“You Wouldn’t Like Me”, a lyric included by the track of the same name by Auckland based four piece The Beths could not be less true. Their performance at the Black Bear Lodge on Saturday definitely made us feel the opposite.
The four piece made up of Liz (vocals), Jonathon (guitar), Ben (bass) and Ivan (drums), put on a kiwi-esque show with a little Christmas twist.
Hot off the recent popularity of their tracks, the aforementioned 'You Wouldn’t Like Me', and 'Future Me Hates Me', The Beths came to Brisbane to show us exactly why we adopt NZ based artists and claim them as our own (looking at you Lorde).
Taking to the stage, the indie foursome dived straight into track 'Great No One', which also happens to be the opening tune on their EP. Guitar solos abound with 'You Wouldn’t Like Me' and 'Idea/Intent' bringing the already packed crowd even closer to the infectious vocals of lead Liz.
Then, as there was unavoidable holiday cheer in the air, the four-piece treated us all to a cover of 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas' with just as much vocals being heard from the crowd as the band themselves. After the Christmas cheer had died down, 'Lying In The Sun' soon followed.
The NZ locals definitely have the vibe that they still love what they do, and take pride in putting on a show for their loyal fans (even across the pond). The rest of the set was just as wholesome as the beginning of the show. Track 'Little Death' was everything you expected it to be and the crowd ate it up.
The encore (albeit a controversial topic) was when the band really showed us what they were made of with 'Future Me Hates Me' and 'Uptown Girl' closing out the set in a spectacular garage grunge fashion.
Photography by Thomas Vu