No one compares to Pat Beers, so how does he do it?

Wild, unhinged and electric, The Schizophonics front man delivers a performance for the ages.

Pat Beers is dancing, if you can call it that. He bops and shimmies and twirls. He scissor-kicks, jumps, then does the splits. He hurls himself recklessly from one side of the stage to the other. He is constantly in motion, as if he stops moving he might spontaneously combust. As he does all of this, his eyes seem to be closed.

The hyped-up, electric and unhinged front man for San Diego rock ‘n’ roll trio The Schizophonics also sings and plays guitar. They provide props for his extreme antics. He yelps into his microphone, kicks the stand away then drags it back again. He swings his guitar around his neck, his shoulder, then his head, the riffs flying as he shows off his famed one-handed playing technique.

Three songs into the band’s show at Double Whammy last night, the first of a seven-date Aotearoa tour you really do need to see, he began combining all of these moves, swinging his guitar around, twirling across the stage, soloing on his knees, then kicking his mic stand into the crowd and getting fans to help him out with his yelps.

I’m not joking when I say Beers might just be the most entertaining front man I have seen play live. He gave it everything and then some. In the brief gaps between songs, he’d brush his sweaty hair out of his face and attempt to talk to the crowd. Those chats went something like this: “Thank you!” *deep breath* “Auckland is…” *deep breath* “…one of our…” *deep breath* “…favourite…” *deep breath* “…places to play…”

Standing on the shoulder of giants: Pat Beers at Double Whammy. Photo: Chris Schulz.

“Are you ready to testify? Do you want to see some real rock ‘n’ roll?” is the invite I received. The Schizophonics’ fourth tour here lived up to that billing. Watching Beers – his wife Lety is on drums and Sarah Linton is on bass – on a Thursday night was an experience that left me giddy, a rawk-filled, MC5-indebted showcase that was always captivating and compelling. I kept catching glimpses of others in the crowd: we’d grin, exchange an “is-this-really-happening?” nod and get back to it.

We’ve been blessed with some electric rock shows lately, from Princess Chelsea’s guitarist playing while doing head stands to Jack White’s jacked-up Auckland shows and anytime Dartz play. None of this compares to Beers. He was relentlessly energetic, a combination of Mick Jagger’s swagger, Pelle Almqvist’s spitball energy and the moment Domnhall Gleeson electrocutes himself in the Peter Rabbit movie.

But Beers had a question he needed to answer. If you start a show giving 110%, how do you then take it up another notch? He must have sensed this was on my mind because he soon found a way. Beers climbed off the stage, flung his mic stand into the middle of the floor, then played the show right where I was just standing. I had to quickly shuffle sideways so he could dance, twirl and do the splits in the crowd.

(I tried to get photos of all this but it was like trying to photograph a kitten on catnip – a near impossible ask.)

Pat Beers on the floor at Double Whammy. Photo: Chris Schulz.

From that point on, things got really wild. Beers returned to the stage by rolling onto it from his back. Then he began doing roly polys across the stage while still playing guitar. He came out into the crowd again and let a fan take over so he could just dance. Later, he swung his arm around and struck his guitar like a windmill, a motion so fast it all began to blur.

So did the show. So much happened last night I can’t remember it all. At one point, Beers rode the show’s promoter around the stage like a horse. At another, he climbed onto someone’s back and ventured out into the crowd, nearly taking out the heat pump bolted onto Double Whammy’s ceiling. More fans climbed on stage and began playing with the band. It was an absolute riot. Sitting here on Friday morning I’m still grinning about it all.

I don’t know how Beers does this. His back, his knees and his shoulders must be shot. I hope he stretched beforehand. I hope he has a good osteo, physio and chiropractor. I hope Beers keeps getting to do this for a long time to come because he gives it everything he’s got to put on one hell of a show, the best kind of show, one you never want to end. You should go see it for yourself. You really should.

The Schizophonics play Leigh Saw Mill Cafe tonight, Whaingaroa’s Harbour View Hotel on Saturday, Whitianga’s The Monkey House on Sunday, Ōtautahi’s Space Academy on Wednesday, Rosemarys in Taupō next Thursday, and Tauranga’s Under the Bridge next Sunday; tickets are available here.

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