Concert Review: Midlake - Mar. 7 @ Crocodile Cafe
Caspian: Denton, Texas' favorite 70s-Throwback rockers Midlake came to Seattle for the first time in their history Wednesday night. Myself and Frodo were taking it all in- a concert that would ultimately prove much more valuable than the $8 ticket price. Lead-off acts Josh Ottom and Ester Drang were somewhat enjoyable. Ottom had a cute laptop/drummer-accompanied pop sound, while Ester Drang's noise layering was on some songs brilliant, and on others very uninspired. But when headliners Midlake came on stage at 11:30, the show really took flight.
Frodo: It seemed strange to me to only have to fork out $8 to see a band that made it into both our best of 2006 album list, but being able to see Midlake in the cozy Croc was pretty special. The venue is teensy and intimate, perfect for a band like Midlake who themselves have a very intimate sound. They are the very definition of baroque rock, a kind of cosplay/story based rock that speaks of 19th century farm and pioneer life, layered with the musical stylings of Fleetwood Mac and 1960's nature show soundtracks.
Caspian: So they played all but one song off of their last record The Trials of Van Occupanther and the one new song they unveiled ("Children of the Ground") seemed like a natural, yet more aggressive take on that sort of Radiohead meets Van Morisson sound they're so great at blending. One of the more interesting moments in the set came when singer Tim Smith was announcing an older track ("Ballon Maker") and the crowd cheered. He seemed a bit taken aback that people heard their old LPs and admitted: "These songs weren't hits. We didn't make it to Seattle on that record." Still, the band seemed most comfortable with the live adaptations of the more popular tracks from Occupanther like "Roscoe" and "Head Home."
Frodo: Even with the massive amount of production Midlake must go through in post to put the vinyl/scratchy/70s/am radio sheen on their songs, it comes through live, which I think was the biggest success of the evening. Not only did the live versions of tracks sound as good as their album counterparts, they were almost meatier, fuller. Despite some small mistakes (like their video player going out during the second song), I could see Midlake making it big. Bigger at least. The low ticket price was not a testament to quality - it was a steal for the entertainment value gained that evening.
For more information on Midlake, visit their website.
