Photo of Beach Bunny’s Lili Trifilio by Laura Jerele
The Beach Bunny and Wishy show at Delmar Hall felt like one massive party! This was a fun one to cover because I was surrounded with genuinely happy and hyped people ready to have fun complete with glitter and bunny ears all within a really diverse crowd (especially of ages). Openers Wishy from Indianapolis got the night going, and let us know that they were thrilled to be on the bill—and they were a great pick, too. Their tunes were semi-dreamy, fuzzed-out shoegaze-meets-power-pop, with some crunchy guitars, and a heavy hazy layer of reverb. And I mean all that to say they sounded really good! They had good hooks, and they traded some vocals back and forth between Kevin Krauter and Nina Pitchkites, which gives their sound a nice push-pull that makes it dreamy one moment and a little more driving rock the next. Visually they matched the vibe, because it was low-key and unfussy, letting their sound do most of the talking rather than any big stage theatrics. It was a good warm-up for what was coming, and it set the tone nicely.
And wow, a Beach Bunny show is one hell of a good time. This band was built for fun! Bright lights, super fun, poppy songs, and tons of energy to boot. It didn’t hurt that the show was sold out, and the audience was really high energy despite it being a Monday Night! Delmar Hall was packed wall to wall with the kind of crowd you don’t see everywhere with thirteen-year-olds and their moms, millennials who’ve been riding for this band for years, and everyone in between, all crammed in together and somehow all vibing on the same level. And I’ll be damned if the merch line never really let up either. People showed up in gear, and were buying more by the bagful all night long. Pretty sure their merch is their very own 401K!
I only knew Beach Bunny from listening, not so much as a full concert experience, and I have to say this one was quite a treat. Lead singer Lili Trifilio was full of energy the whole night with endless high kicks and spins, playing her guitar with a bit of rock pageantry and interacting with the audience the whole night. I love that she called out how much they love a good circle pit and got the first one of the night going for girls only! You just can’t get that from streaming the songs at home—this is why we go to shows! She and the rest of the band (Jon Alvarado on drums and Anthony Vaccaro on bass) seemed to being having a freaking awesomely great time.
And their songs just work live. They’re catchy, radio-ready indie pop hits on record, but squeezed into a sold-out club they hit harder. “Prom Queen” turned into a full-room singalong with lots of the young girls in the crowd screaming for it. “Cloud 9” felt huge. “Sports” got people moving even more with barely enough room to do it. “Dream Boy,” “Weeds,” and “Painkiller” made the setlist.
And cheers to their light show and how it matched the whole bright and colorful vibe of the night, giving the same positive energy the band brings to their music. Every flash of pink and blue lined up with the mood of the songs, and it made the whole room feel like it was glowing right along with the band. Bottom line: Beach Bunny didn’t just play a show, they threw a party, and a sold-out room full of strangers got to be part of it. | Laura Jerele
