When I first saw Beach House in 2007 in an alley in Baltimore with about 50 other people, I never would have imagined they would be headlining a show to an *extremely* packed venue of 6,000 people. I would have said the same thing about the band from Greenville, North Carolina, that opened for them by the name of Future Islands but that’s another story. Shoutout to Whartscape.

Beach House’s slow and steady rise is well deserved though, releasing album after album of dreamy, atmospheric indie pop. Their latest, Once, Twice Melody, a double album released earlier this year, might just be their best and the resulting tour brought the band to The Anthem on the hottest day of the year.

Live, the band is about the music and the vibes, choosing to backlit and rarely moving or interacting with the crowd. At The Anthem on July 24, what resulted was a tight 17 song set lit by mirrorballs, strobes, and hazy spotlights. The new album was represented by seven songs, including the title track, “Pink Funeral”, “Superstar,” and personal fave “Only You Know.”

Watch a lyric video for “Only You Know” by Beach House on YouTube:

Old heads were rewarded with “Silver Soul” and “Take Care” from 2010’s Teen Dream. The crowd was seemingly mesmerized, quietly rocking out during the songs and then getting loud to show their appreciation between songs.

Setlist:

Once Twice Melody
Lazuli
PPP
Dark Spring
Levitation
Silver Soul
Pink Funeral
Superstar
Girl of the Year
Only You Know
Take Care
New Romance
Lemon Glow
Modern Love Stories
Space Song
Myth

Encore:
Over and Over

Here are images of Beach House performing at The Anthem in Washington, DC, on July 24, 2022. All photos copyright and courtesy of Kyle Gustafson.