(pair of mirrors)

Best Coast - “When I’m With You” 

Some Bonnaroo shows come alive because of the setting and the spirit of the festival - its signature laid back attitude, its scorching sun, and its general awesomeness. Last year’s Dead Weather set comes to mind as an example. The show was featuring Jack White and Alison Mosshart - so you know it was going to be good from the start - but somewhere near the middle of the set, clouds suddenly rolled over Manchester and released an impromptu rainshower. Normally, a rainshower over an outdoor concert would be a bit of a buzzkill, but not on a Saturday at ‘Roo, after you’ve been roasting in the relentless sun for over two days. “Always remember who brought rain to Bonnaroo…” reacted Jack White, and from thereon out, it was all singin’ in the rain. It was seriously unforgettable. 

While I can’t predict rainstorms, I can predict that there is one band whose whole show will come alive at Bonnaroo 2011, due to the very setting of the festival - Best Coast. Bethany Cosentino sings songs about simple things, about boys, and about summer. They sound lazy and loose and far-away, the ideal jam for a comparably lazy afternoon of concert-going and day-drinking. Best Coast captures that awesome, guilt-fee idleness that comes as a side to summer vacation, and to Bonnaroo. Don’t get me wrong - I’m all for going wild at shows and staking it out for your favorite bands (see Girl Talk, Arcade Fire, respectively) but the reality is that you just can’t go hard for 4 days in a row. So when you’re trying to figure out during what show you’re just going to chill, suntan, and enjoy the moment with your best pals, make it during Best Coast. At Bonnaroo, that girl will make your heart melt, in the most effortless and sunny fashion. 

The world is lazy, 

But you and me, we’re just crazy, 

So when I’m with you I have fun, 

Yeah when I’m with you I have fun…

 (38 Days!)

-L