Ito

I was out of town five years ago the last time MONO made it to Wisconsin and I have been kicking myself ever since. I thought that the likelihood of them making it back to my tiny midwest state was slim to none. Well, let’s just say that my excitement was palpable when I found out that this band would be making the trip to a venue only about 15 minutes from my home.
 
I am not sure about everyone else, but I always find it more fun to have someone else to chat with in the downtime between bands (and also to laugh at my hilarious headbanging). Since tickets were very cheap and the venue was so close, it was easy to convince my girlfriend as well as a couple of other friends to join me. The three of them aren’t exactly as in to post rock as I am (to put it lightly), but all of them enjoy MONO to some extent. Besides, I knew they were in for a treat.
 
The show was at one of the most well known venues in Milwaukee,: The Rave. I have been there several times before and I have never really enjoyed the location, but I had only really seen shows on the main stage. MONO was set to play on their smallest stage, which was downright tiny. The disappointingly low attendance - maybe 100 tops - made it understandable, but it’s kind of funny to see a band you have loved for a long time relegated to such a small stage. Also, it was very low, almost abnormally low...the kind of stage height that would would work great for a sitting show, but not a bar venue.
 
We walked in maybe a couple minutes after the opener, Holly Hunt, had started playing. According to their Bandcamp, this guitar and drum duo “...capture the meditative power of repetition [and] the ecstatic joy of tempered variation.” I’m not sure about that. but what I can say is that I have never experienced something so boring yet so loud. To put it bluntly, this opener was bad. Sludge/drone/doom isn’t something I spin every day, but I do enjoy it on occasion...but not this time. I know the point is to be repetitive in this style of music, but your repetition still needs to be interesting. I heard some of the most bland riffs that long overstayed their welcome. 
 
A single song seemed to span about 10 minutes with no breaks in between. And it was Loud. Offensively loud. I thanked god I had earplugs, as the droning guitar still felt loud even with them on. Now let’s talk about the charisma of the band... Nothing says excitement like playing more than half of your show with your back towards the crowd looking at your amp...   Perhaps all of this wouldn’t have been so bad if there was a quieter place I could retreat to and talk to my friends, but the only choice was to endure. About 40 minutes later, the noise finally broke, a few people clapped and cheered, and I was finally able to remind myself as to why I came here.
 
MONO took the stage with decidedly little fanfare. No talking, no hyping - nothing. It is about the music. They launched right in to “Recoil, Ignite” off of Rays of Darkness, which is perhaps my favorite song of theirs and a hell of a way to start. While little was going to getting in my way of enjoy this epic song, suddenly a huge problem became apparent - the low stage. If you have seen MONO before, you know that a good deal of the time the guitarists are playing sitting down. Well, once you mix this with a low stage it makes for a very difficult viewing experience unless you are one of the few pressed up against the stage. Due to this “difficulty,” I eventually gave up trying to peer through gaps in shoulders and heads and spent my time with my eyes closed just soaking it all in. Considering I always enjoy closing my eyes at shows and letting the sound wash over me, perhaps this wasn’t a terrible thing (even though I was pretty damn irritated at the time).
 
Mono followed  with “Unseen Harbor.” I found the first half of the song to be a little lacking without the orchestra that accompanies the band on the recorded track, but that ending climax was just as lovely as ever. It is mind blowing how calm a beginning on a track can be, almost a little boring for me to be listening to a music venue, only to be devastated with the pure intensity of the later part of a song. It’s hard to put in to words, but I think that juxtaposition just brings a certain power to the music that really makes it emotional.
 
“Kanata” brought some relief with a somber piano after the ending climax that came before. Then in to “Where We Begin,” which I must admit, I don’t find to be an overly interesting track. The band rounded out the night with two tracks from “Hymn to the Immortal Wind,” “Ashes in the Snow” and “Everlasting Light.” I kind of wish they have switched the two song as I feel like the ending to “Ashes” would leave much bigger final impact to the show and allow me to leave with my skin crawling with goosebumps.
 
While I had hoped they would played more from “Rays of Darkness,” the concert was spectacular. Mono’s playing was nearly flawless and the band has such a great chemistry, which is amazing to behold as their interactions are so subtle and without word. Only a few things kept this concert from perfection...with a slight shifting of the track order and different venue, I think the goosebumps would have never left my skin. If you ever have a chance to see MONO live, do it. While I love their studio releases, it’s hard to emulate the pure force exuding from their live performance.

