So I’m completely obsessed with Beach House (this is not news), so naturally when I heard they’d be playing The Black Cat here in DC, I immediately bought tickets for myself and my equally obsessed roommate. After looking forward to it for months, yesterday it was here at last. We walked in and the place was packed (it was a sold out show) and the air was thick with Victoria Legrand’s voice. After listening to their records for so long, I had lost sight of the fact that there were real people responsible for these sounds, and the whole scene came off as immensely surreal. Their performance was very true to their recordings, but more amazing because it was happening in front of my eyes. That voice, that voice, so hypnotically sublime that at times it felt as if I were in a trance. For writing such heavy songs, I was surprised at how humorous Legrand’s banter with the audience was, midway through stating, “Thanks for coming, even those people back there who aren’t sure what show they’re at. No, this isn’t Ike and Tina Turner, it’s Beach House.” Wow, I already lusted after her voice, but now I just want to BE her. As they performed surrounded by sparkly diamond-shaped pinata-esque stage decorations, it was almost as if we were inside a dream of the band’s creation. It was a performance without flaws, one that left me an even bigger fan of the duo, a thing I didn’t even know was possible.