Events Calendar
|
Latest Issue
|
Membership
|
Log In Sign Up
  • Play

    Play

    • A Beginner’s Guide to Soccer
    • You Spin Me Right Round: D.C. Roller Skating 101 in 2021
    • Leading the League: The WNBA’s Natasha Cloud on Breaking Barriers + Inspiring D.C.
    • Spring Has Sprung: 10 Ways To Get Outside in the DMV
    • Play Week Combines Games + Social Impact
    • High and Go Seek Illustration
    • O Captain, My Captain: Washington Spirit’s Andi Sullivan
  • Life

    Life

    • Local Entrepreneurs Infuse CBD into Wellness
    • 19 Entrepreneurs Shaping D.C.’s Cannabis + CBD Industries
    • Upcycling in D.C.: Transforming a Culture of Consumption
    • The Green Issue: Experts + Advocates Make Case for Cannabis Legalization + Decriminalization
    • The District Derp Story
    • Grassfed Media Champions Cannabis Clients
    • Nat Geo Explorer Gabrielle Corradino on Plankton, the Anacostia + Conservation
  • Eat

    Eat

    • The State of Takeout in the District
    • A New Twist on Food Delivery: MisenBox
    • Next-Level Home Dining Experiences in D.C.
    • Foxtrot Market Is Officially Open for Business in Georgetown
    • Food Rescue + Assistance Programs Fill the Gaps in a Pandemic Food System
    • Hungry Harvest Helps to End Food Insecurity
    • Notable Summer Bar + Restaurant Reopenings to Try this Spring
  • Drink

    Drink

    • Pandemic Drinking: Derek Brown Leads the Way to Low-ABV Future
    • D.C.’s St. Vincent Wine Creates Covid-Conscious Experience
    • A New Way to Binge: Sobriety Anchors Business + Being for Gigi Arandid
    • King’s Ransom + The Handover in Alexandria Celebrate a First Year Like No Other
    • Wines of the World Are Just Around the Corner
    • Open-Air Drinking + Cocktail Delivery Changes in the DMV
    • Denizens Brewing Co.’s Emily Bruno: Brewing Change for Community + Industry
  • Culture

    Culture

    • The Artistry Behind D.C.’s Cannabis Culture
    • The Best Movies of 2021…So Far
    • The Survival of the Brutalist: D.C.’s Complicated Concrete Legacy
    • Plain Sight: A Street-Front Revolution in Radical Arts Accessibility
    • A Touch of Danger in Shakespeare Theatre Company’s “Romeo & Juliet”
    • Artgence + Homme: Where There’s Art, There’s a Story to Share
    • 21 D.C. Makers + Curators to Follow
  • Music

    Music

    • Emma G Talks Wammie Nominations and the D.C. Music Community
    • J’Nai Bridges: A Modern Mezzo-Soprano in a Changing Opera Landscape
    • Punk Legends The Go-Go’s Talk Four Decades of Sisterhood, Resilience + Zero Fucks Given
    • Ellen Reid “Soundwalk:” Exploring the Sonic Landscape at Wolf Trap
    • SHAED Releases First Full-Length Album in a “High Dive” of Faith
    • Obama + Springsteen Present “Renegades”
    • Christian Douglas Uses His “Inside Voice” on Pandemic-Inspired Debut Album
  • Events

    Events

    • Play Week 4.17-4.25
    • Midnight at The Never Get 4.30-6.21
    • Cannabis City Panel Presented by BĀkT DC + District Fray
    • Browse Events
    • DC Polo Society Summer Sundays 5.9
    • National Cannabis Festival’s Dazed & Amused Drive-In Party
    • Vinyl + Vinyasa 4.30
  • Log In
    Sign Up

Log In Sign Up
Photo Gallery: Girls to the Front 2023
The Sound of Women: 7 DMV Artists to Follow
Feel Like a Star: VXN Workout Takes Over the DMV
A distant view of the Washington Monument.
I Will Follow: April 2023
At Angelika: “What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears?”
A Family Affair: Drew and Ellie Holcomb at the Birchmere
Home » Articles » Music » The Beths Plan to Play D.C. at Last

Music

Four people in T-shirts look at the camera. The Beths. Photo by Frances Carter.

The Beths Plan to Play D.C. at Last

Share:

March 3, 2023 @ 12:00pm | Christina Smart

Before beloved New Zealand band The Beths plays a sold-out 9:30 Club, read about the trials and tribulations of touring through a snowy West Coast. 


After The Beths’ current U.S. headlining tour was delayed twice due to the pandemic, the New Zealand band encountered another unexpected natural issue upon their arrival: the winter storm that walloped a good portion of the country last week, forcing the band to cancel their show at First Avenue in Minneapolis. 

“We played in Seattle and then we had three days to get to Minneapolis, which was the next show,” lead singer Elizabeth Stokes tells District Fray. “On the day before we were supposed to drive, it was just clear that that show was not going to happen cause it was right in the eye of the storm. So we ended up spending a few nights in beautiful Bismarck, North Dakota, sleeping in the bus. We got to know that area pretty well.”

Thankfully, weather delays will not prevent The Beths from playing their sold out show at the 9:30 Club on March 4. The Auckland quartet are touring behind their third album, “Expert in a Dying Field” (available now in physical formats including colored vinyl and cassette), an across the board power pop-punk outing that returns to the energy of their debut album “Future Me Hates Me” while delving into the most go-to lyrical subject matter in music: love and break-ups and dealing with the two.

Not that one should expect a morose outing from the band. If anything, lyrics on songs such as “Knees Deep” where Stokes sings “The shame/I wish I was brave enough to dive in/But I never had been and never will be/I’m coming in hot then freezing completely” over a bright melody showcases their ability to make a heartbreaking subject matter far less painful musically. Also, for anyone who has seen the music video, the band is literally able to dive in as each member takes a turn bungee jumping off the Auckland Harbour Bridge. Doing this turned out to be something the band did on a whim after the music video director came down with COVID-19 right before their scheduled shoot.

“We were without a video and, very short notice, had to pull something together,” says Stokes. “I had a list of ideas for music videos for the song and one of them was, ‘Let’s go bungee jumping.’ And it was like, well, this seems like the one that we could pull together the quickest. We booked the slot and then I was like, ‘Oh, we’re actually gonna have to do this now.’ The song is about being brave.”

When it came to the actual moment of truth, Stokes had to deal with mind over matter.

“I wasn’t prepared for exactly how scared I would be,” recalls Stokes. “Your body just gets really scared because your brain is like, ‘It’s safe, I  think.’ But your body’s just like, ‘Absolutely not. We’re gonna die.’”

The Beths play 9:30 Club on March 4. Doors 7 p.m. SOLD OUT.

9:30 Club: 815 V St. NW, DC; 930.com // @930club

Enjoy this piece? Consider becoming a member for access to our premium digital content. Support local journalism and start your membership today.

Christina Smart

Share:

Related Articles

No Articles

DISTRICT FRAY MEMBERSHIPS

District Fray members receive unlimited access to our digital content, including new articles published daily. We also have membership options available for locals interested in our print magazine, member events, or first-access tickets and giveaways.

Join Today
COMPANY
About United Fray Team Hiring: Join Our Team!
GET INVOLVED
Become A Member 2023 Media Kit 2023 Editorial Calendar Corporate Wellness Contact: Media Pitches + Advertising Inquiries
EXPLORE
Eat Drink Music Culture Life Play Events Calendar
OUR CITIES
Washington D.C. Jacksonville Phoenix
Subscribe

By clicking submit, you agree to receive emails from District Fray and accept our web terms of use and privacy and cookie policy.

© 2023 District Fray.