Grizzly Bear/ Beach House, Metro, 9/27/09

I saw Beach House and Grizzly Bear tonight at Harmonyfest 2009. O.K, well it wasn't officially called Harmonyfest, but it should've been.

Beach House made the live versions of their songs a bit punchier than what you'll find on their ambient, shoegazy, moody albums. Victoria's voice is amazing and she didn't hold back at all, belting out my favorites with (I just realized) a voice eerily similar to Dusty Springfield's.

My Grizzly Bear experience was greatly improved over their Pitchfork set, I think their music is much better suited to intimate venues. There were moments that astonished me with their beauty, and yes their harmonies are excellent...but there were also a few (admittedly rare) moments where I got a bit lost in the proggy-ness. The couple next to me progressively got drunker over the night, and by the end of the set were trying to dance along to the music. Grizzly Bear's songs are pretty convoluted, so I'm sure you can imagine how successful they were. The lighting on stage was quite twee (in a good way). They had lightbulbs inside mason jars. Aww.