Modern English

Middle East Down

June 7, 2016

Modern English has splintered and reformed two or three time since its late 70’s early 80’s high water mark. The current line-up includes original members Robbie Grey on vocals, Mick Conroy on bass, Gary McDowell on guitar, Stephen Walker on keys, and new kid Roy Martin on drums. ME were the quintessential early 80 English synth crew responsible for, depending on your viewpoint, the brilliant dance pop love confection or the treacle glazed tripe, "I Melt with You". Call me a sap but I’m in the first camp.

They took the let’s-do-a-complete-album tack on this road trip. Instead of going with I Melt’s more lightweight disk, After the Snow, they went back one more click on the way-back machine and landed on their first full length the deeper, darker, artier Mesh and Lace. It seemed like a good percentage of the ¾ full Middle East crowd got on board with After the Snow but they were reasonably game. There was that one superfluous bleat “play that song, play that song” halfway through, as if it wouldn’t happen.

The band sounded sharp. Grey’s vocals showed little sign of wear or tear. The synth lines certainly located the band in time and space but in Walker’s hands - of one of the early practitioners - they were fat and juicy. The ringer was the relatively less than heralded Gary McDowell on guitar. His snakey, understated playing was everywhere, dark one minute, dancing the next and post punk angular on "The Incident" and "Gathering Dust" toward the end. In a suit and fedora that he must have scored in a Saville Row haberdashery dumpster he also served as a visual foil to the well-coiffed and Bowie tee’d Grey.

Speaking of Bowie, they encored with an almost rocking "The Jean Genie". And yes, to the crowd’s follow-the-bouncing-ball delight, they did play that song.