Review: Midnight Wire – The Maze – 5 August 2015

After THE HARMONICS have warmed up the stage for the headliners, with their slick r ‘n’ b – of the Rolling Stones, not Usher variety (they come across like a lively, if poppy version of Jagger and Co circa Brian Jones era) – Midnight Wire hit the stage.  With the heavy riffs of ‘This Is What It Feels Like’ into the even better ‘Along The Midnight Wire’, with it’s intertwining guitars, it is a strong intro.  The lead guitar work by Jamie Fallon is bang on current trend throughout without losing out on creativity, and the vocal hooks are strong.  ‘Shake It Baby’ and ‘Not Just Selfish’ fly by effortlessly on a wave of melody, as Van Roose boogies along and tells bad jokes to the crowd, carrying his bandmates on stage, including bassist Arjun Johal who seems to have switched off for the night.

‘Wait For Me’ is a ballad which has an early Dylan feel but with a more commercial vocal whilst ‘Running Forever’ has a catchy guitar hook by Fallon that is not dissimilar to Two Door Cinema Club’s prime stuff, but with Alex Van Roose hitting his peak vocally.  Midnight Wire hit their instrumental heights on ‘Tasting Summer’ which uses some keyboard effects on the lead guitar pedals to bring out a catchy hook, and quite rightly it’s going to be the band’s next single.

‘Never Gonna Leave LA’, the finale, maybe pushes the showmanship a little too far, with Van Roose rolling around on the floor in front of The Maze’s teeny stage – it’s about time the venue built an extension for the certain bands as the room itself is massive – but even then, it’s charming, like a very talented little boy vying for our attention, and by Lord, he’s put in a shift tonight and deserves it.

The lively ending is followed by the group looming around on stage for a selfie and to pose for photos – where does this trend come from, because it is awful – you could be forgiven for thinking that the gimmicks outweigh the music.  However, the entertainment on offer by Midnight Wire tonight should garner much respect.

Maybe they’ll be the musical equivalent of neighbours Derby County, struggling manfully to reach the golden rung of the Premier League and just falling at the last hurdle.  But if they can work on their (few) shortcomings and emphasise their (many) strengths, they can be an entertaining staple of the live music scene for the next five to ten years.