Gig Review: Mild Orange at Parrotdog Bar, 8/1/22
Mild Orange performing at Parrotdog bar, Wellington, 8th January 2022. All photos of the gig taken by me on the Sony A6000. (Sorry, Jah! There are photos of you coming!)
L-R: Jack Ferguson (Jeck), Josh Mehrtens (Mehrt) and Tom Kelk (Barry).
Oh, hello!
You all wanted some new gig reviews in 2022 and I am here to deliver that to you.
I was beyond grateful to have been able to see Mild Orange live for the first time last weekend in Wellington and let me tell you, it exceeded expectations more than your favourite dish at a restaurant.
The Mild Orange lads hit the stage at 9:40pm, 20 minutes before they were meant to as Parrotdog Bar got absolutely packed out - there were lines around the block of that Lyall Bay bar trying to get into the hot spot of the evening.
As soon as they came out, Jack waved at me from behind the drums. The evening was made at that point.
Mild Orange are certainly in high demand to see live and rightfully so - they never half-ass their shows, their songs or anything that they do. They envelop such a special passion and presence about them and getting the opportunity to support the guys by seeing them live should be at the top of your gig bucket list.
So, where shall I begin with this review? It’s going to be a long one. The gig was sweaty, intimate and it was definitely the place to be in Wellington at that moment in time.
One of my favourite photos of the night that I took - Josh Reid (Jah) and Jack. The looks of pure concentration are outstanding!
The night started off with a sweet but strong wave (no pun intended) in the form of Blue Pacific. A great way to kick off and roll in the big stuff. It’s smooth, it’s fun and goes well with Mehrt’s tea that he bought on stage with him (how good though - we all need a bit of the Queen’s favourite cuppa from time-to-time).
It was promised that we were in for a weird show and though it wasn’t weird-weird like the audience may have thought, it was definitely a show stopping performance that blew many minds.
This feels like a good time to insert this next sentence before we get into the depths of the review because upon seeing this for the first time on the flight home, this rang true. There is a quote in the book I am currently reading, “Hope is a beautiful thing to find in art or stories or music” - Matt Haig, The Comfort Book.
That line is what a Mild Orange show feels like - hope wrapped up in all of those three topics combined, which they certainly bring with them wherever they go. You can see why the bar packed out as quick as it did. Mehrt, Jah, Jack and Barry really make their voices heard on a whole other level and not only do they produce incredibly inspiring, uplifting and realistic music, they also are very decent human beings who take the time to get to know you and give you the time of day (or night).
The next few songs almost came as a blur of being on cloud 9 and having glitter in my eyes, but every ounce of the concentration from the guys was really special to see. I was, and to be frank, still am very much in awe of them and the whole evening felt like the greatest dream that you could ever have.
Freak in Me was one track that really popped off - there were a handful of people singing and dancing around the entirety of the room. There is no way that you cannot funk out with that tune, it’s an absolute classic and the guys bring it home with the energy and fun.
Jack, Mehrt and Barry, AKA, 3/4 of Mild Orange at Parrotdog Bar, 8/1/2022.
Along with the music, the lighting was super fun - a lot of flashing lights and different colours illuminated the room and there were also minor moments of everything being pitch black and no, the power had not gone out. It was part of the show. Mysterious and exciting.
Mild Orange played my two favourite songs off their albums in a row - In The Living Room and One. Wow - I think I might’ve just stood there swaying the entire time and not thinking about anything else in those moments, feeling embraced with comfort. One is a remarkable piece that gets within your mind and heart, tangles it up and holds you in the warmest of places. Hearing the guys play that live and turn it into something that can make a human feel that way is super outstanding and I cannot even fathom how much we all need a song like that in our lives.
As the evening went on, it was easy for me to completely block out the rest of the world and any worries outside of that room. It’s always so calming to be able to live in the present and not give a damn about the past and the future. At one point near the end of the set, there was this moment where I could just hear Jah’s guitar and nothing else - in a place full of noise and only being able to hear that one instrument was an unreal feeling.
During the set, the guys dropped a bombshell on us: they’re moving to London in March. They are off to venture around Europe and while they are overseas on their Looking for Space tour (starting next month), they have decided to take the leap of faith and move there to do some touring over the next couple of years. If you’ve seen Mehrt, Jah, Barry and Jack in person, you can breathe a sigh of relief for a moment. You don’t have to wait two years to see them back in New Zealand, but if you have yet to check them out, I can promise that they are worth the wait because their shows are just beautiful and this show was one of the three highlights of every gig I have been to in my almost 31 years.
It’s hard to imagine if artists will sound as good live as they do through their recordings and let me tell you with one hundred percent confidence, Mild Orange sound even better. After almost six months off from playing shows due to covid, they came back with a hisser that threw Wellington through the loop and really lit up the sky that night and what a way to send them off on their new adventures.
The constant changing of the lights really made the mood of the place even more vibrant.
You could feel the happiness that the guys radiated throughout that entire nearly two hour set and it feels rare that a band can hold that much energy and create such a positive atmosphere that has you buzzing for days afterwards.
The stage was roped off with a small selection of velvet ropes and wasn’t crazy elevated like at regular gigs, so it felt more open and as mentioned, that extra bit intimate.
Front row warrior for life!
Mild Orange played a number of their other hits and songs that have recently been released such as Some Feeling, The Time of our Lives, What’s Your Fire? and many more that everyone there was excited to hear.
