It's not an xplo, but it's close, it's a Menagerie of sights and sounds. More importantly is all the musical talent being flown or driven into town from all over. We've got Telephone Jim Jesus from Anticon and Testa Rosa from Milwaukee. Mira Mira from Chicago will open, and then we're very excited to bring back (literally by popular demand) CHANGE! from Napa California. That's right, mr mental monkey chairman Aaron 'Word' McEvoy is back in chicago to rock you into oblivion. Midstates recorded and backed Change! on their debut as well as the follow up that we are currently working on. Mixel Pixel is also all over the record but they were unavailable to fly in from Brooklyn for this show. Check out more information on avxplo.com, including a full list of participating artists. This show will be 21 and over and starts at 8:30pm sharp!!

We'll be back at the Ghost Town Gallery in Oakland Saturday March 8th with our good friends Change! and Bomarr (who did a fantastic remix of Underthere that's available on his album). Show starts at 9pm and goes all night, more details in the tour section.

Sidestep the mainstream and witness Midstates' homecoming at Darkroom, our first show in Chicago in 2008. Tuesday March 18, buy your tickets in advance to save some money.

Midstates are throwing a Halloween Party and all are invited. Everyday is Hallow-Xplo will feature Midstates as The Jesus and Mary Chain, Plane as Blonde, The Bon Mots as Badfinger, Star as Guided by Voices, Theory Anesthetic as Neutral Milk Hotel, Darling as the Misfits and LMNOP as The Flaming Lips. In addition to the music, we'll have over 30 visual artists creating work as another artist as well as dressing up as that artist to add even more fun to the event. Doors at 6:30pm, show starts promptly at 7pm (when LMNOP will take the stage). More info at A/V Xplo.com.

After about a 3 year hiatus, Midstates has decided to resurrect the original art and music xplosion called A/V Xplo. We've gathered together 29 music groups from all over the country as well as over 100 visual artists to create the best underground festival that won't make you sunburn or complain about the lack of intimicacy. August 15-18, empty bottle, double door, subterranean and the Abbey Pub (respectively) are all taking part in the 4 day, 4 venue xplosion. Midstates will be performing on all 4 nights. The first night, Midstates will kick off the feastival with an opening ceremony involving 2 or 3 songs, then Midstates part 2 will occur on thursday at the double door, followed by another Midstates taster set on Friday at the Subterranean. Finally, Midstates will end the feastival on Saturday night by performing a new set of music and enabling a good time for all. There are so many cool artists and groups performing and showing that you must check out our new site devoted entirely to the group (well Midstates and Tony Vega, Jess Wagner and Dan Chambers) who run everything A/V Xplo.

Due to an unnatural love of detroit, Midstates are taking time out from recording the new album and coordinating this mammouth av xplo to shoot up to detroit and rock the lagerhouse on friday june 1st. come witness the truth.

This will be Midstate's last show before taking a break from live performances to focus efforts on the follow-up to Boxing Twilight. Taking the stage at this ALL AGES show and new venue is Trio In Stereo from Bloomington (newly relocated here to chicago), Monument (dreamgaze from Brooklyn) and the Ultra Sonic Edukators (rock synth with nods to the Super Furry Animals) will open! Witness the awesome power of midstates on wednesday may 9th at the Lakeshore Theater. 8pm early all ages show!

We know you live in chicago. We know you have to work the next day. We know you love midstates but tend to wait till they have a weekend show, BUT, this is the abbey pub! It's rare to see midstates at such a fine establishment. Midstates are doing this special monday night show for our friends in the XYZ Affair and these guys can sing!! Come on down and have guiness or irish whiskey. Celebrate St Pats on April 16 with Midstates. Buy your tickets in advance on the abbey pub site (only $5!) or pay the full $7 at the door. We will see you there. Come drink with us on a monday! Live a little. Life is too short to stay in every night.

Midstates attack Milwaukee, our cool neighbor to the north with the help of locals, TESTA ROSA and The Silence. Testa Rosa is a local pop collective featuring Betty Blexrud-Strigens, Damian Strigens & Paul Hancock with a new 10 song debut disc out that's been receiving some nice praise. Beautifully arranged vocal harmonies over infectious, orchestral pop arrangements that stay in your head. Their live show is augmented by the dynamic drumming of Jay Tiller of Couch Flambeau. The Silence Project is a collaboration of sounds and ideas. A four piece that uses vibraphone, guitars, and an assortment of electronic elements to create it's sound. The silence project have been purveyors of contextual instrumental music since it's inception - An amalgamation of many different styles of music. Post-rock, electronic, early ambient, dub, new wave, film scores and jazz all play an important role in the development of each members styles, and the ever-evolving sound of the band. SHANK HALL 1434 N. Farwell Ave - 10pm - $6

This will be a huge show, taking Midstates back to the south suburbs of chicago where it all began in calumet city! Though this is in Lansing, Midstates used to rehearse in Lansing for a very long time. (it's right next door to Calumet City). It's a small venue and midstates are opening for the new generation of south suburban groups coming up, the encyclopedias and Felix Bieker. New school meets next gen in this one, make the trek down and be amazed.This will be at Stand Up Comics on Ridge Road in Lansing. Check the Tour section for more info.

Midstates are back in Bloomington after a long break ready to school the college kids in fantastic music. our good friends Trio In Stereo will also be there to lend a hand. Don't miss this one. At Max's Place.

The january tour is all set and ready to rock, east coasters should travel and prepare for the coming sonic avalanche. Tell your friends and see Midstates before everyone else does.

The Seagreen Incorruptible's Bryan Ward, former theremin player de midstates will be opening and the celebrated working man from milwaukee will also be coming down for the show, and even more! It's a monday night at the darkroom with Midstates, and it starts early, 8:30pm! $5 21 AND OVER.

