Halloween at The Fest was a sight to behold. Costumes ran the gamut from simple face-paint to shogun-level armor. But even as the crew at Cowboys hung a sheet with “The Beach Slangs” messily painted across it, it was unclear how decorated the band would be:

With the mood light, and the crowd full to bursting across the wooden dance floor, Beach Slang erupted into its 45-minute set with the kind of energy you’d find at a homecoming.

By most accounts, playing at Fest is both literally and figuratively like playing for one’s friends and family. Frontman James Alex is one of the most earnest, sappy indie-punk artists around, and he wasn’t shy about it. From the rolling opening drum fills of “Kids,” — track two from Beach Slang’s debut EP Who Would Ever Want Anything So Broken? — through its searing riffs and chugging bass line, Alex issued a reassurance to all those kindred spirits in the crowd, the outcasts searching for their way: “The kids are alright, they’re just too high to fight.”

The Philadelphia foursome released its first full-length, The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us, on Polyvinyl Records the day before its set. So while Beach Slang leaned heavily on new material, a raucous Fest crowd matched its energy for an old favorite in “Kids.”

Beach Slang returns to O’Leaver’s tomorrow with fellow Philadelphia band Lithuania and Brooklyn’s Worriers (RSVP here).

See Beach Slang perform “Kids” in full Simpsons regalia at Cowboys Saloon in Gainesville, Fla:

Credits:
Video: Chris Dinan, Nickolai Hammar
Audio: Angie Norman
Edit: Chris Dinan
Photos: Nickolai Hammar
Special thanks to Tony Weinbender