You’d think, with a name like Beach House, the band would be from some coastal Florida town walking around with sand between their toes from worn-down flip-flops. Actually they’re from Baltimore.

I went to Freebird last night in Jax Beach for the show, got there super early and walked up to this guy in front of the venue reading a book on the fiercest Native American tribe. His name was Asa Osborne, and he was opening for Beach House that night, he plays organ for Zomes.


My friend David showed up, and asked me if I watched Game of Thrones — I don’t, neither does Asa, but he said Beach House was really into it. Asa doesn’t watch much TV, himself.


The crowd that began to build around the corner of Freebird was the nicest dressed crowd outside a venue in Jacksonville, Fl that I’d ever seen. Jax Beach was buzzing for Beach House.


The kids were so pumped for the vibrant indulgence of their expectations of Beach House, I don’t think they knew how to take the opening sounds of Zomes.


“Their fans just think I’m a space-alien. In a nice way,” Asa said. It really was a nice way that he said it.


“I love that they do it their way, I do it my way and, I hope its okay to share, you know, I take it seriously that its something to share.”

Liz, twenty and currently living in Jacksonville, has all of Beach House’s albums, but she appreciated Zomes for its own sound. It wasn’t trying to be anything else, you could feel its movement in honesty, and that was exactly what it needed to be.


Zomes also has a singer, Hanna Olive Gren, who will be joining Asa at the end of the tour. They met three weeks ago at Perspectives music festival in Sweden, where Hanna’s from. He was playing and she was working at the festival, she’s from Stockholm.


Before the show, Asa rented a bike and rode around town. He said they went to the movies yesterday– “To see the Avengers?”(called it–) “Totally, in 3-D.”


So I had to ask– who’s your favorite Avenger? “Scarlett Johansson,” Asa said, in an ‘of course!’ sort of way.


“For the record, good chemistry amongst the Avengers,” Asa said, “Very good, you know, socio-crime-fighting skills. And I like them all. Mark Ruffalo(or..I don’t know how to say his last name), but he was my second favorite. The Hulk.”

This show was almost half-way through the tour, he said, ending at the Bowery ballroom in New York. Then Beach House goes on to Europe.


“I just want to share my language and you know, like traveling with Beach House, I just feel so good about it. There’s nothing distasteful about it, I think its great to bring people together for this kind of music.”


I asked what his plans were for after and he said, make another record.


As soon as Beach House started, the balcony cleared. Some danced, most didn’t, but everyone was moving something. The pulse, the rhythm, it was contagious in the most sunshine-y way, you wanted it inside you, like a kick-start to the heart.


They played a solid mix of old and new, including tracks from the album Bloom, which comes out May 15th. You can actually listen to it now on NPR’s site– http://www.npr.org/series/98679384/first-listen

“Did anybody order a pizza?” Victoria asked(in the middle of the show), “I just thought it’d be funny if somebody ordered a pizza at the door.”

They closed the show with the new hit Myth, but came back to crowd cheer and played three more songs.


I met with Asa after the show, and then walked the block to the beach to take some pictures of the strawberry diagonally cut moon from a life-guard stand(don’t tell). Two kids ran up and asked if I could tell them who won, they were racing. One of them shouted Asa’s name, and it was then I realized I was on the beach with Beach House, and refereeing a race between Alex(guitar) and Dan(drums).





They asked if I was going to go in the water, but it was probably about 67 degrees and I had to drive my friend home… Of course, I should’ve. Hindsight’s a bitch, but the best bitch I know to learn from.