I was out of town five years ago the last time MONO made it to Wisconsin and I have been kicking myself ever since. I thought that the likelihood of them making it back to my tiny midwest state was slim to none. Well, let’s just say that my excitement was palpable when I found out that this band would be making the trip to a venue only about 15 minutes from my home.
 
I am not sure about everyone else, but I always find it more fun to have someone else to chat with in the downtime between bands (and also to laugh at my hilarious headbanging). Since tickets were very cheap and the venue was so close, it was easy to convince my girlfriend as well as a couple of other friends to join me. The three of them aren’t exactly as in to post rock as I am (to put it lightly), but all of them enjoy MONO to some extent. Besides, I knew they were in for a treat.
 
The show was at one of the most well known venues in Milwaukee,: The Rave. I have been there several times before and I have never really enjoyed the location, but I had only really seen shows on the main stage. MONO was set to play on their smallest stage, which was downright tiny. The disappointingly low attendance - maybe 100 tops - made it understandable, but it’s kind of funny to see a band you have loved for a long time relegated to such a small stage. Also, it was very low, almost abnormally low...the kind of stage height that would would work great for a sitting show, but not a bar venue.
 
We walked in maybe a couple minutes after the opener, Holly Hunt, had started playing. According to their Bandcamp, this guitar and drum duo “...capture the meditative power of repetition [and] the ecstatic joy of tempered variation.” I’m not sure about that. but what I can say is that I have never experienced something so boring yet so loud. To put it bluntly, this opener was bad. Sludge/drone/doom isn’t something I spin every day, but I do enjoy it on occasion...but not this time. I know the point is to be repetitive in this style of music, but your repetition still needs to be interesting. I heard some of the most bland riffs that long overstayed their welcome. 
 
A single song seemed to span about 10 minutes with no breaks in between. And it was Loud. Offensively loud. I thanked god I had earplugs, as the droning guitar still felt loud even with them on. Now let’s talk about the charisma of the band... Nothing says excitement like playing more than half of your show with your back towards the crowd looking at your amp...   Perhaps all of this wouldn’t have been so bad if there was a quieter place I could retreat to and talk to my friends, but the only choice was to endure. About 40 minutes later, the noise finally broke, a few people clapped and cheered, and I was finally able to remind myself as to why I came here.
 
MONO took the stage with decidedly little fanfare. No talking, no hyping - nothing. It is about the music. They launched right in to “Recoil, Ignite” off of Rays of Darkness, which is perhaps my favorite song of theirs and a hell of a way to start. While little was going to getting in my way of enjoy this epic song, suddenly a huge problem became apparent - the low stage. If you have seen MONO before, you know that a good deal of the time the guitarists are playing sitting down. Well, once you mix this with a low stage it makes for a very difficult viewing experience unless you are one of the few pressed up against the stage. Due to this “difficulty,” I eventually gave up trying to peer through gaps in shoulders and heads and spent my time with my eyes closed just soaking it all in. Considering I always enjoy closing my eyes at shows and letting the sound wash over me, perhaps this wasn’t a terrible thing (even though I was pretty damn irritated at the time).
 
Mono followed  with “Unseen Harbor.” I found the first half of the song to be a little lacking without the orchestra that accompanies the band on the recorded track, but that ending climax was just as lovely as ever. It is mind blowing how calm a beginning on a track can be, almost a little boring for me to be listening to a music venue, only to be devastated with the pure intensity of the later part of a song. It’s hard to put in to words, but I think that juxtaposition just brings a certain power to the music that really makes it emotional.
 
“Kanata” brought some relief with a somber piano after the ending climax that came before. Then in to “Where We Begin,” which I must admit, I don’t find to be an overly interesting track. The band rounded out the night with two tracks from “Hymn to the Immortal Wind,” “Ashes in the Snow” and “Everlasting Light.” I kind of wish they have switched the two song as I feel like the ending to “Ashes” would leave much bigger final impact to the show and allow me to leave with my skin crawling with goosebumps.
 
While I had hoped they would played more from “Rays of Darkness,” the concert was spectacular. Mono’s playing was nearly flawless and the band has such a great chemistry, which is amazing to behold as their interactions are so subtle and without word. Only a few things kept this concert from perfection...with a slight shifting of the track order and different venue, I think the goosebumps would have never left my skin. If you ever have a chance to see MONO live, do it. While I love their studio releases, it’s hard to emulate the pure force exuding from their live performance.

