Jonathan Bree is a unique singer-songwriter and producer from New Zealand. His imagery for his newest album, dominated by his covered face, is what first caught my attention (not unlike Orville Peck). Listening to his album quickly showed me that this was more than just a cheap ploy for attention. The more I listened to the album (find it here), the more intrigued I was. Seeing him in the Beachland Tavern, I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised to see the entire band’s faces masked, but it was jarring at first. Their performance was artful and enjoyable. Jonathan spent the whole night posing on stage, whether he was performing a song or not. This was one of the more pleasantly surprising shows I’ve been to for awhile.
I wouldn’t have expected Shilpa Ray to be opening at this show, particularly with her having been through the Beachland plenty of times before. I first caught her live in 2010, then again in 2011, 2014, 2015. Each time was enjoyable. This time was as well, though she didn’t seem to have the full ferocity that drove some of her earlier performances, probably because she only toured with a keyboardist this time. I’m sure I’ll see her again, but would love to see her release a raging album to tour on.
The very first opener was our own Istvan Medgyesi. It’d been a minute since I’ve been able to catch him, but his unique sound continues to warp and expand the mind. I’m here for it.
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