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Archive for the ‘The Beths’ Category

The Beths (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, December 6, 2025)

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Phoebe Rings, The Beths, Union Transfer on December 7, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 6, 2025] The Beths

This is my third time seeing The Beths, a New Zealand band that’s taking the U.S. by storm.  Las time they played here they sold out Union Transfer.  This time, they sold out TWO NIGHTS at Union Transfer.

We immediately got tickets to night one and for the first time, saw them from a chair off to the side (thanks ADA seating).  Although they interact so nicely with the front, that it’s kind of a bummer to not be in on the action.

But the sound was great (I know it always sounds better further back, but I like being close).

So The Beths are a four piece: Elizabeth Stokes, singer and guitarist.  Jonathan Pearce who plays lead guitar. Benjamin Sinclair on bass and Tristan Deck on drums.  They are delightful and funny and play fantastic songs.  Liz is a great songwriter and the boys make divine harmonies.

Last time they played nearly all of their then new album.   This time they played nine out of ten songs from their newest album.  And they opened with the title track a bouncy song that had everyone delightedly singing along.

After the even punchier No Joy they played two older songs one from Expert and one from Future Me Hates Me.

Then they moved back to the new album with the super fun first single Metal.

At one point during these songs, Benjamin did something that made a tin whistle fly into the air which he caught and started playing.  Later both Benjamin and Jonathan activated the tin whistle cannon and we were delighted to see them snatch the instruments out of the air and start playing.  The also have some shakers in their songs.  Liz uses a banana shaped one.  If you go to Benjamin’s review of the following night, you can read about the amusing trick they played on Liz and her banana. (more…)

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Phoebe Rings (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, December 6, 2025) [THE BETHS]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Phoebe Rings, The Beths, Union Transfer on December 6, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 6, 2025] Phoebe Rings

I hadn’t heard of Phoebe Rings and then I found out that she (I now know that Phoebe Rings is a band name and no one in the band is named that) was opening for The Beths on Saturday and Sunday and opening for Speedy Ortiz on Monday.

The Beths and Phoebe Rings are from New Zealand and, it turns out that Phoebe Rings and Speedy Ortiz are on the same record label.

Phoebe Rings began as the solo project of musician Crystal Choi, and is now a four-piece made of jazz students (guitarist Simeon Kavanagh-Vincent, bassist Benjamin Locke and drummer Alex Freer).

We arrived and had ADA seats.  Then we laughed as the tallest person in the room stood in front of us.  We could still see just fine, but it was hilarious how much taller he was than everyone else.

Phoebe Rings was delightful.  They are described as dream pop but they were a bit more like jazz pop.  I’d even go so far as to say they were like lounge music.  There was an early Stereolab vibe musically (not lyrically). (more…)

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The Beths / Alvvays (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, September 7, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Alvvays, Jersey City, NJ, The Beths, White Eagle Hall on September 7, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 7, 2024] The Beths / Alvvays

Holy cow what a fantastic show!  I saw The Beths twice in a few months about a year ago and they were fantastic.  I would happily see them again.

And Alvvays is one of my wife and my favorite bands.  And there they were together on the same night.  And we haven’t seen them since 2017.

But this show was plopped right on the same night as the Pearl Jam show that we absolutely not missing.

Bummer for doubling up on concerts.

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The Beths (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, March 3, 2023)

Posted in Hans Pucket, New Zealand, Philadelphia, PA, Sidney Gish, The Beths, Union Transfer on March 4, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 3, 2023] The Beths

I saw The Beths about a year ago at Underground Arts.  Since then they have now moved up from the 650 person venue to Union Transfer (1500) which they also sold out!  Great new for them!

The Beths are actually suddenly everywhere and had we played our cards right we could have seen them like four times this year (opening for The National and a couple of other places).  But this wound up being the only show we’ll see them at.  And that’s fine because it was great and certainly tides us over for a while.

The Beths are a four piece: Elizabeth Stokes, singer and guitarist.  Jonathan Pearce who plays lead guitar. Benjamin Sinclair on bass and Tristan Deck on drums.  When introducing each other, they told “fex” about each other.  The New Zealand accent is awesome–fex would be Facts.  Like the fact that Benjamin Sinclair has a blog and Instagram account with the awesome name of Breakfast and Travel Updates.  (more…)

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Sidney Gish (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, March 3, 2023) [THE BETHS]

Posted in Hans Pucket, Philadelphia, PA, Sidney Gish, The Beths, Union Transfer on March 3, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 3, 2023] Sidney Gish

As soon as The Beths announced they were playing Union Transfer, I bought myself a ticket.  And then a little while later I bought S. one because I thought she would really enjoy a night out for rocking good natured fun.

I didn’t know the opening bands.  There were originally two: Hans Pucket dropped out of the tour.  The Beths posted the rather cryptic

Sad news is that @hanspucket unfortunately won’t be joining us this time, we’re gutted about that. But we promise to drag them over another time. So it’ll just be us and the genius Sidney Gish.

I’ve been listening to the Hans Pucket album and it’s really good.  Hope they make it over here some time.

Sidney Gish is a singer I’d never heard of, although clearly everyone else in the room had.

She has released two albums (the second one in 2017) and now is about to release a third.  What’s she been doing for the last few years?  Graduating from Northeastern apparently.

