Black Midi ripped up any expectations and threw them back at the crowd at EartH, London, with a set that weaved their ability to alternate the tempo, with a knack for maintaining the undivided attention of everyone in the room. The band’s uniquely cohesive lack of cohesion inspired an electric opening, summoning a surge of young’uns to the barrier; much to the dissatisfaction of the much cooler 40+s.
This was part of a 20-minute build up, a winding groove in which the band meandered through waves of virtuoso improv, only pausing for frontman Greep to tuck into a loaf of bread and a banana. Their ability to break songs down to the bottom, and then kickstart them into faster jams, built from nothing into something, were impossible to follow but wonderful to behold.
Words by Louis Grantham
