Concert Review - The Bitter Brothers - Auckland - 25th May 2025

The Bitter Brothers in Auckland - Photo Credit Leza E

Review By: Leza E

Artist/Band: The Bitter Brothers

Venue/City: Barebones Folk Club, Auckland, New Zealand

Date of Event: Sunday 25th May 2025

This interesting Wellington based, five-piece band of wayward traveling gypsies (…or are they cowboys? Hang-on, one of them had a leather jacket like an American Indian, with very long leather tassels), folk musicians, play their very own genre of original music, which can be described as somewhere between folk and something like country, with their own spin on it all.

Alfred Műrrle (aka Little Willy Bitter) lead vocals, banjo, backing vocals, guitarist and said, ‘hell raiser’, says that it's “A piss take of folk, country and philosophy really”. There's a large stand-up acoustic bass played by Duncan Nairn (aka Bully Bitter), which he alternates with an electric bass, he's also on vocals (not last night though, as there wasn't enough mics set up), he says he's the ‘rhythm master and leader of the primal deep’. There's Holly Carrington (or Holly Jean Bitter) on accordion and vocals, also known as ‘doyen of harmonic joy’. Alex Hill says she’s the ‘adopted one’ (Alex Bitter), on fiddle and vocals, also known to be ‘the expert mistress of melodic leads and musical embroidery’. The drummer, also on vocals (not last night), ukelele, harmonica and self-labelled ‘musical saw and holy-roller’, Bobby Joe Bitter (Andrew Robins), keeps up that lively beat and keeps everyone on time, even when sometimes the tempo in the tune rapidly changes, then back to the original tempo again, all by design. All this as well as tight fabulous harmonies from the girls, accompanying Alfred on lead vocals (Alfred wearing a cowboy hat, nice outfit and no shoes).

They tell their sordid tales through the music, taking us on a journey of things that did and did not happen to them, from Alfred nearly drowning one time, through to a song about internet memes.
They even do a Mexican ‘number’, sung in Mexican, with a few Mexican trills and laughter on top.
Excellent stuff!

The Bitter Brothers played the last gig of their album release tour ‘Daddy was an Outlaw’, in Auckland city last night, marking the end of their multi-city tour around the North Island.
They played in a tiny, typically kiwi, intimate venue that only New Zealand could pull off so well. I walked down the driveway into the venue, passed the ‘merch’ table, which sells the bands T-Shirts (this band also has vinyl and CDs for sale. Impressive!)
You then walk through the front entrance (at the back of the building) and pass all the acoustic ‘bits and bobs’ on the shelves, you then enter a room filled with music and a welcoming sense of warmth. There’s large comfortable armchairs, old wooden kitchen and lounge chairs with cushions, bean bags, recliners, there’s even plastic chairs, all-which seemed to slope towards a small, roomy stage, set with differing ambient lights and a bushy printed scenery that wraps around the three sides of the stage. No matter where you sat, you could see this great show unfold right before your eyes and your ears.

This lot are well worth going to see. Entertainment plus. Go and go now! You simply will not be disappointed!!

The Bitter Brothers NZ 2025 Album Release Tour

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