black midi - Webster Hall, Oct. 19th 2021

A quick nod to the openers - mysterious blues/rockabilly group Orange Tree Boys* did a quick, fun little set to kick off the night, before an extended set from returning hometown heroes L'Rain. The latter's set was itself very enjoyable and mind-expanding, generally soft, pretty, and sprawling in contrast to BM's live style. They're worth checking out - and many clearly have, as singer Taja Cheek proudly announced that they sold out of copies of their new LP while on tour.

black midi came out to thunderous applause as the announcer declared them world champions and Sinatra's popular cover of the "Theme From New York, New York" played, before they played their own short version of the standard. They quickly turned to schlagenheim's "953" and "Speedway" to kick off the show in earnest before promptly abandoning their debut for the rest of their set.

In contrast to BF's opinion, I especially enjoy the fast, loud, mostly static style that BM provide live. I find it to be an exciting update to their indeed masterful studio dynamics, exhilarating in the combination of unbridled emotion, breakneck technicality, and sheer glee the band shows. I'm also something of a fan of the moshing that the group induced even though I'm not entirely built for it +. There was only one proper reprieve from the sonic attack the whole show.  Also key to the night was Geordie Greep's charisma and sense of humo(u)r, joking about being hungry enough to devour a whole cow to get through the "50 more songs to go" and playfighting with keyboardist Seth Evans before being broken up by saxman Kaidi Akinnibi... "I'm a professional, I'll get through this show but after this I never want to see this man again "

After finally live debuting "Hogwash and Balderdash" and tearing through the likes of "Chondromalacia Patella" and "John L" (or is the live version technically "Martin A"?) the show ended with my and the crowd's favorite "Slow", played as a frenzy that saw the band at apotheosis, Geordie screaming, and the pit at maximum intensity, with slam dancing and fans crowd surfing to rival Idles at Terminal 5 last weekend. It's been one hell of a night. Goes to 11/10

* They were clearly BM in thin disguise LMFAO 

+ Pit crew 4 life!

Loved the energy/antics between Sean and Geordie!--as well as the "cool" of Cameron--his two songs being the highlights (for me) of the night--especially the way he got the crowd amped up with "Near DT, MI".

I didn't mean to imply that you disliked their live style - you made your approval clear in your wonderful review - just that its more my cup of tea than yours, and how it contrasts nicely with their LPs.

Blimey! That sort of playlist is a real rarity these days