The Beths + Phoebe Rings @ Beanfield Theatre▪

On Saturday night, Auckland, New Zealand-based indie pop band The Beths came back to Montreal for a third time, to what looked like a sold-out crowd at Beanfield Theatre. Previously, they sold out both their shows in 2019 and 2022 at Casa del Popolo and Bar Le Ritz, respectively. Now again, moving up in venue size, the Montreal crowd showed up and proved the band has a very big fan base on the other side of the planet. After all, Montreal is a sucker for indie pop bands, and as the nights get colder and colder, what better way to spend an evening than listening to some Happy-Sad music?

Starting the night, we had the dream-pop band Phoebe Rings, also from New Zealand, who have been supporting The Beths on their shows for the last five weeks. The four members jumped on stage around 8 p.m., led by Crystal Choi, the founding member of the project. Their sound feels very jazz-forward, with a lot of ’80s synth-pop arrangements. Some songs in their set, like Aseurai, even have a bit of a lo-fi feel. You can tell they’re all very seasoned, jazz-trained musicians, and though they’re pretty static on stage, you could feel the chemistry in how flawlessly they delivered their set. They also bantered between songs, telling us how different Montreal feels compared to home, almost like walking inside an indie film, while also shouting out St-Viateur bagels: “Thank you for giving us the best bagels we’ve ever tried in our life. That was pretty cool.”

Now, to start on the headliners, I have to mention I had never heard of them before Friday night. I ended up covering the show last minute since our original reviewer wasn’t able to make it. Sometimes you cover shows that come and go, maybe not much to them, or they just don’t hit you personally. And sometimes you end up discovering an amazing band, with a writer like Stokes who leaves it all on the page and reveals the most intimate corners of their brain to anyone willing to listen.

They started their set with Straight Line Was a Lie, the first track of their new album of the same name. The song talks about how, when you’re recovering from being in a dark place, you think progress is linear and things get better exponentially, when in reality, it’s about getting comfortable with always being a work in progress, and accepting that you’re not going to be in a fully happy place all the time. Next, they played No Joy, also from the new album, which has more of an ’80s punk flair. Fast-paced power chords driving a song you can’t help but headbang to.

I mentioned in my intro how The Beths feel to me like Happy-Sad music, and No Joy is a perfect example of it. Much like The Cure, you hear these fast-paced, whimsical melodies, then listen to the lyrics and realize the contrast between the two. It’s a formula that just works, in my opinion, and not a lot of bands can pull it off so flawlessly.

They powered through their set with more of their fast-paced tunes like Metal, then took it down a notch with the heavily atmospheric Til My Heart Stops. After that, the band stepped aside so Elizabeth could perform the next song alone. And this is the point where The Beths won me over for good.

Stokes grabbed her electric guitar and performed the hauntingly beautiful Mother, Pray for Me. The song is a deeply personal ballad about her relationship with her mother, with only fingerpicked electric guitar behind her. Before starting, she mentioned growing up Indonesian-Catholic and how that shaped her upbringing. It’s a beautiful song about how complicated the relationship with one’s mother can be, especially while growing up, how religion affects that dynamic, but also how, as we get older, we understand more and more that our parents aren’t just these figures we’re supposed to follow. They’re people like us, going through hardships and trying their best to navigate life, and those relationships evolve over time.

With the year almost wrapped up, I can say that was one of the most personal and intimate song experiences I’ve had at a show in 2025. And as the last strum of her guitar faded, I walked slowly to the merch booth and bought their new album. Now, here’s a pro tip for anyone going to shows: if you’re debating whether or not to get an album at a live show, just get it, especially if it’s from an indie band from the other side of the world. The chances of finding it later at a record store here are slim. I learned that the hard way with a lot of bands whose albums ended up becoming some of my favourites of all time.

For the rest of the set, they focused on playing a big chunk of the new album, coming back for two more songs after the encore. They played their version of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, ’tis the season, after all, and closed with the fan favourite Expert in a Dying Field.

In the end, The Beths’ third visit to our city was definitely one to remember. Montreal made a group of musicians who travelled more than 8,000 miles feel right at home. I hope they continue their gauntlet of crossing off every important venue in the city sooner rather than later. It was such a joy to spend my Saturday night discovering a great new band, and all that’s left to say is: to the reviewer I had to cover for, I owe you a pint.