By Nate Follmer
After multiple failed attempts to see The Midnight on their previous tours, the universe finally allowed me to catch their show at The Anthem in Washington DC. The Midnight were on the backend of their highly successful Fall North American Tour, but that didn’t stop them from putting on an incredible show full of energy and fun. The band and the crowd were dancing throughout the almost 90 minute set, which was full of songs from nearly every album.
The night started off with an elaborate light show set to signature Midnight synth tones. Band members Lelia Broussard, Royce Whittaker, Justin Klunk and Tim McEwan took the stage starting “Lonely City” with Tyler Lyle joining the crew just in time to start his part. The set continued to ramp up with “Endless Summer” and “Ghost in Your Stereo”.
The setlist was a carefully curated journey through their discography, and each song felt like a chapter in their compelling story. It was great to hear old favorites and how they incorporated the talents of their full lineup to almost create new versions of these songs. One of my personal favorites – “Neon Medusa” – now features some extra guitar riffs that accompany the already catchy synth hooks in the song. Royce’s guitar parts brought new energy to the set, but also felt like they were always there. You can hear this throughout their live album “Red White and Bruised” if you don’t get the chance to see them live.
Another welcomed addition to the live songs is the vocal talents of Lelia Broussard. When I saw “Jason” was on the setlist it was obvious she’d be taking lead on that track (and lead she did!), but she also split singing duties with Tyler on songs like “Deep Blue” and “Heroes”.
The Midnight’s on-stage chemistry is just fun. I can’t think of any better way to describe it. You can tell they love playing together, love making music and it feels genuine. They brought that fun and connectivity to their crowd work as well. Tyler let the crowd sing on most of their catchier tracks and Justin Klunk has been joining the crowd for most of the tour (Justin’s cardio game is strong). The band and crowd were dancing all night. It felt more like a party than a concert.
The night ‘ended’ (there’s always an encore) with “Los Angeles”, which was the very first song I heard by The Midnight. This song got me hooked on the band, but also sent me down the synthwave rabbit hole and into Tyler’s solo work. A shocking amount of people I talked to at the show had no idea his solo work existed, so check it out if you’re one of them.
After “Los Angeles” and a brief ‘goodnight’ fakeout, The Midnight returned with a three song encore consisting of “Good In Red”, “America 2” and “Sunset”. If you’re not ending the night on “Los Angeles” then you have to go with “Sunset”.
If you couldn’t tell by now and I need to spell it out for you I highly recommend catching The Midnight live. Their live shows breathe new life into their already electric catalog of songs and it makes for a fun evening. As a musician myself I was in awe at how good the mix sounds live. They’ve clearly added more layers and instruments to their songs, but nothing got lost or overpowered the mix.
The Midnight are rounding out their North American Tour with a few more stops in Florida, then heading to Mexico with ODESZA and rounding out 2023 with a show in San Francisco with Droid Bishop and Danny Delorean on Dec. 31.