The end of the night left everyone with a full cup, something that a lot of us needed after the past couple of years. Where Are We Now? was the final song which was the most ace one to choose as the last encore. It holds a lot inside of it. Have a listen, you will understand. Mehrt’s vocalisation in that song is extreme - I just cannot explain how good it was to hear that power live.
You’ve never seen an outstanding gig until you’ve seen Mild Orange live.
The show seemed like it was over as soon as it began and usually everyone disperses rather quickly at a gig, but not at this particular Mild Orange show. So many of us waited around by the stage to see if the guys would come back out and say hey, which they did - something that doesn’t happen at bigger venues, so this was like winning the jackpot essentially.
In conclusion, you don’t walk away from a Mild Orange show feeling sad that the time spent there is over, you walk away from a Mild Orange show feeling grateful, enlightened, humbled and fulfilled because those emotions are what a Mild Orange show encompasses and how Mehrt, Jah, Barry and Jack make you feel.
This is it for the gig review portion of this post, however, I wanted to also add on some personal highlights and such, which you can find below!
Keep your eye on the horizon, always.
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The setlist for the night! Little backstory on this: I was going to ask Jah for his setlist after the encore, but unfortunately, some other fans took it off the stage before I could ask. After the show, I went to get some water and this one was sitting right by the water jugs, nobody had claimed it - they’d just left it there, so it was almost “meant to be” if you will.
It’s been difficult to find the right words to write in this review and I feel that it could be because I didn’t want this to come across as too much of a fangirl post. I’m quite a sentimental person, so it has been interesting to describe the gig itself without trying to make it seem that way in order to convince you to buy tickets to the upcoming Mild Orange tour (for international readers, that is!), but everything written above is the truth and hopefully this has enticed you to check out their music at the very least. At Welcome to the Gig, I try to put out quality content that others will enjoy and that brings happiness for you to read, which is why I wanted to bring this section of the review to you all, too. It’s a little bit more personal, so if you stop reading now, that is totally understandable.
Saturday night was a really important one for me personally - I have found myself resonating with Mild Orange since becoming a fan mid-2021 (I know - not long, sadly. Also, thank you to the Lunar Intruder boys for mentioning about them!) and having the feeling of getting to know them in a way while listening to their music and writing up reviews, the interview etc. last year had me determined to see them live sooner rather than later and damn, what good timing now that they are moving away.
As mentioned above, I am a very sentimental person and so, with the way that the Mild Orange boys have impacted my life even in such a short span of time, that warranted a letter to them to tell them. They truly feel like old pals that you can talk to about anything, I really love that. We are lucky in NZ in the fact that we quite often get to meet artists, sit down with them for a beer or tell them in person how great their show was. Firstly, all four of the Mild Orange guys are incredibly genuine and the fact that they take the time out of their schedules to be around to hang out is still mind blowing, especially as they are musicians that are quite well known, it shows their true character and that they do care about their fans and I think we all definitely need to be more grateful of this, for sure.
I arrived at the venue quite early - 6:30pm - the guys weren’t meant to start until about 10pm that night. (Here’s a little tip: if you go to a gig that is free, you will want to get there quite early in order to avoid being disappointed and unable to get in.)
I was a bundle of nerves about seeing Mild Orange live for the first time, which, looking back now is absolutely crazy. There was nothing to be nervous about. It was probably my anxious/introverted mind being silly again (common occurrence).
First person to walk in was Mehrt and as we’d had our interview on Zoom in August (interview here), we recognised each other and had a chat after we introduced ourselves. It was quite awesome to finally meet him in person after interacting on social media and such. I gave him the letter for him and the guys, too. Relief! One task of the night accomplished, get the letter to them somehow. That was one of the most important things on Saturday.
Gig essentials for the evening - the vinyl cover and the four-page novel I wrote for them.
After the show, I had another chat to Mehrt and he drew the infamous MO faces on my Foreplay vinyl and signed it, which was pretty amazing to be honest! Coolest thing ever. We got a couple photos and then I saw Barry packing down on stage, so said hello to him and also got him to sign the vinyl.
Mehrt and I after the show!
I then headed outside to find Jack and Jah, but Jack ended up finding me, which was a really cool moment (so strange to think they knew who I was before we had even met!). We sat down and chatted about a fair bit of stuff for ages along with Jack’s girlfriend, Barry and Jah, too. You’ve got to hand it to the Mild Orange guys - they are some of the easiest people in the industry to converse with. Jack and Jah also signed the vinyl and then it was time for them to leave and pack their stuff up in the green room. (Side note: Jack and Barry give great hugs, just saying.)
Barry, me (honestly my sunburnt forehead has me howling), Jah and Jack after the show!
Honestly, an all around over-the-moon evening and I have not felt more ecstatic about a gig in a really long time. Hopefully one day there may be a Mild Orange x Welcome to the Gig collab, but until then, thank you for reading and checking Mild Orange out!
I would like to extend my absolute gratitude to Mehrt, Barry, Jah and Jack for their time in regards to reading the letter, taking photos, chatting to me and signing the vinyl. As mentioned in the letter, there are not enough words to say what I want to say. Maybe one day, we will catch up in London when all this craziness dies down a bit more. Hopefully that wasn’t the last time I get to see you all. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
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You can find the last Mild Orange write-up on Welcome to the Gig here and don’t forget to get your tickets/listen to their tunes!
Current favourite item in the entire world!
Such a treasurable autographed vinyl! “That’s me!” - Mehrt, 2022.