Day 2: Sydney
Welcome
Yesterday we played in Sydney, Australia.
It was a cool, overcast morning when Tristan and I emerged from the piano and saxophone mood that still occupied the Rydges Camperdown’s lobby. We were clad in breathable synthetic fabrics that had been crafted into active wear, and we were headed out for our first run of 2024. As cockatoos screeched and cackled overhead, we wound our way north along a path that followed the brick and concrete waterway known as Johnstons Creek (formerly Johnston’s Creek), passing playgrounds, parks, and a number of beautiful public gardens that were sadly cordoned off due to asbestos contamination in the mulch. Johnstons creek empties into Rozelle Bay and we stopped at this junction for a quick look at the marina with all its super yachts, and admired the magnificent cable stayed spans of ANZAC Bridge before turning back to the hotel.
Johnstons creek and a section of the Jubilee Park Railway Viaduct in the background.
Rozelle Bay and ANZAC Bridge.
We were craving a hot and healthy breakfast, so Tristan found us a place serving Levantine fusion cuisine and we sat ourselves at a table in their very pleasant garden courtyard. We both enjoyed the Fez Breakfast which came with poached eggs, falafel, hummus, babaganoush, labneh, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, pickles, grilled haloumi, and zaatar flat bread.
Halfway through our exploration of these spectacular rectangular platters of we spotted two figures strutting down the road towards our café, possibly attracted here by similar cravings as our own, possibly drawn in by Google maps location based advertising data, but either way it was a pleasant surprise to meet a furthur two members of The Beths and they joined us as we finished our meals and placed orders of their own.
Later in the day we began our journey to the venue, heading even further southwest away from the city centre until we found ourselves in the suburb of Marrickville. Déjà vu greeted us as we walked through the venue gates and realised that this was to be our second gig at Factory Theatre – we had performed here back in March 2022 and although it had been a fine show we hadn’t sold many tickets.
Our 2024 show enjoyed a great turnout, and we were supported by some fine musicians. Melbourne artist Juice Webster opened up the show with some gorgeous and delicately delivered songs, and this was followed by Liam Finn who made his guitar scream and pounded the drums like his life depended on it, playing many of the ingenious loop-based tunes that many of us remember fondly from the late noughties.
Juice Webster and her band.
We went on at 10pm and found ourselves in front of a hot and extremely excited audience. The Beths at this point were not a highly rehearsed band, having had to cancel our pre-tour rehearsal at the last minute, but we were keen and ready to try very hard for the next eighty minutes and hope that our talent and instincts carried us the rest of the way. Our set had a great energy both from band and audience and afterwards we felt like everyone in the room had had a great time.
Standing with the brand new Jonathan Pearce Cardboard Cutout, available for pre-order now at thebeths.com.
Here is Tristan’s latest creation with some behind the scenes, and in front of the scenes footage from the last couple of days.