Live Report Mono -North American Tour 2015-

[Ito 2438]

 
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.

[The Reverend 3566]

Cool report! I saw them a few nights later (6/24) in Seattle.... so I'll respond with some thoughts from that show if nobody minds.

 

I had no time to get excited for the Mono show because it happened very last minute for me. A few friends and I were in town visiting and the day of the show I was on my phone at lunch looking for something fun to do that evening and exclaimed "holy shit, mono is playing tonight!" (Of course they had no idea what I was talking about... I could only convince one to go with me after describing what kind of music they played).

 

The show in Seattle was at Neumos in a pretty cool/young part of town. Seemed like a good place for live music, though a couple of the bars and the balcony were inaccessible because the turnout (while not as low as in Milwaukee apparently) certainly was nowhere near capacity.

 

 

To put it bluntly, this opener was bad.

 

Pretty much sums up the band right before Mono (I don't have a lot of thoughts on the local opener, they weren't bad but they didn't leave a big impression). It only took about four minutes of that band before we ditched the club to find some margaritas at a nearby bar for about an hour. Luckily the re-entry rules at Neumos were really laid back.

 

As for Mono themselves:

 

I really enjoyed hearing some of the new record(s) live. Their live CD with the orchestra is probably my most listened to Mono album, so I was worried it might feel a little hollow with just the four of them trying to recreate all the noise they make, but I didn't find myself missing the string sections during the show.

 

I didn't enjoy the fact that the two guitarists sat down for almost the entire show. I'm pretty tall (6'4") and the stage was a pretty average height at the club I watched them in... and I still couldn't see much of those two except for the tops of their heads as they stared at the floor/their guitars. The drummer was really the only person on stage making any sort of attempt to connect with the audience.
 

 

I always enjoy closing my eyes at shows and letting the sound wash over me, perhaps this wasn’t a terrible thing

 

I definitely don't enjoy doing that so their sitting down was a big buzzkill for me. It all sounded really good (wasn't too loud where I saw them... which I was thankful for) but I didn't really leave thinking I would tell anyone "oh you have to see them live!". I'd recommend you go see Mono, but I'd warn you that you won't feel more connected to the band afterwards... you'll just have had the experience of listening to their songs on a scale you can't at home.

 

I chose Ashes in the Snow in the poll because I'm a sucker for that glockenspiel and it was very powerful in person. I thought the set-list was pretty well chosen; I mean I selfishly really wanted them to play Halcyon (Beautiful Days) but I can't be too upset they left an over 10 year old track off the list.

 

I've seen post-rock shows where the band literally didn't say a word, so I was happy one of the members did pick up a mic at the very end of the show and thank everyone for coming in (frankly adorable) inexact English.

 

My friend I dragged along on the Uber ride back to where we were staying: "You could tell me they played 3 songs or 25 and I'd believe either one."
 

[bonsaijodelfisch 328]

nice review, what would interest me is, how did your "not-that-mono-crazy" friends enjoy the show? because in my experience even ppl with close to no relation to the music very much enjoy the special atmosphere of mono-gigs...

[Ito 2438]

I've seen post-rock shows where the band literally didn't say a word, so I was happy one of the members did pick up a mic at the very end of the show and thank everyone for coming in (frankly adorable) inexact English.

 

My friend I dragged along on the Uber ride back to where we were staying: "You could tell me they played 3 songs or 25 and I'd believe either one."

 

Mono didn't actually say a single word at our stop. I kind of wish they did, it kind of provides a level of connection you wouldn't get otherwise.

 

Also, that final comments is a fucking perfect sum up XD

 

 

nice review, what would interest me is, how did your "not-that-mono-crazy" friends enjoy the show? because in my experience even ppl with close to no relation to the music very much enjoy the special atmosphere of mono-gigs...

 

They actually quite dug it. I think it was a verying range though. One of my friends REALLY like it, one of them enjoyed it a decent amount, and my girlfriend liked it but felt like it went a little long for the style of music it was (she normally only enjoys that style of music while working on something else). Overall though, none of them where bored or anything and they were glad they came along. I also think that the very cheap ticket prices helped with that (I think they were like $12).