NOTE: All photos are copyright of Dean Keim 2025
During The Beths show at Brooklyn Paramount, someone in the crowd screamed out “We love you!” prompting lead vocalist Elizabeth Stokes to answer coyly, “We’ve only played four songs. That was easy!”. New Zealand’s premiere alternative band swung through NYC on their latest tour in support of their fourth album Straight Line Was A Lie and they played a glorious sold-out show at the historic Brooklyn Paramount. This packed venue full of enthusiastic fans showed how far this indie band has come in just a few years of persistent touring and recording, and these delightful Kiwis captured many hearts this night. The band, consisting of four musicians who are so seriously shy and bashful that you wouldn’t think they would be the type that would capture such a huge fan base, but their incredibly catchy and forthright songs have made them one of the biggest rock bands on the scene today.
Another New Zealand band called Phoebe Rings opened the show, and their lush dream pop sound really worked gangbusters for this crowd. Lead singer Crystal Choi is one of the most blushingly delightful frontwomen I’ve experienced in quite some time. Their heavenly sound has a deceptive amount of diversity in their structure, with thick layers of synthy atmospheres enlightened with tricky jazz timings and even some harder rocking passages, yet still manage to feel breezy and ethereal. They clearly have some great influences from the cool funk of bands like Broadcast and Saint Etienne on songs like “Lazy Universe” and “Fading Star,” and an ultra groovy song about a cat called “Cheshire” that closed out their set, reminding me of the great Shonen Knife who I recently covered.
Click on photos to enlarge
A very different kind of beast played the middle set and the LA band illuminati hotties did not disappoint with their high octane power rock sound. Lead singer Sarah Tudzin may have won a Grammy for production work for the boygenius album the record, but she is also a true goddess frontwoman in her own right. She dominated the stage as she bounced around like the world was one big trampoline, belting out tunes with an intensity and playfulness like no one else on the rock scene today. There is a raw power pop-punk zeal in her songs and she takes no prisoners with her performances on stage. I caught vibes of everything from The Pretenders to Mannequin Pussy in their music. Tracks like “(You’re Better) Than Ever” even made me break out in some light moshing and the fuzzy power rock of “Didn’t” was the perfect closer to their set. They had a very different energy than the other two bands, but they turned out to be the perfect pick-me-up to get the night cooking.
Click on photos to enlarge
The weather outside was frigid but the temperature in the packed Paramount was toasty when The Beths took the stage. It warmed the heart to see this band, that broke through during the loneliness and isolation of the pandemic, finally get the love and respect they so richly deserve. Their songs are extremely catchy and yet deceptively deep with frontwoman Liz often singing about her anxieties and heartbreaks, but the whole band, consisting of guitarist Jonathan Pearce, bassist Benjamin Sinclair, and drummer Tristan Deck, have such a heartwarming relationship that you can’t help feeling like you can fall right into their circle of friendship. The stage set of living room lamps and comfy chairs made you feel like you’re just chilling with this band in their own pad. Their eighteen song setlist featured almost their entire new album like the opener “Straight Line Was a Lie” and the dark and moody track “Metal,” but they also peppered in plenty of masterpieces from their other albums including “Future Me Hates Me”, “Little Death”, “Jump Rope Gazers”, and “Expert in a Dying Field.” They also stuck in a little Christmas cheer with their rendition of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” towards the end of the night which really tugged at the heartstrings. This is a band that continues to get better and better every time I see them and I already can’t wait until I get the chance to rock out with them again.
