The Beta Band, Manchester Apollo. 4th October 2025

Well everyone else is at it, honestly I think every review at the moment starts with Band Name are back! Tonight it’s the turn of The Beta Band. It’s been 20 years. Again what’s with bands getting back together after 20 years, if nothing else it makes me feel old! I’m on the younger side of the crowd in the Apollo tonight though, as I time my entrance perfectly in sync with the opening space wobble of ‘Inner Meet Me’, the band bathed in a sea of stars, the groove is instantly on. We’re here to hear them play the Three EPs compilation, with a few other faves thrown into the mix. Groove will very much be the order of the night. ‘She’s the One’ sees the percussive rhythm kick in. It’s pure hippy psychedelia to start without the DJ electronics and try stop your head bobbing, you can’t. It then blows the technicolour doors off and all the sound floors in. This is gonna be good. ‘It’s Not Too Beautiful’ is an ambitious song, especially in a live setting. It’s beautiful though, a serene landscape projected behind them, it matches the peaceful tranquility they lay down, before gliding into the soaring chorus. Oh so many soaring choruses tonight. They feel a bit raw as they twist through ‘Assessment’s movements but it matches the vibe of slightly chaotic arthouse happening. ‘Alleged’ follows the same vein, but does with more groove and it lands better. We’re all encouraged to claps as the 60s cinematic vibe of ‘Push It Out’ opens up. The cymbals setting the pace. Steve and Robin’s voices harmonising gorgeously together as they loop and layer. Understated magnificence. Everyone swaps instruments for ‘Needles In My Eyes’. The organ and a gently jangly guitar going toe to toe. The JCB digging on the projection might need some explaining though. Less so for the archive footage of dogs playing during ‘Dogs Got a Bone’. It’s stripped back fun as the drums are dropped and the bongos take over. They’re tight and controlled, mostly. Aside the occasional chaotic moments of ‘Dr. Baker’. There’s been pockets of singing, but this seems to capture more of the room. Surprising considering how uncompromising it is. ‘B+A’ then unfurls its glorious instrumental journey and provides the perfect set up for what for many will be the set highlight, but not before it hits the accelerator with some seriously filthy riffs. ‘Dry The Rain’ is everything I hoped. Everyone in full voice. It’s cool, it’s beautiful. That build. I love a song that builds, but fuck me, does anything do it as perfectly as this. The crowd take the “If there's something inside that you wanna say. Say it out loud, it'll be okay” line and it sounds sublime. When that trumpet hits, fuck me, I float. It should close the set really, leave us singing it out into the night. The crowd don’t want it to stop and so don’t let it. Refusing to let the band move on, we keep singing. The bass is the first to admit defeat, joining back in and sucking the rest of the band back with it. Absolutely fucking phenomenal. Where do you go from there? Well no where for a minute while the mics play up and the crowd keep Rain going acapella. ‘Broke’ eventually follows though. It takes its time but soon finds its home as a tribal breakbeat monster that takes us up to the encore break. The dreamy ‘I Know’ leads us back in with Steve donning some trippy eyewear that would make Orbital jealous. Time melts away as its trip hop pace bleeds into 60s psych. There’s only way to follow and that’s with ‘Squares’. The “Daydream, I fell asleep under the flowers” hook might not be theirs, but I’m not sure anyone’s ever used it this well. I wasn’t sure about ‘The House Song’ closing, but it’s got a ton of space it for them to play and boy do they. It’s a full on jam. Two drummers, hip hop beats on bongos as the DJ scratches fly. As they reach its climax, all four of them are banging something, drums, cymbals, it’s utterly brilliant, from a brilliant band and a brilliant gig. It’s wonderful to have them back.