While wouldn’t necessarily describe their stage presence as “loose,” there’s something captivating about watching a bunch of trained jazz musicians effortlessly rip into perfected indie rock. It was exciting and expected to see the overwhelming turnout of hungry ears of course, The Beths got them fed.
THE BETHS UPTOWN GIRL VIDEO FULL
On Thursday night at the Bootleg, The Beths, along with Ariel View and Girl Friday, arrived at a sold-out venue full of newer fans and others proud of their early discovery (otherwise known as my friends and I). Simply, it’s a damn good album to listen to front to back. It’s because of their polished, exciting expansion on the indie rock genre and Stokes’ witty, ever so self-deprecating, and genuine lyrics, that have made Future Me Hates Me a must-listen for myself and others around the globe. The easy genre call for the Auckland group is indie-rock, but the at-times riskless genre doesn’t do quartet justice when there are moments of emo, punk, and power pop that shine through at some of the best bits of the record (“Uptown Girl,” “Little Death,” “You Wouldn’t Like Me”). Their masterfully played and hook-filled “Future Me Hates Me” was a favorite in 2018 for listeners ready to dig their teeth into something new. I’m certain we can attribute the lesser than average attendance to the fact that this was before the end of the year lists, festival seasons, and their runs with great bands across the map like Death Cab for Cutie, Bloc Party, and the Breeders. The fans in attendance knew every word, drum beat, and quartet backing vocals of the set, but there were gaps in the small venue that should have been filled. Though the band came out swinging, the crowd was a bit lacking in terms of size. I had the chance to jump on a phone call with Stokes the day of their second ever time playing in LA, this time at the infamous Roxy. Last time we spoke with frontwoman and the Beth of the band, Elizabeth, the group was touring their fresh debut, Future Me Hates Me. The Beths are an indie rock group made up of four Kiwis Elizabeth Stokes, Ben Sinclair, Jonathan Pearce, and touring drummer Tristan Deck.