On Stage: Mikal Cronin

On his third record MCIII Mikal Cronin shows once again that he's capable of writing wonderful songs. The album is full of well written composition with lush arrangements. On Primavera Sound a few weeks back it was clear that these songs sound even better live and that he's no longer the shy boy on stage. Now he was playing a stand alone show in Amsterdam and of course I had to be there.

Mikal Cronin at Bitterzoet Amsterdam, June 10 2015



The band hardly fits on the small stage of this nice venue but it suits this band to be so close to each other. The better the chemistry on stage the better the songs sound and tonight they sound amazing. The first to songs on the setlist are also the first two songs on his new album that of course is the focus of tonight's show. He has thrown in a bunch of songs of the previous record and only a few of his first album.



Again I'm amazed by how much Cronin has grown since MCII especially on stage. He's looking very confident and not shy at all any more. This only makes the songs sound better and more solid. The switches between pop song structures with harmonies and lively garage rock songs are very smooth and create a lot of variation. Together with the compact songs, the performance packs lots of momentum and tempo. A two song encore ends the show that has flew by in no time and I wouldn't mind if he kept on playing for a while longer. I can't wait to see and hear more of him, but maybe Ty Segall needs him now again.

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Setlist:
01. Turn Around
02. Made My Mind Up
03. Apathy
04. Am I Wrong
05. Say
06. Feel Like
07. Weight
08. Get Along
09. iii) Control
10. Shout It Out
11. See It My Way
12. Green & Blue
13. ii) Gold
Encore
14. vi) Circle
15. Change