The Beths
On Saturday, August 5, I saw The Beths for the third time.
- The first time was their Cleveland debut in the Beachland Tavern on October 8, 2018.
- I also attended their second Cleveland appearance when they moved up to the Beachland Ballroom on March 5, 2019.
This third appearance was a sold out show in the Beachland Ballroom. I had bought my tickets back in late March. This was in part because I enjoyed their first two appearances, both of which were when they were touring on their debut album. However, it was much more because I figured a ton of my friends would be at that show. This proved correct, and I joined Brandt & Candy, Colleen, Lazybones, Ed, Rich & Jackie, Heather. gieves drove me as my +1 after M decided she'd sit this one out.
The opener was a band called Disq. I stuck my head in long enough to determine that they were reasonably competent rock & rollers, but they were not compelling enough to pull me out of a bar full of my friends ahead of schedule.
The Beths have put out two more albums since the last time I saw them, and had at least one more Cleveland-area appearance. I can't say I was paying super close attention to all that music beyond hearing a few cuts on friend's radio shows, but I suspected I'd figure it out as I went along, and that proved more or less correct. Unfortunately, my various stomach maladies keep me from drinking much of anything fun you'd find in a bar. I'd like to tell you that it doesn't make any difference being sober at show, and I've certainly had nights where being sober didn't impact my enjoyment of the music at all, but on this particular night my brain went into overdrive and I had trouble focusing on the show. Normally a beer or two mutes the part of my brain that thinks I should be working on some specific problem, but without that option on this night I had trouble staying out of my own head. I still quite enjoyed the novelty of being in a packed room (it was my first Beachland show since the Cracker / Camper von Beethoven show on January 11, 2020), the giant inflatable fish prop, and the mix of well delivered power pop split relatively equally between songs I knew and songs I hadn't heard yet, but yeah, sometimes it's fun to turn off part of the brain and just rock out, and that didn't happen here. Oh well, I still bought their second and third studio albums to support the cause.
Would I see The Beths a fourth time? Well, at that price point with that many friends in tow, absolutely! At a higher price point at a less attractive venue, that I'm not sure. On the other hand, they really are showing an upward trajectory. I don't think they're going to play arenas, but I don't have any trouble imagining them playing the Agora or a venue the size of the old Odeon. More power to them, they're already my favorite band from New Zealand, although I'll admit the options are scant on the ground. I guess I saw The Datsuns open for the Pixies in 2004, so I've seen at least ONE other kiwi band.
The Beths were my second show of the day after taking my daughter to see Laurie Berkner. At the end of the day I moved my show total to 4 concerts and 6 bands for 2023. I've got one more pair of tickets cued up, and we'll see what happens from there.
- The first time was their Cleveland debut in the Beachland Tavern on October 8, 2018.
- I also attended their second Cleveland appearance when they moved up to the Beachland Ballroom on March 5, 2019.
This third appearance was a sold out show in the Beachland Ballroom. I had bought my tickets back in late March. This was in part because I enjoyed their first two appearances, both of which were when they were touring on their debut album. However, it was much more because I figured a ton of my friends would be at that show. This proved correct, and I joined Brandt & Candy, Colleen, Lazybones, Ed, Rich & Jackie, Heather. gieves drove me as my +1 after M decided she'd sit this one out.
The opener was a band called Disq. I stuck my head in long enough to determine that they were reasonably competent rock & rollers, but they were not compelling enough to pull me out of a bar full of my friends ahead of schedule.
The Beths have put out two more albums since the last time I saw them, and had at least one more Cleveland-area appearance. I can't say I was paying super close attention to all that music beyond hearing a few cuts on friend's radio shows, but I suspected I'd figure it out as I went along, and that proved more or less correct. Unfortunately, my various stomach maladies keep me from drinking much of anything fun you'd find in a bar. I'd like to tell you that it doesn't make any difference being sober at show, and I've certainly had nights where being sober didn't impact my enjoyment of the music at all, but on this particular night my brain went into overdrive and I had trouble focusing on the show. Normally a beer or two mutes the part of my brain that thinks I should be working on some specific problem, but without that option on this night I had trouble staying out of my own head. I still quite enjoyed the novelty of being in a packed room (it was my first Beachland show since the Cracker / Camper von Beethoven show on January 11, 2020), the giant inflatable fish prop, and the mix of well delivered power pop split relatively equally between songs I knew and songs I hadn't heard yet, but yeah, sometimes it's fun to turn off part of the brain and just rock out, and that didn't happen here. Oh well, I still bought their second and third studio albums to support the cause.
Would I see The Beths a fourth time? Well, at that price point with that many friends in tow, absolutely! At a higher price point at a less attractive venue, that I'm not sure. On the other hand, they really are showing an upward trajectory. I don't think they're going to play arenas, but I don't have any trouble imagining them playing the Agora or a venue the size of the old Odeon. More power to them, they're already my favorite band from New Zealand, although I'll admit the options are scant on the ground. I guess I saw The Datsuns open for the Pixies in 2004, so I've seen at least ONE other kiwi band.
The Beths were my second show of the day after taking my daughter to see Laurie Berkner. At the end of the day I moved my show total to 4 concerts and 6 bands for 2023. I've got one more pair of tickets cued up, and we'll see what happens from there.