Concert Review - The Bitter Brothers - Hastings - 26th April 2025

Presented By: The Bitter Brothers

The Bitter Brothers Play the Common Room Hastings - Photo Credit Andrew Caldwell

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL BITTER BROTHERS GALLERY BY ANDREW CALDWELL

Review By: Rob Harbers

Artist/Band: The Bitter Brothers

Venue/City: The Common Room, Hastings, New Zealand

Date of Event: Saturday 26th April 2025

Families. They’re complicated things. Whether happy or sad, the bonds of blood and ancestry often lead to convoluted and emotionally complex relationships. From individuals who may share little more than some DNA, through to intimately connected tight groupings, there are many levels of bonding that occur. Somewhere in there lie The Bitter Brothers, a musical troupe consisting of the ragtag results of a legendary Sower of wild oats, who ploughed many a furrow in his time, finding fertile ground everywhere, and leaving a trail of bastards in his wake. Some of these love children have managed to find each other and to form a band, a vehicle through which they find therapy for lingering abandonment issues, while providing some mighty fine entertainment for those lucky enough to encounter them!

On this night they touched down in Heretaunga’s Common Room, bringing their particular style of Americana Gothic to an appreciative audience. Starting on a destructive note with ‘Burn It All Down’, they quickly found their groove, and for the next hour and change proceeded to thoroughly deserve their place in the spotlight. Delivering a 20-song set, made up largely of original material, it was evident that this was a finely crafted presentation, with much care and devotion, and many hours of practice! An early highlight was ‘Hero of The People’, the tale of a welcoming hostess and the guests she drew into the fold. ‘Undone In Sorrow’, originally performed by Ola Belle Reid, brought the old-timey Appalachian feel, with its tale of sadness-a sadness such that it required singer Holly-Jean to declare “Don’t worry, we’re not going to play too many depressing songs”! Depressing or not, the beautiful delivery dispelled any notions of sadness.

“Daddy Was an Outlaw”, the title track of their recently released debut album, formed an origin story of sorts, explaining how the father they share came to abandon the life of an accountant, forsaken for life as a fugitive from the law, initially through a misunderstanding. It also led to the brief addition of an extra member of the band, with Salty (another sibling) joining on trumpet. Such was the reach of Daddy that new siblings constantly emerge from the woodwork! This also explains the gender fluidity of the band’s name, having formed as Brothers before encountering violinist Alex and the aforementioned Holly-Jean. Honorary Brothers they became, either that or gender is only a construct, and a fairly limited one at that (but that’s a discussion for another forum, and day!)

‘Nobody Knows’, a reflection on life and a song almost 30 years old, led in to ‘Manifest Destiny’, a powerfully delivered tale of the arrogant colonisation of the American heartland. And then an intermission, to encourage the purchase of libations while regrouping for the next half.
Coming back with the traditional ‘O Death’, singer Little Willy requested audience participation, for the weary chorus of accompaniment. ‘Sea Shanty’ was a somewhat metaphysical musing on life and death, inspired by Little Willy’s experience of near-drowning, and the sensations and thoughts involved, and featured a wee Easter egg, for those who were listening closely, in the form of Alex’s violin picking out the melody of “My Bonnie’. Sweet treats indeed!

‘Les Yeux Noir’ gave a touch of international culture, with Holly-Jean breaking out her best French, while the following original ‘Nothing To See Here’ brought to song the familiar meme of “Everything’s Fine” (the one with the dog in a burning building). Internet culture and old-school style music combining to form something new-oh the places that could go!

But before too much more time was up, things were approaching the end, the band eschewing the traditional ‘leave the stage and wait to be called’ style of encore, instead just asking the crowd if they wanted more, a question to which there was only one real answer. The result being a brace of songs, firstly ‘Volver’ (which is Spanish for ‘return’ and not anything else, for those dirty minds!!) and the projection of imminent intentions ‘Everybody’s Going Back to Bed’ -clearly on Little Willy’s mind, at least. After all, these guys are on the downhill side of half a century old, and tire easily!

And on that note, having gained new fans for their efforts, the band left the stage free for the subsequent set of doof-doof for the yoof, and disappeared back into the night, to make their way back to their native Poneke, and maybe to encounter more siblings along the way- who knows?

There are further appearances planned around the motu-keep an eye out and get along, is my recommendation!

SETLIST

Burn It All Down
Chillies
Hero of the People
Undone in Sorrow
Beneath the Bay
Daddy Was An Outlaw
J’attendrai
Nobody Knows
Manifest Destiny
O Death
Sea Shanty
Les Yeux Noir
Nothing to See Here
Wild Sheep Chase
Stars In My Life
Cosmic River Blues
House Beside The Sea
Volver
Everybody’s Going Back To Bed

UPCOMMING TOUR DATES (Visit https://thebitterbrothers.com )

You can check still get along to see The Bitter Brothers live:

Tauranga - The Jam Factory - Saturday, May 10th

Mt. Maunganui - Round And Round - Sunday, May 11th (Record Store Promo)

Hamilton - The Last Place - Saturday, May 24th

Auckland - Barebones Folk Club - Sunday, May 25th

The Bitter Brother Tour Poster 2025

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