A week from tonight’s show will be the 4-year anniversary of black midi’s debut album, Schlagenheim, an exhilarating album made by an exhilirating new band who were known for their exhilarating live performances. Released when all band members were roughly 19-20 years old, Schlagenheim was an tremendous effort for a group that young. With jagged noise-rock idiosyncrasies full of swagger, technicality, and absurdity, black midi launched themselves into a different stratosphere. They are one of the most exciting bands to watch, consistently releasing new albums and touring with new songs that are bolder, brighter, and more black midi-esque than anything we’ve seen before. They continue to evolve their sound as they cultivate a ferocious fanbase, which culminates in cathartic live shows.
black midi are the trio of Geordie Greep (vocals/guitar), Cameron Picton (vocals/bass), and Morgan Simpson (drums), along with unofficial(?) fourth member Seth Evans (keys), who also plays in the dramatic and glamorous band HMLTD. Tonight, they’ve switched up some roles; Seth Evans is playing bass most of the show and Cam Picton is on guitar. Previously they’ve toured with saxophonist Kaidi Akinnibi, whose aggressive tooting during their 2022 Hellfire tour led to an incredibly indulgent 5-piece black midi experience.
I’ve seen black midi twice before. First in Saxapahaw in April 2022 at the gorgeous Haw River Ballroom, where vocalist Geordie Greep borrowed an accordion from the venue to play a beautiful rendition of “The Defence.” The second time, I went with seven of my fellow WXYC DJs on a trek to Asheville to see black midi and Black Country, New Road play at The Orange Peel, where the energy was unlike any other concert I’ve attended (circle pits for black midi, tears for BCNR).
Tonight’s concert was easy for me, all I had to do is walk across the street from my college house to see my favorite band, life is nuts! With a masters degree in black midi under my belt, I knew what I was in for, and I couldn’t be more excited to finally see them in my backyard, at Cat’s Cradle. Walking into the venue, excitement was brimming in the air. The merch line already extended the length of the room. My friend Malak had the joke of the night as they looked around the room, “if there was a military draft this room would be empty.” We settled for a spot in the dead-center of the venue, awaiting the opener, PIERI.
PIERI
Pieri took the stage promptly at 8pm, with her backing DJ on a laptop behind her, ready to turn up. After some unfortunate technical difficulties just seconds into her first song, which delayed her for about ten minutes, she came back on stage yelling “I just drank a shot of tequila,” and went all out in her performance of reggaeton bangers. For such a contrasting sound to black midi’s, she was able to successfully convert the audience with her crowdwork. After PIERI finished, I went to the back of the venue and met up with some friends where we watched the rest of the concert on the platform behind the soundboard. It was an opportunity to experience black midi from a different vantage point outside of the fury of the moshpit.
black midi
The music playing over the speakers goes quiet, as an announcers voice booms over the audience, introducing black “Hellfiiiiirrrrrrrrre” midi. The crowd seems to know this by heart, yelling alongside before erupting in cheering once the band hits the stage. black midi pick up their instruments and immediately get to business. Geordie Greep begins ripping the “953” riff before Morgan Simpson’s drumming comes in like a strike of thunder. The brawl in the audience has officially begun. Greep’s vocals entrance the room in the song’s intermissions where the audience is able to compose themselves, before the chaos inevitably returns.
Typically, black midi tend to add in something unexpected for their live shows. They’ll throw in covers of songs from Daft Punk to AC/DC, to moments where they completely improvise lyrics, like here where Cam Picton is crab-obsessed during “Speedway.” Tonight, however, they’re all business.
During “Speedway,” the first song they play with Cameron Picton on vocals, he begins the song saying “this place is very nice,” which is a huge win for Carrboro black midi fans. In fact, before the show he hilariously tweeted about Carrboro as the band wandered around town prior to the show:
In the gorgeous and intimate “Still,” where Picton sings, “If not for you/If not for only you,” my mouth is agape for the first time during the show. While the studio recording of the song whispers to a close, they’ve added a breathtaking climax. In the chaotic western song “Eat Men Eat” Picton trades out chiles for bbq in the line of “whiskey, onions, and chiles.” The quirky “Talking Heads” makes a return in their set, the only song with both Picton and Greep on vocals together. In “John L,” Cavalcade’s eccentric lead single, where the band typically use the middle of the song to add in a medley of covers before teleporting back into the song, they play for nearly 7-minutes as they strum the same chords over and over. I’m in awe and my phone storage is full.
The closing song, “Magician,” is the highlight of the concert by far. The stunning 10-minute track is far and away the band’s most ambitious, and it makes sense that this song would be this tour’s centerpiece. Along with “Lumps,” it’s their second unreleased song they’ve played tonight that hopefully arrives on their 4th LP. Before Hellfire, I would obsessively listen to their live recordings of unreleased songs, but I was lucky enough to end that habit so I could hear “Magician” for the first time in-person. Seth Evans returns to keys, Cam Picton steps back, and Geordie Greep is in the spotlight, delivering my favorite performance of his thus far. The song ends and the band leaves the stage. There’s no encore and the crowd doesn’t need one, they’re entirely satisfied with what they’ve just witnessed.
Setlist:
- 953
- Welcome to Hell
- Speedway
- Sugar/Tzu
- Lumps
- Still
- Eat Men Eat
- Talking Heads
- Near DT, MI
- John L
- 27 Questions
- Slow
- Magician
