan is singing about the drive and perseverance to achieve goals despite odds. The song builds as the lead guitar becomes more prominent, reaching the best solo of the setlist. The guitar build-up seems to role-play the lyrics of "I'm gonna get there". It reminded me of Buck Dharma's guitar playing in the Blue Oyster Cult's live performances of "Godzilla". While the BOC song is about a physical approach of its titular being, both songs display not only big achievements building up to the goals, but also the more nuanced tones and utterances that are also in the process of progressing.
The songs from "Blame My Ex" were helpfully given more context during the concert as the bandmates talked about breakups. Some which happened just as the Beaches were in Boston last spring. For too long, I had been only listening to the big singles from the album, and hadn't paid as much attention to the album as one collection. As someone listening to the album after its release and not through its creation, I read the songs as a contemplative mess of emotions which are then organized into songs. This process being cathartic and soul-searching as the songwriters work together to analyze and create songs from these feelings.
Personally, my relationships became deeper and more sensual as I better understood my gender identity. Still in the process of transitioning, I'll learn more about physical and emotional relationships, but there've been two long distance relationships that had left an impression on me. One was with an Australian who I had met on the second life platform. Through the amorphous concept of digital avatars, we were able to project our truest selves onto this plane. We were open to each other about personal lives (including my being trans). It might sound weird to hear/read this, but it opened my eyes to a whole new level of sensual intimacy. Whether it was through vicariously acting out passions through our avatars, or discussing books, it was eye-opening. The second person was a woman that I had met through Match. The distance between Boston and Pawtucket crosses state borders, but it's not too far. Viewing profiles led to direct messages, and then phone calls. There were nights where she and I would work on artwork in our respective places while talking and then share photos of our artwork in progress. We'd chat late into the night, and she even got me into watching "the L Word". Things were going so well between us that she became afraid of being one of the few people to know i was a woman. I was far less out then, and she felt that knowing my authentic self and keeping that secret meant "living a lie" herself. She gave me an ultimatum to come out or we'd have to break up, and I wasn't ready to make such an announcement. Days later, she apologized for putting me on the spot, but also told me that with our chemistry, she couldn't comfortably agree to be just friends. I was just beginning to come out, and was wondering how my love life was starting to sound like an "L Word" storyline.
With that said, "Me & Me" is the new song that I found most relatable. It's not to discredit the other songs, but each of these relationships has helped me to better understand the more carnal intimacy described in a song like "Cigarette". What I've had with the Aussie and the Rhode Islander have prepared me for a closer relationship in the future. "Me & Me" reflects as much on a relationship with another as it does on a relationship with yourself. One of the biggest hurdles for my participating in life was not feeling awkward about going to shows on my own. Even for the most niche musical act, their show will draw their nearby fanbase into a concentrated group. By exercising that autonomy, you can find yourself meeting people who you have things in common with. A step that's just as important is to experience that aloneness in moderation, and slowly open your heart to new people.
The encore unfortunately felt like it lacked a sense of closure for that night. The first encore song was "Kismet" (a catchy song about how a string of commonalities build up an infatuation. Possibly by design, there doesn't appear to be a conclusion. The person with the songwriter's POV doesn't act on her attraction. Nor does she analyze her feelings in the last lines or verse. I was hoping that "Want What You Got" could've also been included in the encore segment. A full ballroom of people singing "Blame Brett" takes the single's impact to new experiencial heights. A second song including the crowd loudly singing along could've provided the indulgent double-dip of that feeling.
Below are more photos from that night. I missed some opportunities like when Jordan and and Leandra used drumsticks to bow their fretboards in sort of a combination of slide guitar techniques and when Jimmy Page famously used a violin bow. I tried getting some quality photographs of Leandra using the cowbell mounted by her keyboard, but the blue lighting didn't register well with my phone's camera. Enjoy the moments that I did photographically capture. I was going through my figurative roll of exposures at the subway station, being pretty proud of what I was able to achieve.
Til next time Beaches. And to all, the best!
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