The Beths at Asbury Lanes — 8/26/22
Welcome to Asbury Park, Kiwis!
The Beths, who hail from Auckland, New Zealand, are a breath of fresh air. They are young, talented, and clearly like each other and what they do. And they play very tight, very upbeat, catchy songs. Like Spoon the other night, their positive energy is infectious, and the crowd at my favorite bowling alley/concert venue was super appreciative in response.
I first saw The Beths at SXSW 2019, at the Doc Martens outdoor afternoon venue, playing their set just before The Joy Formidable, one of my faves. I liked them a lot, and vowed to see them if they ever visited New York City or New Jersey. Fighting through their Covid scheduling and postponements (like everybody else, I guess), I finally got to see them at Webster Hall in New York City in February 2022. They put on a great show. When they announced Friday night’s gig in Asbury Park, I was the first kid on my block to buy a ticket.
The band members introduced each other to us early in the set. Bass player Benjamin Sinclair introduced Elizabeth Stokes as “the woman who writes all our songs, plays guitar, sings the vocals, and is a wonderful human being”. And she is. And so are her band mates. In addition to Sinclair, Jonathan Pearce (guitar and vocals) and Tristan Deck (drums) do a wonderful job of supporting her and have their own impressive musical chops.
Tristan Deck, whose birthday was the other day, was stoked that Sum 41 and Simple Minds were wailing away at the Stone Pony Summer Stage around the corner that night. He and his band mates took in a few numbers outside before their 9pm set started.
Their set was easy to listen to, easy to feel good about, and it was a real pleasure to be part of the crowd. Here are a couple videos from their set:
https://www.instagram.com/p/ChwuuBPurFB/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Here’s a sampling of music from The Beths: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1g9L2VP2KJqcRXKJZH5Nzk?si=REdmf2Z2Qyiwakz8jqThew
P.S. I haven’t convinced any of the Asbury Lanes bartenders to part with their killer Asbury Lanes t-shirts yet, but I’m so gonna get one. And the joint is missing a killer opportunity to sell Asbury Lanes legit bowling shirts. Maybe that will be my next gig.