So this show was supposed to be with Whitey from London on DEN MAK, but they had to cancel. It's expensive to get bands over from the UK so now it's just us (supreme Midstates) and DJ Johnny Love. More importantly, this show will mark our first show with Steve's replacement while he's on sabbatical leave in Japan. The man is Jimmy Tilton, he's a monster and has been working with us all summer on the new album, which is still untitled but in the final mixdown phase. Eric Morris, the humble silkscreener we discovered in NW indiana has unnatural ability at the guitar and he's found his own range of frequencies within the midstates spectrum. Old pillars of the community, Angel "The Croc" Ledezma and Dahlman "Call me Michael" will both be flexing their creative juices on stage while attempting to flush out a BUNCH of new material. Paul is spearheading the project. Be there. Bring the world. The music is great.

For some reason, we've decided to take a break from recording our 3rd album to perform a live show for you in the chicago area. We don't know how much of the new material will be played, but chances are some of it will since it's so fresh in our brains! Jennifer o'connor (matador) and hummingbiird headline, we'll go on early (9pm sharp!!) so we can have plenty of time to drink with you post-set. We will see you there.

The best way to know where and when we're going to be someplace is to join our email list. Please send an email to downhyperspace@yahoo.com and we'll be sure to keep you informed.

The machine known as Midstates continues to pumble audiences this late spring and early summer. First they'll be in Highland Indiana to rock The Blue Room Cafe (more info in the tour section) with our southern buddies, American Princes (YepRoc). Then they'll do a show with Wheatus at Nite Cap on the northside of Chicago. Finally a mini tour of the west coast will begin on June 21st at the Make Out Room in San Francisco with Telephone Jim Jesus and Change!. Then the tour will roll through Half Moon Bay at our favorite british pub in the U.S., Cameron's with the amazing acoustic stylings of Ryan Salet (and Change!). Finally, the tour will end up in Los Angeles!! This will mark the first time Midstates has ever played L.A., and we do recommend that everyone in southern california should drive or fly in for that show. There's no telling when we'll be able to get midstates out there after this!! (San Diego listers, we're hoping you'll make the trek!) It's at the Pehrspace, an artspace in L.A. and is sure to be an amazing night. More info in the tour section!!!! Send us your questions or comments: downhyperspace@yahoo.com

Don't miss the chicago record release at the beat kitchen on Saturday April 29 with American Princes. May 6th at the Cactus Club with The CELEBRATED WORKING MAN, and be sure to check out the friday section of the Chicago Sun-Times on April 28 to see what Jim DeRogatis thinks of the new album Boxing Twilight. Then roll out with your friends to the beat kitchen to see Midstates rock out on a saturday night in chicago. American Princes have been touring with Midstates so expect an excellent show from Chicago's favorite sons.

2 entirely new songs have been posted in the music section, Wake Up and We Save Lives. Both of these songs have captured the electricity of Midstates. Check them out, and send us an email with your review. The Lansing Michigan show is this Saturday. This will mark Midstates' first time to Lansing Michigan so be sure to send out the emails and calls to friends and family in that area. Don't forget the record release show at the Beat Kitchen on Saturday April 29 here in Chicago. Send your comments to us, downhyperspace@yahoo.com, thanks and we'll see you on the road.

April is going to be a wild month for Midstates. An all ages show has been added to the San Francisco leg of the tour on Saturday April 1st. Angel Ledezma will be sitting in on drums with Change! in addition to all his midstates duties. You won't want to miss this, Midstates performed as much of Change!'s backing band when Aaron McEvoy recorded his album last year at Midstates' studio, Spectra Kakarot. This will be the first time that Angel will perform live with Change! and is sure to be memorable. Don't forget the San Francisco proper show on Thursday March 30 with Telephone Jim Jesus, Coppe (from japan) and Change! at the Hemlock Tavern. Midstates will be on 2nd so get there early. In other news, make sure to congratulate Steve Munoz (keyboards/everything) on his Wedding to take place in May. We wish him all the best. Also, now that Boxing Twilight is finally out, we encourage you to purchase one either online at Insound or Borders or anyplace you like. It's everywhere and we could use your assistance to spread the good music to all corners of the globe. Thanks in advance! Of course we will also be having them at all of our shows, especially the record release at the beat kitchen at the end of our huge tour in April.

YOU don't want to miss the record release show, your first chance to purchase the highly anticipated 2nd album of Midstates. But before that in early Feb catch midstates out west for the first time for 3 area shows put together by the mental monkey chairman, aaron word! Now is a great time to go west.

Catch the massive miracles of midstates at the red line tap in chicago crossing paths with labelmates mixel pixel (NYC mental monkey/Kanine). We love them, you love them too.

Wheatus has also been added to this show last minute in Muncie Indiana. We're not sure how much it is, call Ball State University and ask them (this was last minute so we don't have mucho info).

Happy Thanksgiving! Midstates' official release date of Boxing Twilight on Mental Monkey and Reincarnate Music is February 21st, 2006. Pre-promotion of the new work will be on tour starting November 25th supporting Wheatus all over the east coast and midwest. Check out the tour and alert your friends about Midstates coming to your town.

Saturday October 22 at 9pm sharp, Midstates will be joining Trio in Stereo at the Second Story in Bloomington Indiana. This will be Midstates' 3rd rendezvous with Trio In Stereo on their home turf and we plan to have them up for a visit soon! But in the meantime, make sure to head down to Indiana University and the Second Story to catch Midstates in Action. Then, November 5 will witness Midstates' first performance in Cincinatti Ohio with Doctor Jones at Alchemize (1120 Walnut Street Cincinnati, Ohio).