Review: Midland

If you are one of those people that foolishly maintain that St Andrews does not know how to party, look away now, because we all hate it when we read something that proves us wrong. The guys and gals from B-sides put on a fantastic show last night in the union, and if you weren’t there, well you probably had a good reason. And you had better hope you did.

Upon arrival into venue 1 we were shuffled through a long corridor of screens, not unlike those that you find in the customs sheds of airports undergoing renovation, which had the effect of halving the size of venue 1. I wouldn’t call the space left intimate, as it was still of a decent size, but it did lessen the intimidation factor that can be felt on a large dancefloor. Early doors even this space seemed to have overestimated the size of the crowd, but later on it became very apparent that everyone there intended to use every available square inch for their dancing. Indeed, this desire for space got so much that at one point there was a minor stage invasion, before the Union Security got antsy and kicked everyone off. The dancing was a sight to behold as rolling bass and gorgeous highs got the whole crowd moving throughout the night, and there were very few people there holding anything back.

The first DJs on arrival were St Andrews very own Moodroom collective, with Henry and Alex of the regular four house virtuosos showing us why they have built such a cult following in this town. A good vibe was produced by these DJs so that even if you did arrive early to a fairly empty room, you didn’t feel bad dancing. They took a long set, but it was worth being there for every second of it, until half past twelve when the headline act himself took to the stage. Mixing on vinyl, Midland set about tearing the Venue apart for an hour and a half, and it is safe to say that the audience could not have appreciated him more. I have no doubt that this was mostly due to the music, but we must remember that the Union does have incredibly well priced refreshments, and people often refresh themselves beforehand, so this audience was well lubricated for the event. Playing for an hour and a half and dancing throughout his own set, Midland really showed us how it was done, and when he finished with a fantastic mix of The Rapture’s “How Deep is Your Love?” there was a palpable sense of disappointment throughout the room that this couldn’t last for longer.

The show itself was produced in an incredibly professional way, with rather bizarre visuals playing throughout the whole show, including the whole of Koyaanisqatsi: Life out of Balance by Godfrey Reggio. This was projected on to two giant screens either side of the stage should your eyes have got bored of watching the DJ or his incredible backing dancers- not actual professionals mind, just beautiful and rhythmic St Andrews students who had worked out that Stage Security was not the tightest- and whilst it bore no relation to the music, it definitely seemed to work.

Given how much everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves throughout the evening, I think it is safe to say that B-Sides did a brilliant job on this one. And we wish Midland luck in his charity bike ride tomorrow.

Photo © Anna Gudnason