On May 17th it was the first night of the “Hot and Stupid” tour, named after Beth McCarthy her newest EP, released just a month ago. After playing in Utrecht last year, she now came to the biggest room of Melkweg in Amsterdam. She also offered a VIP package, including watching the soundcheck, a group Q&A and a signed poster. Walking past the line you could spot many people wearing pink, which is a staple color for McCarthy.
The doors opened at 7 and just half an hour later aleksiah made her way to the stage. She came all the way from Australia and just got off the plane 3 hours before her stage time. She joked about how she smelled, but was ready to play the show. She started her set with “Clothes Off,” which is about being really scared to have sex. Her voice sounded amazing and even though it was just her and her guitar on stage, her confidence and personality shone through. Next up was “Think About It,” a song she wrote just three weeks ago and recorded last week, so the crowd in Amsterdam were the first people to hear it. She called the song a bit of a ‘Debbie Downer,’ but there were no more of such songs for the rest of the set. We switched the opposite way with our emotions, with the next song, “Pretty Picture,” being about anger and people pissing you off. For this she made the crowd scream as loud as they could to get rid of all the anger they kept inside. A cover of Chappell Roan’s “Casual” got the crowd singing along loudly.
The cute heart shaped guitar had been sitting on the stage, but it was finally time to see it from up close when she swapped her guitars for the last few songs. aleksiah called the guitar her bestie and gave it the name Ruby after finding it on Facebook Marketplace. “Take care of the people around you, this is a safe space and we are all friends here” she said before introducing the next song. “Batsh*t” is about doing dumb shit for people you like, who most likely don’t like you back. Unfortunately it was almost time for the last song of her set, but not before she told the crowd she missed out on seeing Beth McCarthy in Australia due to living in a part where no one ever tours. Because of that she is just as excited as the crowd to finally be able to watch her show. She ended her set with “Fern” about a girl she had a crush on in high school. Unfortunately this girl did not like her back, because she was straight. The crowd cheered her on and waved their hands to the song.
As soon as aleksiah left the stage, glow sticks were being thrown around the venue. The VIP people brought them in and instructed everyone to wave them in the air the second McCarthy entered the stage. The playlist between sets was filled with some great hits and some of them were sung along loudly such as “Teenage Dirtbag” and “HOT TO GO!”
The room darkened and Beth McCarthy her voice could be heard over the speakers repeating “Forgive me mother, for I have sinned.” She opened her set with “Cubicle In Heaven” followed by “IDK How To Talk To Girls.” Her songs are very catchy and after hearing the chorus a few times you can find yourself singing along already. After “First, Best, Hottest…” she took a moment to talk to the crowd and take it all in. Some fans brought her stroopwafels, a staple dutch treat, which she gladly accepted.
Her EP was supposed to be released earlier, but the song “You Up?” included a voice note from her ex which wasn’t allowed to be used anymore. She then had to replace that part and pushed the release to a later date. That made this the first time she got to play the song live.
“Listen guys, I respect you for coming to my gig, because English is my first language and I can’t speak it. I love that you guys are here and pretending to understand me, because I’m actually not speaking English.” she said after making some funny noises. Her giggles and smiles couldn’t be stopped and she kept telling the crowd how cool it was to be able to play these shows and have them all come. McCarthy is a naturally funny person, making the between-song bits almost feel like you are at a comedy show. “This song is from the last EP that I did, it was an EP all about my journey, figuring out that I like girls, as well as everybody else. (…) start from the place like ‘who the fuck am I?’ and then it goes through all the places and the very last thing is getting feelings. You know these really gut-wrenching feelings where you’re like ‘this is the end of the world, I just met you and I’m obsessed with you after three minutes. Maybe we are soulmates or maybe we just like dogs’ but sometimes it’s not that deep” is how she introduced “Not That Deep.”
Next up was “She Gets The Flowers.” This song is about the new lover of her ex getting all the love she deserved, but today the crowd showed McCarthy her worth. From crocheted flowers to real ones, she had trouble holding them all. It was obvious she loved this gesture, as she could not stop giggling and smiling. Near the end of the song she grabbed her guitar and kneeled down at the front to do the guitar solo.
While McCarthy has an amazing voice and catchy songs, her personality is a part of why people adore her so much. Most people probably got to know her through her ‘What Do You Call It?’ series on TikTok, where she went out into the street and asked people their names, sexualities and types. She hasn’t done those in a while, but decided to bring it back live for the tour. Two fans were picked from the crowd, with whom she got very close to ask them her usual questions. Later on in the set she also had a bit where she asked the crowd for some confessions, making them say “Forgive me mother for I have sinned” before spilling their story. One girl confessed how she left church camp to go to the show, which might already be the best confession of the tour on just the first day.
For the next song there was a dance to be learned beforehand. A bit like “YMCA” and “HOT TO GO!” McCarthy had her own song “Xo.” The crowd had the easy task of making a X and O with their arms, during those lyrics in the song. Everyone participated happily, brightening McCarthy’s face with a massive smile once more. A fun addition to the setlist was a cover of Lady Gaga’s “Abacadabra,” which was done very well and the crowd seemed to love it as well.
McCarthy changed her hair for the unreleased song “Treat Me Like A Rock Star” and Amsterdam was once again the first place where it was being played live. The song really brought out her inner rockstar and personally I can not wait for it to be released. Near the end of the song she jumped down into the crowd, dancing and singing with her fans. There were two more songs before the encore: “All My Friends Are Hot,” for which she invited a fan onstage to dance with her, and “Good Bi,” where she got a bisexual flag from the crowd to wave around. Ending this part of the set on “Good Bi” was a very clever choice, since it sounds like ‘Goodbye,’ making her run off stage yelling bye to the crowd.
After coming back on stage she treated the crowd to two more songs. First up was “Hurting My Own Feelings,” but she could not head straight into the last song once it ended. A fan brought a sign that asked McCarthy to help her find a girlfriend. McCarthy loves all the fan interactions, so of course helped them. Two potential matches were picked and we are all curious to find out if they will work out. Her set ended with “She’s Pretty,’ but with the twist of Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!” mixed into the middle of the song. The crowd cheered loudly once more and headed home with hurting cheeks from smiling so much.
GALLERY: Beth McCarthy and aleksiah at Melkweg in Amsterdam, Netherlands (May 17, 2025)
