Chromeo / The Midnight09.05.24
Vancouver, BC
Chromeo! The thing with these guys is that as corny as they may be, they are completely self-aware. Irresistibly funky grooves, just real glorious stuff. After a long layover from their last album, they are back this year with Adult Contemporary, and this co-headlining tour with The Midnight at the Malkin Bowl. The Malkin Bowl is an outdoor venue, tucked inside Vancouver's Stanley Park. A bit hard to get to, but really a beautiful setting for a late summer/early fall show.
Of course this was a co-headlining tour with Chromeo and The Midnight, but you will have to forgive me for essentially skipping over The Midnight. Just not a fan of their stuff; it's more 80s revivalism like Chromeo, so the double bill makes sense, but I think they lack the self-awareness I mentioned earlier. And I felt that even more during their set, which was just woefully dramatic.
But I would be amiss to not mention that Ruth Radelet opened the night, which was quite the treat. She was the lead singer for Chromatics before their breakup in 2021, but has continued to release material of her own. And it's quite good, truly underrated! Too bad I'll likely never to get to see Chromatics live, but this will do. She played a selection of her solo catalogue (check out "Stranger" and "Crimes") and ended with "Shadow", Chromatics' mesmerizing contribution to Twin Peaks: The Return back in 2017.
I stuck it out through The Midnight, and ended up nearly at the barricade by the time Chromeo came on. Chromeo rocked for just over an hour. I don't think Adult Contemporary has hit like a lot of their older work, and I think they got the memo, as their set really focused on their earlier hits. Tracks like "Fancy Footwork", "Juice", "Night by Night" (one of my favourites), "Jealous (I Ain't With It)" all getting the crowd going. But they did hit some of the standouts from their latest record (namely "Personal Effects". I'm really happy with how my photos came out -- perfect combination of being center stage and nearly at the barricade.
I will be back at Malkin Bowl very shortly!
