Roundabout Now
Cat Crash can’t drive in circles at Midway Cafe on Saturday, 2 August 2025.
Robopumpkin, Lions & Lavender, and Cricket sandwich the quadruple stack matinee.
Ace the Quiz, Win the Tix
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Hump Nights
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Ace the Quiz, Win the Tix 〰️ Hump Nights 〰️
Hump Nights
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Ace the Quiz, Win the Tix
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Hump Nights 〰️ Ace the Quiz, Win the Tix 〰️
Cricket
Cricket
The solo folk-punker Cricket out of Chicago opened on an acoustic guitar at the Midway Cafe matinee. Shades of Conor Ryan Hennessy, with songs full of whimsical observations with socially critical weight, though Cricket was more punk, less folk, than Hennessy.
There was a song about Final Fantasy, a song about the guilt accrued from completing 100% of video games, a song about phone apps. Topical.
The time we live in is ripe for stinging social critique, but the most trenchant analyses these days tend to fizzle out in protean form as likes-chasing social media posts instead of a song, book, poem, or essay with real staying power.
Cricket broke a string, or something, and switched to a borrowed electric guitar less than halfway through the set. He professed to have never played an electric, which boggles the mind, but much like the Mark Wahlberg couple in the seafaring catastrophe film The Perfect Storm, he “made a go of it.”
Lions & Lavender
Lions & Lavender
The power popping sextet Lions & Lavender look and sound like they’re ready for their American Idol audition. Star-studded synchronized rocks moves galore accompany billboard-sized choruses, neon-lit hooks, and dazzling refrains. The doubled-up percussion (one musician on physical drum kit, another on synth drums) gives this band a lot of room to play in the rhythm section. Grab a hairbrush, find a mirror, and sing along. Hump Day News reviewed their recent single “Pretty Lies.”
Cat Crash
Cat Crash
New York’s Cat Crash doesn’t like to drive in roundabouts, rotaries, or whatever you call them. Learn this and more during the extensive stage banter moments at their shows. The band is currently touring small clubs and DIY spaces somewhere in the Midwest.
The punk trio has a lot of “setcraft,” which is fun/gimmickry that bands use to encourage audience participation and engagement throughout their set. Stage banter is one example, which can be more or less involved – sometimes just a time killer, other times a real story is being told.
More examples include: asking the audience to sit down during a quiet/intimate song; teaching the audience a chorus that they are supposed to repeat at given moments in a song; directing the audience to the merch table and/or social platforms; jumping into the pit for some physical interaction; taking song requests, whether the band is serious about honoring them or not.
I think Cat Crash used all of the above (plus stuff I’m forgetting) except the last one. It’s a tricky thing. If a band doesn’t do any of this sort of thing, catching them live can feel like a passive and forgettable experience. But if a band does too much of this sort of thing, it’s like being stuck on a subway car with an extrovert psychopath who is constantly staring at you from across the aisle, demanding some sort of acknowledgement.
Anyway, I’ll remember Cat Crash and will probably dig into their catalog.
Robo Pumpkin
Robo Pumpkin
Robopumpkin or Robo Pumpkin? The musician behind the moniker Max Adams crafts indie emo that sticks with you. His lyrics cut right to the quick. Though his recorded studio material trots out the full band sound, I’ve only ever caught him live as a solo act (here, and at the 4th Wall x Hump Nights showcase at Regent Theatre).
He played the show with an acoustic bass, which is a weird and wonderful choice, and reminds me of the time I saw Lou Barlow perform “Soul and Fire” with a bass ukulele at 10 Forward in Greenfield.
Is 10 Forward permanently closed now? That sucks. That place was a special landing spot for experimental music. Sure, you’ve got Hawks & Reed down the block, which has great performance space, multiple stages, whatever you need for a good night out. But the booking at 10 Forward was outlandishly ambitious in the true Pioneer Valley spirit, and it will be missed.
UPDATE: Did 10 Forward transform into Last Ditch? The new name does not fill you with confidence, but it looks like the location still puts on shows.
Photo Gallery
Cat Crash can’t drive in circles at Midway Cafe.