The Beths - Town Hall

The first thing that struck me upon entering the Auckland Town Hall was the birds. Normally, the venue is a place where you can see musicians, some cool decorative plants, and a massive pipe organ that no one is allowed to play (I still secretly hope every time I go there to see someone sneak up and bash out a dirge - so far, I have always been disappointed). It's not really much of a bird place - or wasn’t until the Beth’s played there. There were six of them, each with wingspans of a metre or so, and they cast striking shadows from where they loomed over the stage. Thankfully for everyone in attendance that evening, these birds were lanterns made of paper and suspended by wire, and thus they did not have to be rounded up and escorted from the premises. ↓↓↓↓↓↓ Keep Reading

Mermaidens

The second thing that struck me was the music. I had entered part of the way through Mermaidens’ set, and for a time, their music distracted me from the mystery of the birds. There were three people on the stage - a drummer, a bassist/vocalist, and a guitarist/vocalist - and together, they smashed out a sonic wall of sour bliss. I had heard some of their music previously, but live, it is another thing entirely. Their songs twist between being pretty and unsettling, between chilled out and pummelling, and these dynamic shifts make them great to watch. The bassist and guitarist also had matching orange jumpsuits, which was pretty cool.

The Beths

After a break, The Beths took the stage, tuned their instruments, and then, with the briefest of introductions - a single, small “hello” - they began to play. They started with I’m Not Getting Excited, and wove their way across their two albums with the barest of breaks between songs. Their music just sounds right for a venue of the Auckland Town Hall’s size. It’s loud, fast and catchy, but also surprising and intricate, constantly switching up rhythms and catching you off guard with sudden bursts of vocal harmony. All four band members take part in the harmonies, and they tend to smile and look at each other as they do so - it’s quite sweet.

Between some songs, Liz (lead singer/rhythm guitarist/songwriter) would sip from a small teacup of unknown contents, and between others, she would speak. It was at one of these occasions that the Great Mystery of the Birds was finally resolved. Each of the band members had made one the birds, and the other two were from friends. Liz’s one was the pīwakawaka. The band also encouraged people to vote in the Bird of the Year competition, which you can do here: https://www.birdoftheyear.org.nz/. I would recommend doing so, there are some seriously underrated birds there that could do with some recognition.

They played the rest of their set in a similarly furious pace, and before I was ready, the set was over. They left the stage, came back for 2 song encore, and put their instruments down to bow together. The crowd was deafening in applause. As they bowed, Liz began to cry - whether from the music, the response, or something else entirely, I do not know. The band hugged, waved, and left the stage; it was a touching way to end the evening. You can really tell The Beths care a lot about each other, their music, and their audience. And birds, of course.

Words Tom Coupe

Images Madeleine Brighouse-Mayo