midway
Saturday, April 3rd, 2004 | otherStuff
we were to meet barris & phil the kraut for sushi & then see the band ‘midway’, who are friends of barris’ …as we sat at the sushi bar, midway’s drummer, jason, came over to say hi …he mentioned that he’d just flown in from sweden about an hour ago & we made the obigatory, ‘boy, yer-arms-must-be-tired’ references …he nodded soberly & said he was going to try to find a place to lay down for a while …later i asked what he was doing in sweden & he said he was visiting his girlfriend …that’s a lo-o-ong distance love affair
a few minutes after we talked to jason, emily, the tall, wide shouldered & comely bass player was introduced to me …it was related to her that i had been the individual who, in a drunken stupor this past new years eve, puked the huge pile that she had donned laytex gloves & cleaned up the next day
“oh! was that yours!? it was like, all yellow n’ shit” she said … i confessed that i’d eaten a few oranges before tossing them into what i thought was a rather neat & civilized pile behind the bushes near the stairs …”you owe me BIG TIME!” was her final remark …i couldnt really argue that, & i decided she could come over & puke in my bushes any time
unfortunately after about only an hour & a 1/2 of rice, fish, sakis, & ashais, the kraut was in the men’s room achieving his own vomitus nirvana, & needed to be walked home, [just around the corner, thank god], by yours truely …then barris bailed, saying that time had slipped away, & if he spent all his energy partying tonite, he wouldn’t have the reserves he’d need for the long day ahead of him in the studio tomorrow …he was right tho, midway was supposed to go on at 10pm & here it was already 11:40 & you knew they weren’t gonna be happining till midnite …barris pleaded w/me to party on in his name, to see the show & file a report …i did, & here it is …
a few minutes after we talked to jason, emily, the tall, wide shouldered & comely bass player was introduced to me …it was related to her that i had been the individual who, in a drunken stupor this past new years eve, puked the huge pile that she had donned laytex gloves & cleaned up the next day
“oh! was that yours!? it was like, all yellow n’ shit” she said … i confessed that i’d eaten a few oranges before tossing them into what i thought was a rather neat & civilized pile behind the bushes near the stairs …”you owe me BIG TIME!” was her final remark …i couldnt really argue that, & i decided she could come over & puke in my bushes any time
unfortunately after about only an hour & a 1/2 of rice, fish, sakis, & ashais, the kraut was in the men’s room achieving his own vomitus nirvana, & needed to be walked home, [just around the corner, thank god], by yours truely …then barris bailed, saying that time had slipped away, & if he spent all his energy partying tonite, he wouldn’t have the reserves he’d need for the long day ahead of him in the studio tomorrow …he was right tho, midway was supposed to go on at 10pm & here it was already 11:40 & you knew they weren’t gonna be happining till midnite …barris pleaded w/me to party on in his name, to see the show & file a report …i did, & here it is …
…midway [www.midwaymidway.com], will be taking over the side room of the unfortunately named ‘zen’ sushi bar on hyperion in the silverlake/los feliz naborhood of L.A., for what’s billed as ‘kiss or kill’ tuesdays all thru the month of march
frontperson theresa hit the stage wearing a thrift store formal gown & crepe soled sneakers, topped off w/what might’ve been a dizneyland souviner wimpole, (you know; one of those pointy princess’ hats) …she was totally in the moment, notably on ‘karate chop’ w/her wax on /wax off moves …later she confessed to me that she thinks the song should be titled ‘ralph maccio’ …i 2nd that emotion
for a while, i watched them thru the busted out paper pane of a shoji screen head board mounted atop a vinyl booth seat in the corner of the room …it was like a mini t.v. screen, like seeing them on video …the white leatherette padded backdrop on the stage was pretty hot, i think it would make a great rock video or stylish s&m movie set
[audience note: props to the husky lad who ended up in possession of the princess' hat for a few minutes in the shuffle down front of the stage & executed a pretty good prom queen glove wave]
unfortunately, theresa was sadly cheated by the [non]mix that made her vocals sound like she was screaming into a rolled up blanket half the time …ultimately tho, the mix did not totally undermine her or the band, as their passion was able to leak out from under it all in fits & squeaks …theresa & co. also appear to be having such a good time on stage that, [in classic rock n' roll tradition], you almost don’t need to discern lyrix …still, i wished i could …after the show i asked a couple of the band’s members sitting out in front of the joint if they were waiting there to kick the soundman’s ass, but they seemed blissfully unaware of how they’d been robbed …hopefully they can put this kink in order with their remaining march tuesdays
