Mild High Club gets groovy

On Thursday November 1st, I made the all-to familiar drive from Berkeley to my hometown of Marin County, CA to see one of my favorite bands, Mild High Club, perform at the intimate music venue, Terrapin Crossroads. The sun had just set by the time I had arrived, and soft torch lighting illuminated Terrapin Crossroads’ unpretentious deep wood exterior while the water from the San Rafael Creek glistened in the background. The audience as a collective could be described as mellow, organic, chill, and earthy — the kind of dudes you would catch drinking kombucha or craft beer on an Autumn summer night.

When the band came on, I was expecting to see only the five musicians that made up this synth-infused psychedelic indie band, led by lead singer Alexander Brettin. But, I was greeted by musician after musician emerging from the back room until the stage was filled with nine uniquely facial-haired men and one woman (or, what Brettin likes to describe as “a big ass band”). They started off with the first song from their Timeline (2015) album, “Club Intro” — a purely instrumental song that was a great warm-up for the band to settle into their performance mindset. The almost trance-like feel of the song eased the audience into a woozy ethereal world. Next, they played a similarly soft and easy-going song, “Note to Self,” that extended the mellow mood. “Skiptracing” transitioned the set from a slower, calm feel to a quicker, more lively sound. The song was followed by “Homage” and “Carry Me Back,” at which point the audience was completely inundated by the ten-person band’s rich, melodic sound that blended so well together it was almost liquid. In between songs, each band member took a few sips of their personal Tecate cans that rested on the floor and the four keyboards on stage. As they started to play “Tesselation,” my personal favorite by them, I was in awe, watching each band member close their eyes at some point or another during the song out of an overwhelming sense of pure bliss and connection to the song, their instrument, and the present moment.

Up to this point in the concert, the songs and the overall mellow vibe of the show was pretty much what I had expected. But then Brettin said, “Alrighty, let’s do this jazzy one,” and the band started playing Steely Dan’s “Black Cow.” I have to be honest, in no world could I have been labeled a true Steely Dan fan being that the only songs I knew were their radio hits: “Do It Again,” “Reelin’ In The Years,” and “Dirty Work.” However, I can now safely say that Mild High Club has converted me to into a true Steely Dan fan. Brettin, along with his fellow band member, Joel, harmonized swimmingly on the Steely Dan Songs, while the multiple keyboards, horn players, guitarists, and drummer created a beautiful instrumental medley. “Black Cow” had a soft, longing, and loving groove that made it a smooth, easy-on-the-ears kind of listen. The true highlight of this song was when the two saxophonists and one trumpet player spontaneously played in unison and the audience was amazed — like “wow, what is this beautiful mélange meeting my ears?!” After, Mild High Club hit the audience with another Steely Dan jam called “King of the World” from their Countdown to Ecstasy (1973) album. The synth-heavy, multidimensional song featuring echo-voice samples reminded me of the playfulness of Mild High Club’s “Skiptracing,” and also the quick drum beat and immersive sound of “Windowpane.” Up next was “Kid Charlemagne,” which is a jazzy, soulful, and overall just yummy song from Steely Dan’s The Royal Scam (1976) album. I loved how the song really allowed for one of the guitarists and the drummer to get solo moments and go off on their own jam session that made the audience believe that they genuinely loved what they were doing.

At this point in the night, after playing “Kokopelli” and “Chapel Perilous,” I could sense that the show was coming to a close. I have to say this last song of the regular set was by far my favorite of the night: Steely Dan’s “Glamour Profession” from their Gaucho (1980) album. This piece of pure artistic genius made me start grooving and hip-bumping for the entirety of the song. The sweet groove and blend of piano with the horn trio was so smooth I felt like a piece of butter that had just died via melting in the oven and then achieved nirvana. I was so transfixed through the entirety of the song that I didn’t even realize it was a seven-and-a-half minute long song until looking it up after the show. They wrapped up the show with an encore featuring two songs: their classic “Windowpane” and Steely Dan’s “Night by Night.” which Brettin describes as “a song about working hard,” which Mild High Club clearly has done for much of 2018. After they performed their last show for 2018 at the Tropicalia music festival on November 3, Mild High Club now heads into a well-deserved break from touring.