I have been charged with the task of writing the first concert “review” in this collective endeavor, this coterie of concertgoers, determined to illuminate the reasons for and against “stepping out” late at night to witness the live performance of music. As a former band man myself, and now on the curious side of writing about attending shows, I find myself asking, “Why attend these public displays of noise?” Let’s face it: most of the time the shows are on weeknights, they’re late, you have to drink through the first couple of bands, who every once in a while give you something to nod your head at, just to end up listening to an uninspired replication of a CD that the performers are already tired of playing.
Then I considered to myself, in an awkward, semi-audible conversation that went a little something like this:
Well Adam – “Gigs,” as we pretentious types like to call them, are a way for folks interested in “Music” to get together and share in their appreciation. Attending the gig is a communal activity, a collective of spiritual rawness, ebullient fist pumping, dirty words, and seedy clubs—it is a form of group hugging, put into practice in the way I just mentioned. Sometimes it is less about the music and more about the experience, and sometimes it is more about the music and less about the experience. Both aspects of going to a show are tied, though, to the communal expression of musical appreciation. I suppose Melophobe is more in the business of trying to point out which type of communal music appreciation is going on at a show, and less in the business of criticizing or “reviewing” a night-club outing.
The model will be one of conversation with the reader, photos of the experience, and a general source of information for upcoming and past events. Hopefully, this will develop into another forum where we can communally show our passion for the aural arts.
Down to Business
Menomena Concert Review:
Paradise Rock Club in Boston, Nov. 9th. I am drunk. I am in the familiar position of having had too many PBRs too quickly. Their cheapness and rudimentary alchemy leading to a watered-down American Lager taste is my downfall. I know the panacea is not far away. Nothing like a good live act to stimulate the senses, effectively quashing any haziness the drink brings.
Menomena walks out. A three piece, “that is surprising” I suggest to myself. I have been a fan for a while, but I figured that they would need a broader live line up to reproduce their busy sound. I am wrong. In fact, the first thing I notice is how full the sound is. The drums kick in right away, and I don’t know if there is a 24 inch base drum on stage, but the kick literally shakes the club. In fact, the sound is really incredible; nicely done Paradise, but the clarity cannot be attributed to skilled sound mixing alone. A live Menomena show is schizophrenic brilliance; it is a boxing match of sound. Hard drums and strained vocal shouts juxtaposed against beautiful keyboard melodies. The melodies are simple, but rubbing up against the rocking compositions, usually ripped out of percussion-like guitar riffs and bass thumps, they amalgamate into what I would call a series of nice jabs and a knock-out punch of a fleeting reprieve—beauty. In these beautiful spaces, I catch my breath; I soak in the daze of being kicked with the awesome rawness of the rocking phrases in Menomena’s songs. Through careful balance, the exchange of the raw with the morning-like haze of occasional reprieves, Menomena’s musical brilliance establishes itself.
The mastery of Menomena is that three can take a meticulous musical arrangement that exudes harmony, and give it a quality that makes it seem as if the sounds are being improvised right there for the audience in that exact moment in Paradise.
Check it: Menomena (official) / Menomena (myspace)
Check it: Illinois (official) / Illinois (myspace)
he is amazing bro his style can not be touched....some people dont know what he is talking about caz u dont do what he does he is sickkk bra
by dylyn on Thu Mar 18, 2010 at 11.59 am from the entry: Wiz Khalifa: Burn After Rolling (Mixtape)
Wow,Great post.Thanks for sharing with us. land wi
by wisconsin land on Thu Mar 18, 2010 at 09.53 am from the entry: of Montreal + Gang Gang Dance - Orpheum Theatre (Boston, MA; Oct. 30, 2008)
Ugh. Paste’s profile of Free Energy made me kind of hate them. So does your review. It’s this unctuous defense of good-time rock-and-roll ("we’re just here to party, and we’re awesome!") that seems more self-serving than fun-loving.
by beth on Wed Mar 17, 2010 at 09.41 pm from the entry: Foreign Born + Free Energy - The Knitting Factory (Brooklyn, NY; Mar. 12, 2010)
that inescapable feeling you are referring to, is that like when you hear something and you could have sworn you heard it before because of the nostalgic catchy quality? or is is like when you’ve heard a band exactly like said band?
great post by the way!
by paul on Wed Mar 17, 2010 at 03.15 pm from the entry: The Novel Ideas - "The Sky Is A Field" - Borrow It
Whoa! I had no idea she was enegaged. You would never know with the way she behaves! Wow!
by art on Wed Mar 17, 2010 at 09.48 am from the entry: Nikki Darlin and John McCauley: 1+1=1
This comment stream is so meta. Great review Kelly.
by chris on Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 07.50 pm from the entry: Flying Lotus - "Cosmogramma" - Buy It
no prob. The whole album is excellent, combining some of the harder sonics of Los Angeles with the meat of his debut and obviously difficult to summarize in only 50 words… 
I’d say it’s on par with the debut, but better than Los Angeles.
by kelly on Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 06.23 pm from the entry: Flying Lotus - "Cosmogramma" - Buy It
