An Evening With black midi

black midi bring out special guest for a surprise Cardi B performance.

In an interlude between songs, a latin styled melody is established, as it becomes clear that they are now instrumentally covering the track “I Like It”. And then, like some sudden act of God, Geordie Greep makes an announcement about a special guest. You’re probably expecting some type of musician, someone a part of that South London scene or an older figure within UK music. I don’t know, my mind hasn’t got much time to deliberate on the guest before a familiar set of thick edged spectacles and oversized collar makes its way to the centre of the stage. Now, this could be the delirium of working a full shift before coming to the show, but the noise and raising of phone cameras are a confirmation to my suspicion. Is that Harry Hill rapping Cardi B?

This moment of comedy and delight summarise the band quite simply. It is best to leave expectations behind and go in completely blind. Things were different from the last time I saw them in 2021. I was severely sober, keen to stay away from the mosh pit and completely unbeknownst to what the night held for me. The black midi faithful have gathered here at the Village Underground for the final night of a four-show run. Each night devoted to an album loosely, the band’s catalogue meanders and stretches into other works and reference points that inform their music. A look through some online spaces and you’d find that what fans had anticipated had been met with something else. “They just played a bunch of Bugsy Malone tracks”, someone states on Twitter, further adding to the sense of strange wonderfulness that goes hand in hand with the band and their live shows.

What makes a black midi show a must see? What are the components of black midi concert lore? What I can gather from the group of freshly legal people behind me is that the smell of the show is something that comes with all of their shows. Talking about personal hygiene and why black midi fans don’t shower. Mid set, the smell of cannabis and sweat permeate the building and whilst strong and permeating, it’s a part of seeing a black midi set at this point, so I tell myself that I better get used to it.

Another part of the lore is the sense of familiarity of the black midi verse, as Geordie introduces the band by their adopted stage names. Introducing Shank on keys, The Beast on drums. People talk about the band in these aliases of theirs, giving into the narrative the band set out through these temporary titles. Adopting on stage names is fitting for the music of black midi which is full of character and intricate stories spread across progressing chords.

Amongst the crowd is a vast range of demographics. The pro-rock old heads, the Windmill Brixton massive. It is also worth noting that whilst a black midi gig doesn’t spring about the idea of romance, couples hold each other in the slower sections of the setlist. General chatter in waiting for the band focuses on niche reference points that only make sense if you’re fully invested in the band, which begets the question; how much you are willing to invest yourself in the black midi verse? Some guy next to me before making his entrance into the abyss (the mosh pit becomes its on entity at the show) wears a black midi X BCNR blue jersey, sings along to 27 questions without faltering. It’s one thing hearing a crowd sing along to a chart pop song as part of its curation of lyrics and melodies are made for it. Singing along to a prog-math-jazz rock infusion band? It’s slightly comical, smiling to myself as I pick up on the other voices that join in on this track.

It should be noted that actually seeing the band becomes some type of consistent fight throughout the gig that I won’t win. Glimpses of Cameron Picton and Morgan Simpson in thirty second increments before the tall heads of their fanbase disrupt the image and I am forced to close my eyes and just listen. It’s not that it matters particularly, the images that stayed with me are poignant and striking. I’m fortunate that some heads parted in the direction of Geordie Greep in a middle of a swooning, lone vocal that disrupts the often raucous, loud energy most of the set list begs of the audience to react to. In the varied colours that decorate the space of the show, I am once again astonished at the vocal range he has to display that holds power of the rest of the audience. It is like some type of ceremony at points, as people point their hands to the sky and react to Cameron’s flamenco styled banger “Still” like gospel music.

There’s an excitement with the approach of live shows this band takes. The unpredictable setlist becomes topic of conversation on Reddit forums, prized possessions in the aftermath of the gig. Constant cucking of their audience through Pink Floyd interludes and remixing intros to existing songs. Breathing a new lease of life into old tracks from previous eras of the band is a satisfactory feeling amongst fans who murmur about the possibility of hearing “bmbmbm” live. The band opt out of this track on the final night but reprise “Ducter” from their first album “Schlagenheim”. A personal box I can tick off my musical bingo card. And the mosh pit truly embraces this build-up of loud sounds as the track acts as a perfect orchestration for the bashing of bodies against one another.

The end of the night comes rewarded. An almost two hour set full of throwbacks and current material makes for a very sweaty mosh pit, illustrated by the parting bodies who, once the lights come on, are soaked in sweat. Friends reconfigure and talk about the obvious (Harry Hill, the smell, the setlist) as the venue usher people to leave. Whatever fatigue that had been there to begin with had been replaced with a reinvigoration for live music that is put together for the audience’s entertainment above everything. Once I get home, I take a look at my attempts of capturing the surreal moment of Harry Hill’s appearance. Failed, blurred, unusable. My eyes had seen it, so it had been real, despite not being able to capture it for memory keeping sakes. A take away from this show; for their next album or set of UK live shows, the black midi experience is a unexpected spectacle that warrants attention and a purchased ticket; a night that promises pure entertainment and whatever tricks they have to come