the band has a sort of 80’s new wave pop rock style & there were moments when they reminded this reporter, [who is actually old enough to have been to some shows in the 80's & not just experience them thru an older sibling's record collection], of the synth driven stylings of nina hagan or lene lovich
midway may be a bit *too* reliant on their keyboards, [manned competently by burly kevin, sporting what loox like it might be cleopatra's ceremonial beard] …personally, we’d like to hear the guitar & bass come up front once in a while …it might also help to vary the keyboard sounds some, as they seemed only to waiver between moog whistling & something akin to, [the adam family's butler], lurch’s harpsichord
at first i thought that for maximumn effectiveness they oughta stay well away from anything that is too too pop music in general, & anything sounding even remotely like ‘no doubt’ in paticular …but i changed my mind about my strict ‘no pop’ stance, as the set rolled on & i came to my own understanding of their quasi-new wave thang …i decided i’d like to hear them on some 80’s covers, anything by blondie, say or ‘dancing by myself’ by billy whatshisname
i left the show charged up enuff to walk home from ‘zen’, [all the way to glendale], & put the band’s kittykat promo sticker on my computer monitor …i’ll be back for another ‘kiss or kill’ tuesday or two, i want to see how this plays out
frontperson theresa hit the stage wearing a thrift store formal gown & crepe soled sneakers, topped off w/what might’ve been a dizneyland souviner wimpole, (you know; one of those pointy princess’ hats) …she was totally in the moment, notably on ‘karate chop’ w/her wax on /wax off moves …later she confessed to me that she thinks the song should be titled ‘ralph maccio’ …i 2nd that emotion
for a while, i watched them thru the busted out paper pane of a shoji screen head board mounted atop a vinyl booth seat in the corner of the room …it was like a mini t.v. screen, like seeing them on video …the white leatherette padded backdrop on the stage was pretty hot, i think it would make a great rock video or stylish s&m movie set
[audience note: props to the husky lad who ended up in possession of the princess' hat for a few minutes in the shuffle down front of the stage & executed a pretty good prom queen glove wave]
unfortunately, theresa was sadly cheated by the [non]mix that made her vocals sound like she was screaming into a rolled up blanket half the time …ultimately tho, the mix did not totally undermine her or the band, as their passion was able to leak out from under it all in fits & squeaks …theresa & co. also appear to be having such a good time on stage that, [in classic rock n' roll tradition], you almost don’t need to discern lyrix …still, i wished i could …after the show i asked a couple of the band’s members sitting out in front of the joint if they were waiting there to kick the soundman’s ass, but they seemed blissfully unaware of how they’d been robbed …hopefully they can put this kink in order with their remaining march tuesdays
the band has a sort of 80’s new wave pop rock style & there were moments when they reminded this reporter, [who is actually old enough to have been to some shows in the 80's & not just experience them thru an older sibling's record collection], of the synth driven stylings of nina hagan or lene lovich
midway may be a bit *too* reliant on their keyboards, [manned competently by burly kevin, sporting what loox like it might be cleopatra's ceremonial beard] …personally, we’d like to hear the guitar & bass come up front once in a while …it might also help to vary the keyboard sounds some, as they seemed only to waiver between moog whistling & something akin to, [the adam family's butler], lurch’s harpsichord
at first i thought that for maximumn effectiveness they oughta stay well away from anything that is too too pop music in general, & anything sounding even remotely like ‘no doubt’ in paticular …but i changed my mind about my strict ‘no pop’ stance, as the set rolled on & i came to my own understanding of their quasi-new wave thang …i decided i’d like to hear them on some 80’s covers, anything by blondie, say or ‘dancing by myself’ by billy whatshisname
i left the show charged up enuff to walk home from ‘zen’, [all the way to glendale], & put the band’s kittykat promo sticker on my computer monitor …i’ll be back for another ‘kiss or kill’ tuesday or two, i want to see how this plays out
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