The Beths tie their shoes ‘real good’ for Coachella debut
Christchurch's Armageddon Expo breathed life into thousands of characters from comic books, film, video games, and TV screens over the weekend.
The two-day expo at Te Pae Convention Centre drew a record 130 exhibitors and 15,000 pop culture fans from across the country, according to the event’s organisers.
“This is the biggest Christchurch show we’ve done in 17 years,” event director William Geradts said.
Nekxfer, a high school student from Lincoln, crafted and named her own character. She was really excited about “finally connecting with the pop culture community”.
“This is my persona. It represents me,” said the teen, who insisted on being addressed by her character’s name.
She said she came up with the idea “about five or six years ago”, but Nekxfer - “a furry Kamen Rider” - came to life “only last year”.
"I had to seek out a personal workshop overseas to bring it to life.”
Rowan Straford and Schalk duPreez, from Invercargill, said they had been attending the Christchurch expo for “so many years” they’d lost track of the exact number.
“I am cosplaying Diona from Genshin
Kiwi band The Beths tied their shoes “real good” for their Coachella debut.
“I thought ‘what if my shoes fly off in the middle of the Coachella set, what a nightmare’,” lead singer Liz Stokes told the crowd in California.
The Auckland based indie-rock band performed on Friday (US time) and will take to the stage again on April 19.
Big names performing alongside The Beths at the world-famous festival include Lana Del Rey, Tyler, the Creator, Doja Cat, Lil Uzi Vert and special guest No Doubt.
Performing in front of a giant inflatable fish, the band covered hits including I’m Not Getting Excited, Jump Rope Gazers, Silence is Golden and Expert In A Dying Field.
Drummer Tristan Deck thanked crowd for making the day so special.
“Today I woke up and was like like ‘this is one of those days where you just tie your shoes real good’, you know? You know it’s going to be a big exciting day.”
Stokes concurred: “I tied my shoes real good. What a pleasure, it’s been a wonderful Friday, hope you have a good rest of the festival – and lots of water,” she said at the end of the band’s set. the
Impact, but not her in-game model outfit, just something casual,” cafe worker Stratford said.
Stratford got her white T-shirt from #Chchgeddon last year, and hand-sewed ears and a tail for her costume.
The pink wig took her “about three weeks” to style so “it all sticks together, nice and solid”.
She also crafted a choker out of ribbon, and the bell was 3-D printed from UV resin.
“Sometimes I feel like I live all year just to come here. It's like an escape. For a few days, I can go [to the expo], be myself, do whatever I want, look however I want..”
DuPreez cosplayed as a Jedi from Star Wars, but without a lightsaber.
“My lightsaber has been taken. I'm just wandering around, making my way through the universe,” he said.
Christchurch local Gabor Beck cosplayed as a member of the Trauma Team from the console game Cyberpunk. “It's my fifth year coming to the expo ... and it took me about six months to make the costume.”
Made from a yoga mat, the costume was very light, he said.
“But it's very hot to wear it. I'm going to wear it for the whole day. [I’m looking forward to meeting my crew [from the game].
“It's fantastic for people coming together, cos-playing the one you want to be [from] your game, your anime, or your film,” he said.
On stage with the musicians was Sidney Fish, a giant inflatable fish seen on the cover of their third album.
“It’s just funny to me during a quite earnest or serious song and then you look in the background and it’s just this giant inflatable fish,” Stokes said of Sidney Fish during a 2023 interview.
Speaking to Stuff in June, Stokes said the band, which also included guitarist Jonathan Pearce and bassist Benjamin Sinclair, was excited to take on the festival ahead of its US tour. “It’s a really big country with a lot of people and a lot of music lovers, like there’s a real kind of gig culture there because there are bands coming through all the time – it can kind of be your like fulltime hobby, to just go to lots of gigs.
“We really like playing there, we really like the music culture there, and we’re excited to go back and play a few kind of towns in the Southwest.”
Held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, the Coachella averages 125,000 attendees each day, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Kiwi singers Benee and Lorde have performed at the festival in previous years.
The Beths are the most recent recipients of the 2023 Silver Scroll Award, and were featured in former US president Barack Obama’s 2023 summer playlist.