It's obviously a fake wooden gun without ANY functionality - can't even pull a trigger there...
And to my defense; never went to anything 'army related' - actually declined service there and worked as a paramedic instead. So I have no clue what I'm doing on that picture - they just needed more "soldiers" on a film set where I was working so the staff had to step in - well; couldn't say no. Usually I'm behind the camera - for reasons like that. Protection vest was a real police one (an old one tho), pretty heavy and no fun running around with, but interesting to see how this stuff works and feel (way too big for my "body mass" anyways, I felt like a turtle).

"by the way..."

And this is how you do it XD

I was out of town five years ago the last time MONO made it to Wisconsin and I have been kicking myself ever since. I thought that the likelihood of them making it back to my tiny midwest state was slim to none. Well, let’s just say that my excitement was palpable when I found out that this band would be making the trip to a venue only about 15 minutes from my home.
 
I am not sure about everyone else, but I always find it more fun to have someone else to chat with in the downtime between bands (and also to laugh at my hilarious headbanging). Since tickets were very cheap and the venue was so close, it was easy to convince my girlfriend as well as a couple of other friends to join me. The three of them aren’t exactly as in to post rock as I am (to put it lightly), but all of them enjoy MONO to some extent. Besides, I knew they were in for a treat.
 
The show was at one of the most well known venues in Milwaukee,: The Rave. I have been there several times before and I have never really enjoyed the location, but I had only really seen shows on the main stage. MONO was set to play on their smallest stage, which was downright tiny. The disappointingly low attendance - maybe 100 tops - made it understandable, but it’s kind of funny to see a band you have loved for a long time relegated to such a small stage. Also, it was very low, almost abnormally low...the kind of stage height that would would work great for a sitting show, but not a bar venue.
 
We walked in maybe a couple minutes after the opener, Holly Hunt, had started playing. According to their Bandcamp, this guitar and drum duo “...capture the meditative power of repetition [and] the ecstatic joy of tempered variation.” I’m not sure about that. but what I can say is that I have never experienced something so boring yet so loud. To put it bluntly, this opener was bad. Sludge/drone/doom isn’t something I spin every day, but I do enjoy it on occasion...but not this time. I know the point is to be repetitive in this style of music, but your repetition still needs to be interesting. I heard some of the most bland riffs that long overstayed their welcome. 
 
A single song seemed to span about 10 minutes with no breaks in between. And it was Loud. Offensively loud. I thanked god I had earplugs, as the droning guitar still felt loud even with them on. Now let’s talk about the charisma of the band... Nothing says excitement like playing more than half of your show with your back towards the crowd looking at your amp...   Perhaps all of this wouldn’t have been so bad if there was a quieter place I could retreat to and talk to my friends, but the only choice was to endure. About 40 minutes later, the noise finally broke, a few people clapped and cheered, and I was finally able to remind myself as to why I came here.
 
MONO took the stage with decidedly little fanfare. No talking, no hyping - nothing. It is about the music. They launched right in to “Recoil, Ignite” off of Rays of Darkness, which is perhaps my favorite song of theirs and a hell of a way to start. While little was going to getting in my way of enjoy this epic song, suddenly a huge problem became apparent - the low stage. If you have seen MONO before, you know that a good deal of the time the guitarists are playing sitting down. Well, once you mix this with a low stage it makes for a very difficult viewing experience unless you are one of the few pressed up against the stage. Due to this “difficulty,” I eventually gave up trying to peer through gaps in shoulders and heads and spent my time with my eyes closed just soaking it all in. Considering I always enjoy closing my eyes at shows and letting the sound wash over me, perhaps this wasn’t a terrible thing (even though I was pretty damn irritated at the time).
 
Mono followed  with “Unseen Harbor.” I found the first half of the song to be a little lacking without the orchestra that accompanies the band on the recorded track, but that ending climax was just as lovely as ever. It is mind blowing how calm a beginning on a track can be, almost a little boring for me to be listening to a music venue, only to be devastated with the pure intensity of the later part of a song. It’s hard to put in to words, but I think that juxtaposition just brings a certain power to the music that really makes it emotional.
 
“Kanata” brought some relief with a somber piano after the ending climax that came before. Then in to “Where We Begin,” which I must admit, I don’t find to be an overly interesting track. The band rounded out the night with two tracks from “Hymn to the Immortal Wind,” “Ashes in the Snow” and “Everlasting Light.” I kind of wish they have switched the two song as I feel like the ending to “Ashes” would leave much bigger final impact to the show and allow me to leave with my skin crawling with goosebumps.
 
