Incredibly sad news a few weeks ago when Townsville, Queensland collective The Middle East called it a day in the middle of what would be their last performance together on the stage at Splendour In The Grass. I happened to be at that show, and the performance had more vigour in it than their usual efforts, like it was a funereal dirge, or a purging. The band never intended to be this big - they had broken up before in 2008, reforming for a couple of performances only for their EP The Recordings Of The Middle East - in particular the track 'Blood' - to explode, pushing them on major bills both here and abroad. They had the world at their feet after releasing their debut LP I Want That You Are Always Happy only a handful of months ago (that title could have been quite deliberate to the circumstances...). Maybe we will see some of these guys in a different guise in the near future. On a posthumous note, the album won best album at last week's 2011 Queensland Music Awards (pipping SM fave Nova Scotia, I might add), and 'Blood' is in the new Steve Carrell film Crazy Stupid Love, so kudos to them. Still...sad to see you go.
Grab I Want That You Are Always Happy here.
The Middle East - Jesus Came To My Birthday Party
The Middle East - As I Go To See Janey