Anyway, it seems that her first two albums were viral sensations (especially her second album No Dogs Allowed).  Because everyone was singing along to all of the songs (except the new one). (more…)

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The Beths / Rosie Tucker (Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, August 26, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, Rosie Tucker, Set in New Jersey!, The Beths on August 26, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 26, 2022] The Beths / Rosie Tucker

I wonder what it is about Asbury Lanes.  This is what I wrote about Nada Surf when they played here:

I had just seen Nada Surf in November and didn’t really need to see them again.  But never pass up a chance to see a great live band, right?

November to July = 8 months.

So I’ll say the same about The Beths.  I had just seen them in February.  And here they were 6 months later playing Asbury Lanes.

Never pass up a chance to see a great live band.  Yes.  Unless, of course, you already have tickets to Peter Hook & The Light AND you are going out to concerts the two days before and the day after.

But seriously, The Beths are amazing live, and I would see them as many times as I could.

Back in January, Rosie Tucker was supposed to open for Best Coast.  But that tour was cancelled.

I wrote:

I didn’t know Rosie Tucker until Friday when I listened to her album because it was highly recommended on NPR Music.  I really liked her blend of quirky pop, enjoyable lyrics and kind of garagey sounds.  Her name sounds like she’ll be a country singer, but she’s far from that.  I hope to see her some time in the near future.

And maybe I still will.

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The Beths (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, February 24, 2022)

Posted in National Treasure, New Zealand, Philadelphia, PA, The Beths, Underground Arts on February 25, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 24, 2022] The Beths

The Beths are from New Zealand.

I really enjoyed hearing them talk between songs–super cool accents.

They only have two albums out but they have a pretty rabid fan base–if the guys who sang along loudly to everything were anything to go by.

The Beths were originally supposed to play King Fu Necktie in April 2020.  The show was moved to World Cafe Live, but was ultimately cancelled because of COVID.  They scheduled a new date at Underground Arts for January, but that got pushed back a month as COVID cases rose again.

And then, finally, they were here! (more…)

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Lunar Vacation (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, February 24, 2022)

Posted in Lunar Vacation, Philadelphia, PA, Pivoting, The Beths, Underground Arts on February 24, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 24, 2022] Lunar Vacation

The Beths were supposed to play shows in 2020 at World Cafe Live.  First in April, then in August.  Then that was all scrapped and then rescheduled for January 2022.  That was then pushed back until February.

Weakened Friends were slotted to open for them over these shows.  But the new show had Lunar Vacation signed up for them.

And they were delightful.

They are from Atlanta, and I had to laugh when singer Grace Repasky asked if anyone did the Wordle yet.  When we acknowledged that we had, she commented that it was a very British word (Bloke). (more…)

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The Beths / Weakened Friends (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, January 21, 2021) [rescheduled date–POSTPONED]

Posted in Coronavirus, J. Mascis, Kung Fu Necktie, Lunar Vacation, New Zealand, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, Quarantine, The Beths, Weakened Friends, World Cafe Live on January 21, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: January 21, 2021] The Beths / Lunar Vacation [rescheduled from April 29 Kung Fu Necktie and August 27, 2020 from World Cafe Live; moved to February 24, 2022]

indexThis show has been bounced around now to three different venues.  I was sure I’d finally get to see The Beths, but then this new uptick pushed their tour back.  I don’t know how wise pushing back a show for one month is during this pandemic nonsense.  Especially since they’re saying the spike will drop away in mid-March, but darnit, I really want to see The Beths.

I was looking forward to Weakened Friends opening, but Lunar Vacation…

Based out of Atlanta, Georgia, the story of Lunar Vacation can be traced back to eighth grade, when Grace Repasky and Maggie Geeslin met and started sharing musical ideas. As soon as the pair became old enough to drive, they started to take Lunar Vacation on the road, playing venues across the sprawling suburbs of their home city and fulfilling so many teenage dreams along the way. As the buzz around the pair grew, so did the band, as they expanded to their current four-piece line-up, and upon finishing school, they started to self-release their music, in the shape of two EPs, Swell and Artificial Flavors.

And their new album, Inside Every Fig Is A Dead Wasp which dives into the the waters of dreamy-indie, psychedelia and bedroom-pop.  Sounds pretty great!  Come on boosters, let the bands play. (more…)

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The Beths / Weakened Friends (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, August 27, 2020) [rescheduled date–POSTPONED]

Posted in Coronavirus, J. Mascis, Kung Fu Necktie, New Zealand, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, Quarantine, The Beths, Weakened Friends, World Cafe Live on August 27, 2020| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: August 27, 2020] The Beths / Weakened Friends [rescheduled from April 29 Kung Fu Necktie]

indexThis show was moved from Kung Fu Necktie (a venue I’ve never been to and would like to check out) to World Cafe Live–I’m very curious how these two venues are connected.

The Beths are from New Zealand.  New Zealand has a pretty great track record for producing great bands.

The Beths play a delightful alt-pop rock with a splash of grunge and punk all under Elizabeth Stokes’ high but powerful voice.

I’m not too familiar with their music, but I was planning to be by the time of this show.

The opening band Weakened Friends describes themselves as “We’re three tall young adults making some songs and eating some snacks. Indie noise junk band from Portland ME and Boston MA.”

I listened to a few songs and they have a great distorted guitar/catchy chorus sound.  J. Mascis even guests on one of their songs.  I think they’d be great live.

Hope they can make it back to the States next year.

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