BESTiE

Proclaimed by singer Tristan Orchard to be a piña colada band, tropical pop outfit BESTiE seemed tentative when their set began. They suffered from piercing feedback creeping in on the vocals for the first five minutes or so, but everything smoothed out by the time they hit the sunny vibe of "Pineapple" three tracks in. Guitarist Andrew Janczewski and bassist Rob Cameron were moving about their areas, adding necessary flair to their licks, while Orchard worked a shuffle, and the muscle-shirted Daniel Ruiz got pumping on the drums. They are still a little rough around the edges. Orchard's vocals fell a bit flatter than his wiggle-happy performance did, which included a great moment when he popped into the crowd to sing "Fell in Love With a Stripper" next to a girl who had been happily hopping up front for their entire set. The odd riff was off, too, but they are a new band with hardly a release to their name. Once they get a few releases and a bunch more shows under their belt, they might really be something, an instant beach party to someday challenge Vampire Weekend for main stage festival time slots.