Review: Kita Alexander at The Rechabite

Kita Alexander at The Rechabite
w/ Toy Shaw
Friday, September 25, 2026

Kita Alexander brought her Rage tour screaming into Perth last week—a title shared by both her latest album and, fittingly, the general emotional temperature of the evening. A packed Rechabite hosted a crowd poised to scream, cry, dance and sing like they’d known each other for years. Alexander spun threads of mess, emotion, hugs and tears that wove together a night akin to a teenage sleepover begging to not end.

The night opened with banjo-bearing, NZ-born Toy Shaw’s enchanting support set. With rhythmic hand-clapping and foot-tapping in tow, Shaw quickly established an energetic, country-gothic vibe on her red-lit, curtained stage.

Her banjo and angelic voice were accompanied by backup cello and bass guitar, and with these ingredients she crafted an ethereal canvas that allowed her voice to take the spotlight, shifting between delicate falsetto and deeper, grounded tones.

There was a distant echo of electro-folk artist Aurora in Shaw’s vocal arrangements, while the dark-pop sensibilities of Nessa Barrett and the country twang of Chappell Roan danced around the edges. But Shaw’s songwriting easily carved out its own space in the genre, and she wasn’t shy about enchanting the crowd into calling out lyrics like “Don’t think about your daddy, that man’s gonna die,” from Christine, which bookends her 2025 album Trinkets. Shaw clearly made an impression on the crowd, setting the tone for a night of pure connection.

Kita Alexander followed as the headline act, gathering her coven for a night of catharsis and rage. She kicked things off with Don’t Call Me Sunshine, infecting the room with effortless ’60s swing-dance moves. Her outfit—a ripped, cropped T-shirt snatched from the merch stand moments earlier—set the tone: this was not a polished pop star keeping her distance. It was raw, vulnerable and utterly present, while still maintaining her experienced poise and composure. Alexander’s exposure wasn’t just of her mid-drift; it was about stripping down the barriers between artist and audience.

Damage Done and Zodiac followed, two older tracks that rewarded her long-term fans—the Kita’s Angels. The show was largely dominated by her latest material, so these little treats for OG fans were a sweet reward. Her voice carried both the new country twang and the older alt-pop effortlessly, somehow sounding both smooth and chalky. She often had to stop for water, thanks in part to the heavy smoke machine pouring onto the stage like a tilted cauldron, pooling potions across the floor.

Miss Australia brought Toy Shaw and her banjo back to the front of the stage alongside Alexander’s backing guitarist. The song’s sharp take on tall poppy syndrome turned communal, with Alexander sharing with the crowd, “I hope one day we can get rid of it and just pull each other up,” revealing her harshest critic in this space: herself.

Then came one of Alexander’s best-known tracks, Hotel. Fans felt this song deeply, as it speaks to the grief that comes with the loss of someone you weren’t ready to say goodbye to. However, the way Alexander performed the moving, melodic song allowed for both sadness and relief as the crowd erupted into a sing-your-heart-out singalong. Stepping down into the crowd for the final bars of the tune, she shared a teary moment with visibly moved fans, calling back to that communal vulnerability shared throughout the show.

That thread of openness carried on through the new Rage material. A fresh track called Beach Umbrella, teased for later this year, introduced harmonica into the mix, amplifying her latest lean towards country—although when Kita mentioned country—there were sneaky implications of a different spelling.

Avoidance cut even deeper. Alexander talked candidly about therapy and the human habit of sweeping uncomfortable things under the rug, only for them to resurface later. Tell My Friends, with its relatable situationship theme, clearly hit a nerve, completely transforming the venue into that sleepover vibe with voices chanting together in a shared experience. Between songs, Alexander’s vibe was easy and unguarded. She chatted with her band and the crowd like old mates, tearing down any performer-spectator divide. That energy carried through the dancing anthem Queen and new song Sentimental Letter, weaving together the night’s emotional highs and lows.

The final stretch got even more communal. Alexander took I Don’t Wanna Go Home down into the crowd, making the song’s title feel like a literal call to stay, walking and yelling to the audience, who had gathered in a circle made up of all identities, ages and backgrounds.

During Like You Want To, Kita added a few lines of the Fleetwood Mac classic Dreams. Between You & I morphed into a playful medley that included a cheeky nod to Tears for Fears’ Everybody Wants to Rule the World and big rolling drums pushed the night towards Worth It, to end on a high note.

But I Don’t Wanna Go Home felt like the true closer. After a night built on friendship, rawness and shared feeling, no one seemed ready to leave the twangy, sweaty, emotional sleepover Kita Alexander had conjured up.

From Toy Shaw’s haunted country-gothic charm to Alexander’s therapy-pop confessions, the night was a catharsis with new friends. It was messy. Intimate. Sometimes heartbreaking. It was shared. And for a crowd that wasn’t ready to go home, it was certainly not enough.

NEVE PEARCE