Hot Night in the Whimsy Pit: Starbenders in the Netherlands
Sometimes the best shows happen in the smallest venues, and Starbenders’ stop at Merleyn in Nijmegen was one of those nights.
The venue wasn't sold out, but that honestly didn't matter. Everyone who showed up seemed genuinely excited to be there, and that energy filled the room from the moment the band walked on stage. There was never a sense that this was a "small club show". Starbenders performed like they were headlining a huge festival or playing a packed arena, giving absolutely everything they had from start to finish.
A huge part of that comes down to their stage presence. Starbenders have this rare ability to be larger than life while still feeling approachable. The show had plenty of theatrical rock-star moments, but it never felt distant or rehearsed. Kimi Shelter spent a lot of time interacting with the crowd, chatting with people in the front row between songs and making everyone feel like they were part of the show rather than just watching it.
One moment that perfectly captured that happened when Kimi accidentally kicked over a girl’s drink near the front of the stage. Instead of simply apologising and moving on, she asked a crew member to get her a new one. Even better, she kept checking in with her throughout the evening to make sure she was okay and still having a good time. It was a small thing, but it showed just how much the band genuinely cares about the people who come out to see them.
The weather certainly wasn’t making things easy. The Netherlands is currently going through a seriously warm spell, and Merleyn felt absolutely roasting. Fans were everywhere, both in the crowd and on stage. Kimi regularly grabbed a handheld fan between songs to cool down, and plenty of people in the audience were doing exactly the same. Somehow though, the heat only seemed to add to the atmosphere. Everyone was sweating together, but nobody was letting it slow them down.
Another highlight of the night was drummer Qi Wei. Watching her was fascinating because of the complete transformation that happened the second she sat behind the kit. Before the show she looked intensely focused, almost serious. Then the first song started and suddenly she became this whirlwind of energy. She was smiling, making faces, throwing in little playful moments and looking like she was having the time of her life. It was impossible not to get caught up in her enthusiasm.
The band played plenty of material from their latest album, ‘The Beast Goes On’, and the new songs absolutely delivered live. If there was one standout, it was ‘Tokyo’, which sounded massive and quickly became one of the biggest crowd favourites of the night. Everyone was singing the lyrics together and jumping in unison, turning it into one of those proper shared moments where the whole venue just locks in and goes for it.
The show ended in the most fitting way possible during ‘Blood’. Kimi Shelter made it fun by appointing a fan as the unofficial leader of the “whimsy pit” – basically giving them the task to set the tone for everyone else by dancing around with a tambourine and pulling the crowd into the madness. It somehow worked perfectly and just added to the whole playful energy of the moment. Then, as if the evening needed one final memorable twist, Kimi jumped in herself and joined the crowd.
By the end, everyone in the room was exhausted, sweaty, and grinning. Merleyn may be a small venue, but for one night Starbenders made it feel absolutely huge.