While I had hoped they would played more from “Rays of Darkness,” the concert was spectacular. Mono’s playing was nearly flawless and the band has such a great chemistry, which is amazing to behold as their interactions are so subtle and without word. Only a few things kept this concert from perfection...with a slight shifting of the track order and different venue, I think the goosebumps would have never left my skin. If you ever have a chance to see MONO live, do it. While I love their studio releases, it’s hard to emulate the pure force exuding from their live performance.

Count me as excited! Hopefully this has better recording production than their last few releases, though.

bought me some mtn dew and dr pepper from a smuggler since we dont have these extremely delicious beverages in stores here :/ he basically robbed me with its price but i love this shit and couldnt resist to buy it anyway. i would buy more of mtn dew but he only had 10 cans so ;__; 

Holy shit snacks!

It's been a while! Welcome back!

Don't know why I did all of this, but here's my quick, unfiltered thoughts on all of the tracks:
 
Green = mhmm
Yellow = hmmm
Orange = uhhhhh
Red = uuuugh
 
 
VK
 
 
 
Rock / Metal / Punk
 
 
 
 
Indie / Alt.
 
 
 
 
Pop / Idol / R&B / Hip-Hop
 

Don't know why I did all of this, but here's my quick, unfiltered thoughts on all of the tracks:
 
Green = mhmm
Yellow = hmmm
Orange = uhhhhh
Red = uuuugh
 
 
VK
 
 
 
Rock / Metal / Punk
 
 
 
 
Indie / Alt.
 
 
 
 
Pop / Idol / R&B / Hip-Hop
 

Don't know why I did all of this, but here's my quick, unfiltered thoughts on all of the tracks:
 
Green = mhmm
Yellow = hmmm
Orange = uhhhhh
Red = uuuugh
 
 
VK
 
 
 
Rock / Metal / Punk
 
 
 
 
Indie / Alt.
 
 
 
 
Pop / Idol / R&B / Hip-Hop
 

Don't know why I did all of this, but here's my quick, unfiltered thoughts on all of the tracks:
 
Green = mhmm
Yellow = hmmm
Orange = uhhhhh
Red = uuuugh
 
 
VK
 
 
 
Rock / Metal / Punk
 
 
 
 
Indie / Alt.
 
 
 
 
Pop / Idol / R&B / Hip-Hop
 

Most recent edit:

 
 
Also, here's a quick preview I posted of some unedited shots from Otakon:

y r envy opening for deafheaven lol it should be the other way around
i wish i could get a proper fake for the TO show so i can go

HaMC never really was my thing, it always fell on the "too poppy" side of pop rock. While Mākii's new music doesn't really light a fire under me, I am with Cat where I think it feels a bit more fitting. 'スノーボールアース' was pretty bland and I don't enjoy the sound of autotune, so SPAAAAAAAAAARK!!! is out for me, but I still manage to find this stuff more interesting than what HaMC was doing. All of that said, I doubt I would ever spin either of those tracks again.

Touring with DEAFHEAVEN
10/30/2015 Metro, Chicago, IL
10/31/2015 Saint Andrew's Hall - The Shelter, Detroit, MI
11/1/2015 The Opera House, Toronto, ON
11/3/2015 Royale, Boston, MA 
11/5/2015 Webster Hall, New York, NY
11/6/2015 The Howard Theatre, Washington, DC
11/7/2015 Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA
 
Touring with La Dispute
11/8/2015 The Door, Dallas, TX
11/10/2015 Nile Theatre, Mesa, AZ
11/11/2015 Observatory, Santa Ana, CA
11/13/2015 El Rey, Los Angeles, CA
11/14/2015 The Regency Ballroom, San Francisco, CA
11/16/2015 Wonder Ballroom, Portland, OR
11/17/2015 Neptune Theater, Seattle, WA
 
 
 
Count me in for the Chicago Show!

This really surprised me XD

thanks, Ito!
 
 
i did a small drawing at work yesterday i´ll be sure to buy art supplies next month - watercolours, brushes etc. i´d really love to do some proper artwork over a looooong time bruh, so tired of coloured pencils
 

I mainly read manga but rarely watch anime. Not quite a big fan of manga though. lol
I only read what I'm interested in which are sooooo few (Gokukoku no Brynhildr is the main one for the time being.) ;w;
However, I do like manga drawing styles in terms of art of course. xD

Got to love the bokeh

New photo on my new lens!
 
Bokeh Bee

Awesome purchase! Prepare to fall in love with f/1.4.

Bought my first prime lens!