Geordie Greep tore down Liberty Hall in second trip to Lawrence

Alex Dodderidge,
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Geordie Greep. // photo by Alex Dodderidge

Geordie Greep
Liberty Hall
Friday, September 12

Large portions of the night provided ex-Black Midi frontman Geordie Greep time to rest. Time to reflect on the 14-song, two-and-a-half hour set he bravely put forth this fall throughout 18 dates across America. His new band–consisting of Charlie Schefft, Eden Marsh, Dave Strawn, Cameron Campbell, and Santiago Moyano–took a large part of the burden during that time, like eclectic bongo playing and the essential, highlight-worthy keyboard moments. This is what music is all about.

Black Midi’s hiatus around a year ago gave Greep this chance. Going from from a 90-minute turn back in 2022 at The Granada, among many other national and international dates on the Back in Black Tour in support of Hellfire, to less songs, but drawing them out to 10-15 minute versions with no sense of break in between (in the style of The Mars Volta’s appearance at Uptown Theater a few years back) is an enormous stepping stone in the 26-year-old’s newfound career.

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Geordie Greep. // photo by Alex Dodderidge

The New Sound, his solo record from 2024, found 10 of its 11 tracks presented (according to the acquired setlist) during the raucous, very old-style evening. The noise rock and experimental wanderings of the foursome’s UK-based group gave way to a more mature classical sound, mixing together jazz fusion and art pop. Largely recorded in London and Sao Paulo, the massive weight of its many ideas crushes the more visceral response that its obvious instrumental sections require from Midi and new listeners alike. The same can’t really be said for the rest of Greep’s discography.

Tracking that recent foray into the unknown in Lawrence that Friday was a bit hard to navigate, with it largely feeling like two-to-three songs in total. Giant walls of crescendoing sound made up new versions of 14-minute “Holy, Holy” and 22-minute closer “The Magician,” along with full-on band jams following “Terra” and predicating “Blues.” The Mario Kart-style leanings of “The New Sound” that Greep-ites have become enamored with felt completely lived in throughout.

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Geordie Greep. // photo by Alex Dodderidge

And the crowd ate it up. To a point where, being near the front to try to best capture the low-lit, anti-photography-friendly atmosphere at the notable Lawrence venue, I needed to take my phone out to weave back-and-forth between the massive production and hordes of attendees jumping in synchronicity during hit single “Holy.” It became reminiscent of something from the ‘70s or ‘80s you would see televised on PBS or hit big on YouTube: a time and a place. Everything about it felt noteworthy, as though I would be reliving it years later through some sort of landmark document.

Where does Greep go next? Four records into a career for somebody born in 1999 feels slightly dangerous, as though what we are experiencing has the chance of fading fast given the right circumstances. If this is truly a one-off, everyone present this September night can say they were there.

All photos by Alex Dodderidge

Geordie Greep setlist (according to retrieved document)
Walk Up
Terra
The New Sound
As If Waltz
Dangerous Liaisons (Black Midi cover)
Through a War
Blues (extended)
Mighty Mouse (unreleased)
Holy, Holy
Cua cua ra, cua cua (Willie Colon cover)
Parabola (Cameron Campbell song)
Motorbike (shortened)
Bongo Season
The Magician

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