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Kristin Hersh, The Old Museum, Brisbane, Queensland, 14 March 2025. Photo: Alec Smart

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KRISTIN HERSH
+ Double Happiness
@ Old Museum, Brisbane,
14th March 2025
(Live Review)

Review and photos by Alec Smart (@alecsmart_fotos)

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Kristin Hersh, The Old Museum, Brisbane, Queensland, 14 March 2025. Photo: Alec Smart

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Kristin Hersh, creative force and principle songwriter with American ‘alt-rock’ bands Throwing Muses (founded 1981) and 50FootWave (formed 2003), performed solo at The Old Museum in Brisbane.

The event took place in the spacious concert hall of the beautiful old 1891-built premises, which originally housed the state’s collection of artworks and historic items (before they relocated to the South Bank).

Kristin was supported by musical couple Pete and Kristin Ferguson, half of the south Queensland band The Double Happiness. Kristin showcased her new 12-string Gretsch guitar, while Pete supplemented her jangles with some neat surf-rock trills and haunting tremolo chimes on his J Mascis Jazzmaster, (made famous by the Dinosaur Jr. guitarist).

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Double Happiness, The Old Museum, Brisbane, Queensland, 14 March 2025. Photo: Alec Smart

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Double Happiness are a low-key, jangly-pop band, whose online bio declares they are “inspired by love of spaghetti-westerns, Tarantino soundtracks, dogs and David Lynch’s ‘Twin Peaks‘.”

They performed 15 songs from their repertoire, which covered topics ranging from observations of seaside activities (Red Beach), a cowboy Western (Smoking Gun), Queensland landmarks (No Place Like Nunda and Coochiemudlo), and the somewhat surreal Oysters Can Dream.

Incidentally, ‘double happiness’ is a Chinese cultural expression, represented by the symbols 囍, commonly used as a decoration at weddings and celebratory events to wish luck on the participants. 

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Double Happiness, The Old Museum, Brisbane, Queensland, 14 March 2025. Photo: Alec Smart

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Kristin Hersh quietly sauntered onto the stage without introduction or fanfare, and sat down on a chair with her acoustic guitar. From there she entertained the gathering with just the strength of her husky, emotive voice and the strumming of her instrument.

She wore a summer frock and sandals and her hair has returned to the long dark locks and low fringe that characterised her appearance in the 1990s, when she fronted Throwing Muses. (Her hair for most of this millennium has been short and blonde.)

Onstage she is quiet and bookish, not given to much commentary between songs, although when she does chatter she reveals a wicked sense of humour and considerable intelligence.

Her music varies; usually gentle with the chords picked, at other times abrasive as she incorporates fast-strummed bar chords (sometimes played in triplets). Her songs are not overly melodic or predictable like folk or pop, yet not as thrashy as hardcore punk, which explains why she’s usually categorised as ‘alternative rock’ or ‘post-punk’. 

Her lyrics (both solo and with bands) are often bizarre or vague, described as ‘stream-of-conscious’, and typically combining abstract ideas with quirky observations.

Under minimalist lighting, with no backing band, she performed a mixture of new material and familiar classics from her long and varied 44-year career.

Quick history: Kristin’s first band, Throwing Muses, featured Hersh and her step-sister Tanya Donelly (initially primary school friends, Kristin and Tanya became step-sisters in early high school when Kristin’s father married Tanya’s mother).

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Kristin Hersh, The Old Museum, Brisbane, Queensland, 14 March 2025. Photo: Alec Smart

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Tanya went on to join Kim Deal from The Pixies to form The Breeders, and record their debut album Pod, in 1990, before finding enduring success in Belly.

Kristin continued with Throwing Muses, alternated with her independent solo career, and later formed 50FootWave, during which she dabbled with more experimental music.

All of the aforementioned bands and artists have released music on influential British record label 4AD.

Kristin is a prolific songwriter – 12 solo albums, including the most recent, Clear Pond Road (2023); plus 11 studio albums with Throwing Muses, including the new release Moonlight Concessions (2025); plus two studio albums with 50FootWave – in addition to authoring seven books.

Regarding the latter, during the concert she paused to read excerpts from Don’t Suck, Don’t Die: Giving Up Vic Chesnutt (2015) and her latest, The Future of Songwriting (2024).

Kristin revealed there were signed copies of her books on the merchandise stall in the foyer, managed by her teenage son Ryder (who is also a musician).

She urged people to buy them, warning (tongue firmly in her cheek), “Ryder doesn’t eat unless we sell books!”

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Kristin Hersh, The Old Museum, Brisbane, Queensland, 14 March 2025. Photo: Alec Smart

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Her spooky, Gothic song Your Ghost, performed mid set and probably her best-known song, drew the biggest audience appreciation. Incorporating just four chords (Am D G Am but alternating their order) the 1994 black & white music video is haunting, and includes Michael Stipe from R.E.M. on backing vocals.

Kristin also performed a trio of Throwing Muses numbers to vary the set. Incidentally, Kristin’s trio is touring Australia later this year with long-term members David Narcizo (joined 1983) and Bernard Georges (joined 1992), drummer and bassist respectively, accompanying her.

Kristin finished her set with The Cuckoo/Jack of Diamonds, an historic ballad that dates back to the late 18^th century, which she explained was a folk song taught her by her parents when she was a girl. She added that it was “the only traditional song I learned that was not about a guy getting drunk and killing his girlfriend!”

After a short break, she returned to play a single song encore, Your Dirty Answer, from her 2001 album Sunny Border Blue. Then the audience queued up at the merchandise table to buy Kristin’s creations and ensure her son went to bed on a full stomach…

Video of Kristin Hersh performing Your Dirty Answer.

KRISTIN HERSH
Set list

Kay Catherine (Throwing Muses song)
Eyeshine
City of the Dead (Throwing Muses song)
Flooding
Mississippi Kite
Teeth
Reading from Don’t Suck, Don’t Die: Giving Up Vic Chesnutt
Sundrops
Bywater (Throwing Muses song)
Your Ghost
Reflections on the Motive Power of Fire
Sunray Venus (Throwing Muses song)
Slippershell (Throwing Muses song)
Krait
Reading from The Future of Songwriting
The Cuckoo/Jack of Diamonds

Encore
Your Dirty Answer

Check out Alec Smart’s (@alecsmart_fotos) full gallery of this event HERE

Check out Colin Reid (@cdrimagery) full gallery of the Adelaide event (Grace Emily 13th March 2025) HERE

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Follow KRISTIN HERSH
Twitter – Instagram – Facebook – YouTube

Follow THE DOUBLE HAPPINESS BAND
Website – Bandcamp – Facebook

Follow THE THROWING MUSES
Instagram – Spotify

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Kristin Hersh, The Old Museum, Brisbane, Queensland, 14 March 2025. Photo: Alec Smart

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Press Release 6th February 2025 (below) HERE

KRISTIN HERSH
supports announced for
Australian National Tour

– Tour kicks off
late February

NEW THROWING MUSES ALBUM
MOONLIGHT CONCESSIONS
OUT MARCH 14, 2025 (FIRE RECORDS)

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AMNPLIFY – DB