Photo of Liz Stokes of The Beths by Laura Jerele
Okay, I totally love a damn near sold out show at The Pageant on a Saturday night, and this show was just that. I was thrilled to see such a huge crowd turn out for The Beths, walking in and feeling the good energy I thought, well yeah. Of course these fun people showed up for this.
So if you don’t know them, The Beths are a four-piece out of Auckland, New Zealand (which, yes, means they hauled themselves an absolutely insane distance to play for us, and honestly we should be grateful every single time bands do this!). The lineup is vocalist and guitarist Liz Stokes, guitarist Jonathan Pearce, bassist Benjamin Sinclair, and drummer Tristan Deck. They mentioned that they hadn’t been here in a few years, and you could genuinely feel that they were so happy to be back. Liz said as much from the stage, and it didn’t feel like the thing musicians just say to be polite, it felt real and warm and completely genuine.
Now, the show itself, because wow. I loved their stage setup, minimal fog, no theatrical smoke, no hiding behind a wall of haze. The stage was bright and clean, warmly lit, and you could actually see all four of them up there playing their instruments and making beautiful noise together. That felt spot on for such a warm and joyful act, who are totally unpretentious. The creative touch that I dug the most, though? Six lampshades stretched across the stage, bouncing different colors of light as they played. It was such a cool, unique little touch, fitting their unpretentiousness, and quirky, too, which is honestly kind of perfect for them.
The setlist was a proper dive through the catalog, and they hit every song you’d want. They opened with “Straight Line Was a Lie” off the newest record and just kept going, “No Joy,” “Future Me Hates Me” (which absolutely sent the crowd sideways in the best possible way). “Jump Rope Gazers,” “Little Death,” “Best Laid Plans,” the stunning “Expert in a Dying Field,” and the encore closers “Take” and “Knees Deep” all made appearances. I felt like the setlist was something like a fan would line out, which is really all you can ask for!
Here’s the thing about The Beths that I don’t think people fully get until they’ve seen them live: this is not a band that’s about rockstar pageantry. No stage clothes, no posturing, no bigger-than-life in-your-face stuff. They’re just four totally normal-seeming people from New Zealand who happen to be outrageously good at what they do. And yet, for as low-key as they are up there, they pulled SO much energy out of that crowd. The vibe in the room was sky-high all night long, which was fun to watch and feel all that good energy.
The Beths have a knack for writing catchy songs with kick ass vocal harmonies, which are genuinely something special. Liz’s voice is incredible on its own, clear and emotionally spot-on and full of personality, but when the rest of the band stack their voices underneath hers, magic happens. Those harmonies are such a big part of what makes The Beths sound like nobody else, and live, I thought they landed even harder than they do on the records. Also worth mentioning, a handful of us from The Arts STL were in the house last night, and every single one of us were there as fans. No agenda, no work brain, just people who love good music and a band that delivered it completely.
Last night was just a really, really good night. A band that’s genuinely happy to be here, a crowd that was genuinely happy they didn’t pass up our city, six lampshades doing their colorful little thing, and some of the vibey songs filling up The Pageant on a Saturday night. Come back soon, Beths. We’ll be here.
Singer, songwriter, Squirrel Flower opened up the show, she’s a really cool singer songwriter who is not afraid to get up on that stage with just herself and a few guitars, and sing some heartfelt songs, including one that made her laugh because she said to us she didn’t realize how Halloween-esque the song actually felt until she was singing it to us in real time. She was like a melancholy Stevie Nicks, and I loved it when she wasn’t afraid to let her voice open up—this girl has some pipes! I would definitely love to see more of her. | Laura Jerele
