Concert Review: The Middle Kids Show Millennial Struggles At BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn!
The Middle Kids felt like kids in the open air festival, BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn!. My readers know I love this festival, and often push it as something to see in NYC. Located as Prospect Park Bandshell, the series is usually packed with families enjoying the stellar, free shows. Yet, nothing “free” remains free without support. Thus a benefit concert was held with Middle Kids opening up for Sylvan Esso.
Middle Kids – Never Start (Official Video)
Something about the outdoors changes your approach to life, and for Middle Kids it altered their joy for the stage. Hannah, Tim, and Harry looked like three kids rolling and frolicking through green pastures, and absorbing the air for what it gives us all: breathe. They were all smiles and marvels at the cool night, which unlike most shows at BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn!, was filled strictly with Millennials. There were so many youths crooning and swooning to songs from their self-titled EP. Hannah has a voice that smokily vociferates feelings as if she is chopping, shoveling, and drudging up millennial struggles, which are often treated as minor or invisible. Yet, Middle Kids show the tension to feel as “cool” as Millennial life seems. Thus, the crowd was living for their vibes of being the pack of outsiders on the “Edge Of Town”, feeling like life is stuck at “Never Start”, or knowing what it is to have “Fire In Your Eyes” but only rain over your head. For a social media ”crazed” generation we know the felt “truths” behind the glamorous photos, and the youthfulness of the crowd met with realism of their lyrics and thoughtful, indie rock. Opening for Sylvan Esso, it was interesting to see the contrast and commonalities between the groups. Sylvan Esso is the music embodiment of the best Zumba class in your life, which made Middle Kids an odd, but perfect opener. They were, inadvertently, the emotional catharsis before the physical one that followed with Sylvan Esso.
Middle Kids – Edge Of Town (Official Video)
It is can be a strange gem when an opener and a headliner clash in purpose, sound, and content. Although Sylvan Esso touch upon the anxieties of being young and wanting fun, The Middle Kids zero in on life’s capacity to place your plans/ dreams in an emotional chokehold. Hence, as they wiggled and wrought their chords and verses over the crowd, many felt surprised to have gone through a more “sentimental” path to a grooved end. Yet, no one could deny that the Middle Kids can shake and muster Millennial life better than anyone over song. For More Information On The Middle Kids Click Here.
Middle Kids – Old River (Official Video)
