GEORDIE GREEP FROM BLACK MIDI / PHOTO BY JOHNNY STROCK / LOGO BY EPHRAIM NYAHWA
On Saturday night, at a sold-out Hollywood Avondale, black midi entered the ring to defend their title — and the final score was spectacular!
Made up of three musical prodigies, with the fourth touring and studio addition of Seth ‘Shank’ Evans’ on keys, Geordie Greep (guitar and vocals), Cameron ‘Machine’ Picton (bass, guitar and vocals), Morgan ‘Slim’ Simpson (drums) first made waves on the London scene frequently playing shows at the famous Windmill in Brixton. After gaining traction and making a name for themselves, a KEXP session recorded in Iceland would only boost them further into fame and popularity. Their sound was gritty, angry, new and bizarre. The people wanted more.
Releasing their debut album Schlagenheim to rave reviews, black midi proved to be one to watch, and those who kept watching witnessed the band grow into a strong fighter in the ring. Two years later they turned their no-wave noise punk sound into a polished but grimy avant jazz, prog-rock killing machine with their second release Cavalcade.
Touring off the back of their latest 2022 album Hellfire, the band were making their debut to New Zealand audiences in Wellington and Auckland, an incredibly overdue and much anticipated visit to our shores.
Opening the show tonight were the ear shattering trio Flying Nun band Sulfate. Wearing matching Dickies jumpsuits, the band took their place on stage and wasted no time letting the madness unfold. Peter Ruddell thrashed away at the keys, creating what I could only describe as the sounds of a mental breakdown, accompanied by David Harris’s car crash drums, while Hariet Ellis kept the constant groove going on the bass guitar. Nothing negative implied, I have nothing but praise for their unique sound. It has a bite and perfects chaos. They are definitely a band who stand as a strong contender to black midi’s title claims.
PETER RUDDELL OF SULFATE / PHOTO BY JOHNNY STROCK
As the clock hits 9:30pm, the familiar theme song of Indiana Jones plays and the four lads from London take the stage and with no time to waste, instantly blasting into the Calvalcade track 'Chondromalacia Patella'. They appear tired, but when you’re the self proclaimed “hardest working band in show business”, when can you allow yourself to catch a break? Nevertheless they’re still rocking it.
Following this up with a dancer version of 'Speedway' off Schlagenheim, the crowd is moving and bubbling, the band is breaking out moves and feet are stomping. A few songs into the set, I realise I haven’t felt the full force push into the wall by an audience yet — I look behind, and there is a perfectly isolated mosh pit in full motion, a spectacle that the music of black midi is prone to cause.
Before playing Schlagenheim's opening track '953', which brought a reign of distortion and eruptive drums, the band makes a change. Cam has now taken up guitar duties and Shank has left his throne at the keyboard and is shredding away at the bass — the two remain in these roles for majority of the set. I must note, while this is a new direction for the live shows, it makes the band sound more loaded and full, a change reminiscent of the days when Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin was assigned to guitar.
BLACK MIDI / PHOTO BY JOHNNY STROCK
Chopping away at an 18-song setlist, the band jumped between their three albums that featured songs that tend to fall through the cracks, such as 'Reggae', 'Talking Heads', and 'Hogwash and Balderdash', yet the crowd still wanted more. Ears were ringing, people were sweaty and the band were still giving it their all, successfully battling through the tiredness that comes with frequent touring which black midi are clearly no strangers to.
One of many highlights of the set was the King Crimson-sounding 'John L' that saw the audience break out into choreographed dance circles and a cult-like cavort. Stretching the song out to ten minutes with a droning middle section and building up to an epic breakdown, Morgan lead the band with quick snappy drum fills, ultimately jumping straight back to a fast and frenzied final chorus.
A few broken strings later, the second to last song 'Near DT, MI' saw the band return to their original form to give the audience one last chance to slap each other around while Cam aggressively screamed the conspiratorial words “There's lead in the water, there's lead in the water”, the audience screaming the words right back at him.
GEORDIE GREEP OF BLACK MIDI / PHOTO BY JOHNNY STROCK
Finishing the strong set with unreleased song 'The Magician', Greep belts out emotional lyrics, enough for the audience to stop moshing; they're hanging onto every line and watching in awe as he steps closer to the crowd, holding the microphone in his hand and waving his other hand, putting emphasis on his impassioned lyrics. With one final roar, the band departs the stage.
A beautiful conclusion to an amazing show, the first Auckland show and hopefully not the last for the future. black midi remain the reigning, the undefeated and undisputed super colossal weight champions of the world. Tonight they are once again victorious in their campaign.
♢♢♢
