At Beach Goth 4, It's Halloween Every Day

All photos by Frank Mojica unless otherwise noted

Beach Goth is not just for Beach Goths. That much was clear on the second day of this irreverently ghoulish Southern California festival, which went down at the Observatory in Santa Ana on October 24 and 25. As I explained in my recap of Day One, the term “Beach Goth” refers to a special breed of Southern California cool kid who revels in the sunny good times of the Golden State but also channels darker, weirder vibes. The joke-y term (which should only partly be taken seriously) is most commonly associated with Orange County garage-rockers The Growlers, who embody the Beach Goth spirit with their bleak-yet-chill tunes and who, of course, put together the Beach Goth festival.

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If you are a Californian who enjoys cool music, then there’s a good chance you know a Beach Goth. You may even be a Beach Goth yourself! But as I walked the streets of Beach Goth Plaza—the name I came up with to refer to the festival’s grounds, which spread across the venue and adjoining parking lot—I saw a diverse gathering. The festival was like a carnival for all sorts of freaks and weirdos and fun-love people. Sets from DIIV, Juicy J, FIDLAR, Julian Casablancas, Die Antwoord, Del the Funky Homosapien, George Clinton, Parliament-Funkadelic, and a surprise appearance by Warren G illustrated just how anything goes. If you were neither Beach nor Goth, that was okay. If you wanted to be another kind of goth, that was okay too. If you wanted to live in another decade entirely, hey, go for it. Stroll through the bizarre world of costumes, circle pits, and Pauly Shore with some of the non-Beach Goth related highlights and craziest photos from the second day of Beach Goth 4.

Crowds
I’m not gonna lie — Beach Goth was fucking packed. Probably too packed. Inside the Observatory, getting from Point A to Point B for much of the afternoon and evening was a hellish slog of pushing and shoving. “I’m just trying to get drunk!” one guy cried as he struggled to cross a bottleneck that had formed at an exit. Stuck in the middle of it all, inching along slowly in an effort to catch a song by Moving Units, I thought to myself how there’s nothing that makes you feel less cool than an overpacked venue. You work so hard to look all stylish and hip and show off for everybody. And then you end up here, sweaty and uncomfortable, immobile, crammed together along with everybody else like so many cattle.

Cholo Goths
I know what you’re thinking—wait, there are cholo goths too??? Yes. Yes, there are. Enter San Diego artist and musician named Rafael Reyes, who fronts a self-described cholo goth duo Prayers. As we reported earlier this year, Reyes (stage name: Leafar Seyer) embraces the term because he combines roots in San Diego gang life with a love for the likes of Pet Shop Boys and Christian Death. On the indoor Graveyard Stage, Reyes and bandmate Dave Parley delivered their trademark sound that falls somewhere between new wave and 80s rap. Their tunes were simple but effective, with Parley banging out beats on a sampler pad and Reyes—rocking fingerless black gloves and a chest and arms covered in tattoos—delivering heartfelt lyrics with a hard edge. “People are saying that I worship the devil,” he said between songs at one point. “But let’s get one thing straight—the devil worships me!”

The Coathangers in their finest goth garb

Industrial Goths
My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult may not be “beach,” but they most definitely are “goth.” The Chicago outfit, formed in 1987 and appearing onstage Sunday as a trio, is goth in the way that steampunk goggles or Djarum Black cloves are goth—totally over the top and at least a decade out of style. Onstage, their guitarist slapped on a leather BDSM doggie mask; their bassist threw down over big cheesy industrial synth riffs booming from a backing track. And then there was veteran frontman and band co-founder Groovie Mann, who was the center of attention with his winkingly raunchy lyrics and absurd outfit—long hair, ionized sunglasses, leather pants—that could’ve been its own Halloween costume.

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90s Everything
The 90s have been making a comeback for at least a few years now, but Beach Goth took the decade worship to a whole new level. High school kids were wearing Rocko’s Modern Life T-shirts and jackets emblazoned with patterns of Super Soakers. Pauly Shore was lurking around and introduced The Growlers before their nighttime set. At a vendor tent, fashion photographer and late oughts nightlife scene staple The Cobra Snake was hawking a massive collection of 90s gear, including butterfly clips, plastic chokers, scrunchies, and Madchester smiley face necklaces. The table was covered with a Goosebumps tablecloth, and for a second I wondered if this whole surreal environment was in fact a 90s time-warp dreamscape devised by R.L. Stine himself.

P-Funk

Parliament-Funkadelic
Parliament-Funkadelic was an entity unto itself. The massive funk enterprise headed by George Clinton closed out the night with an expectedly massive set. There were multiple bassists, multiple wailing guitar solos, horn riffs, soulful singers, jazzy solos, disco beats, hip-hop interludes… A man dressed as Sir Nose D’Voidoffunk came out in a puffy white suit to show off his washboard abs. The drummer took off on a double-kick pedal solo and two audience members next to me started doing Cookie Monster death-metal growls. Clinton, at 74 years of age, appeared in a suit and tie, his voice scratchy and raw and even a little winsome. Music like this puts a lot of things into perspective. The band was crowd-pleasing, liberating, sprawling, sexy, agile, dialed in and supremely confident. They were unstoppable. As the clock neared midnight, much of the audience had cleared out and the Beach Goth organizers were already halfway done with striking the festival grounds. But inside the Observatory, on the Graveyard stage, the band was still going strong. I don’t know if P-Funk has anything to do with Beach Goth as a label or idea. But maybe they do, because after all, P-Funk serves as an enduring testament to the power of being yourself — whatever type of person you may be.

Scoll on for more photos from Beach Goth 4…