To attend one of The Midnight's shows is to take a step back in time and into a neon-soaked version of the '80s.
A place of musty arcades with endless rows of pinball machines and CRT televisions that only play reruns of 'The Goonies' and 'The Lost Boys'. Nostalgia distilled down into its purest form. Their first return to Australia in five years, Brisbane's The Tivoli played host to The Midnight and their mix of synthwave and rock & roll for the first time (1 March).
To get the crowd warmed up, support act Alice Ivy took to the stage. Ivy's brand of indietronica, played enthusiastically with just a guitar and drum machine, had the whole place moving and shaking.
Her energy and stage presence alone had even the most stubborn of punters bouncing along. Even with some technical difficulties toward the end of her set, Ivy happily had the crowd clapping along as a replacement for a guitar line she was unable to play.
Alice Ivy - image © Dylan Hewitson-Bevis
She left the stage with a smile on her face, thanking the crowd and exclaiming that she was "just happy to be able to play her songs for us".
After a brief intermission, with The Tivoli's house playlist sprinkling some '80s throwbacks into the mix to further brew the excitement, lights dimmed and the whole building started to shake with sub-bass.
The Midnight walked out to uproarious applause, a warm welcome for the band's first time in Brisbane. Any fan of the band's extensive musical history would have been pleased with the choice of songs for the evening.
The Midnight - image © Dylan Hewitson-Bevis
Kicking off with the intro track 'Wave', from their 2018 album 'Kids', inspirational words to 'keep dreaming' underscored by soaring guitar lines echoed through The Tivoli.
Vocalist Tyler Lyle and drummer Tim McEwan were in top form, proving their five years away from Australian shores had been spent perfecting their craft. Bouncing across their back catalogue, songs like 'Endless Summer' and 'Ghost In Your Stereo' allowed touring saxophonist Justin Klunk to take centre stage.
There isn't a soul on Earth who is immune to the overwhelming joy that comes from a well-executed saxophone solo, and Klunk nailed every single one. Fans cheered like mad every time he got the chance to showcase his skills.
The Midnight - image © Dylan Hewitson-Bevis
Continuing their penchant for throwbacks, Lyle took the time to introduce 'Gloria', one of the earliest songs he and McEwan wrote for The Midnight back in 2014. He reminisced on the band's journey and thanked the crowd for sticking with them all these years.
They went on to play crowd-pleasing sing-alongs like 'America 2' and the hair-metal adjacent barnburner 'Change Your Heart Or Die'.
As the night drew to a close, Lyle gave a speech about his belief music is like magic in its ability to bring a room full of people together. He emphasised this as the band played one of their biggest hits, 'Los Angeles', asking everyone to raise their hands "like a gospel choir" as we all sang their hymn.
The Midnight - image © Dylan Hewitson-Bevis
The connectedness one feels when seeing The Midnight perform is unlike anything else. An unreal concert experience that must be seen to be believed.
- written by Dylan Hewitson-Bevis
More photos from the show.
