THE MIDNIGHT DELIVERY IS GUARANTEED

Synthwave may be a niche genre, but it has some of the most hardcore fans in all of music. If you need proof, look no further than the Royal Oak Music Theatre on Friday night, where The Midnight filled the venue from wall to wall in a sold out show. 

 

Of all the concerts I’ve seen at that venue, I’ve never seen it so packed. The crowd was enthusiastic, bordering on wild, from the first note of “Days of Thunder” straight through the outro of their mega-hit “Los Angeles”, a genre defining song if there ever was one. 

 

While it was great to see the enthusiasm of the crowd, the show certainly had some drawbacks. For starters, the sound quality was not great, which is perplexing because when The Midnight came to the ROMT last year, the sound was incredible. Beyond that, the general smell and disposition of the crowd left a lot to be desired. It felt more like a house party that had gotten out of control, and it smelled like it was a party mainly consisting of Discord moderators and indie wrestling fans. 

 

Both of these issues could be somewhat attributed to how hot it was inside of the theater, and while the atmosphere left something to be desired, the performance of the musicians was top notch. The Midnight lead singer Tyler Lyle has a true command of the stage. He’s extremely expressive and emotive for a genre that prides itself on being cool and reserved. 

 

As good as Lyle is, everybody knows that the heart and soul of The Midnight is their incredible saxophone solos. Saxophonist Justin Klunk (with the band since 2022) delivered every single time he was called upon, and the crowd was eating out of the palm of his hand. Klunk has played with Ariana Grande, Lindsay Sterling, and many other top acts, but seems to have really found a home in Synthwave. 

 

The setlist consisted of a good blend of the band’s decade long discography. From their first EP “Days of Thunder” to their newest single “Chariot”, the band gave the audience a little bit of everything. Even though the setlist was considerably shorter than last year, due to co-headlining the show with electro-funk duo Chromeo, it was still a great show.

 

Despite the sound and smells, The Midnight delivered an incredible performance that left the fans happy and eager for more. Let's hope next time they’re in a venue with a better sound engineer and much better ventilation.