Review | Poolside Comes Oceanside

Locally Beloved Band Brings Their Easygoing Dance Music to Santa Barbara’s SOhO

Poolside at SOhO | Photo: Paul Zink

Shrouded in a red haze, five men appear. One plays long, meditative notes on his saxophone over a drone of new age-y synth pads. The others wait in anticipation. A packed house feels even tighter as stragglers from the bar squeeze closer to the stage. Then, a few notes from a synth-drawn marimba signal that the beat is about to drop, and when it does, the whole room is moving.

The third time was definitely the charm for Poolside, who played at SOhO for the third time on January 19, 2024. | Photo: Paul Zink

This was not the same group I saw playing Michael Jackson covers on turntable decks six years ago. And as the night continued, Poolside showed why their infectious, chilled-out daytime disco not only deserves a live band, but easily wins over Santa Barbara, with so many local listeners the year-end Spotify Wrapped algorithm actually pegged their sound to the city. Front man Jeffrey Paradise mentioned as much to the cheering crowd, and my Poolside-loving friend laughingly fessed up to listening “most like Santa Barbara,” according to the streaming service’s data.

This foggy Friday night was Poolside’s third time at SOhO, and as the first stop of their month-long tour, they were refreshed and on form. Yet it’s hard to imagine these guys tiring out. From ultra-laidback beats like “I Wanna Kiss You Forever,” with its reggae rhythm guitar, marimba melody, falsetto harmonies and even sax man jumping on cowbell, to the encore of “Feel Your Weight,” an R&B cover that felt upbeat by comparison, Poolside keeps a measured, almost staid cool throughout their set.

Songs are short — we got through 17 in just over an hour — with four-on-the-floor disco drums steadily chugging along a panoply of guitars, bass, keyboards, synths, that sax, and, at times, four-part vocals. But Poolside is never in a rush, nor do they tarry, so the steady swap in songs and sounds felt as effortless as the medium tempo that carried pretty much every one of them.

Another plus to their in-and-out performance? There was enough time to play all the hits and then some. Highlights included the incredibly catchy “Can’t Stop Your Lovin’,” a poppy, island-beckoning jam, and two well-known covers in the Grateful Dead’s “Shakedown Street” and Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon.” When it came time for that last song’s chorus, this surrogate hometown crowd — still bobbing to the beat — sweetly crooned the iconic lyric, “Because I’m still in love with you / on this harvest moon.” There’s no doubt Santa Barbara is and will be in love with Poolside on any moon.