By Alex Schaaf
Now that’s more like it. After the disappointing Best Coast show the night before, I walked into Webster Hall Friday night with a little more confidence, and that confidence was quickly rewarded. The show was a long time coming. Menomena is one of my favorite bands, having made that list on the day I first heard Friend and Foe, their masterful 2007 album. I missed a chance to see them live during that tour, so I had to wait. This band is one that takes their time – they have been taking 2-3 years between each album, so I had to wait a little bit to fulfill my wish. Last year I saw Ramona Falls, the solo project of keyboardist/guitarist Brent Knopf. That was a great show, and it even included Menomena’s Danny Seim on bass, but I knew I still needed to see the whole thing. And Friday night’s show was a perfect ending to my quest.
Menomena is touring off of their recently released album Mines
. While not as instantly grabbing as Friend And Foe
, the record has grown on me in leaps and bounds. The beauty of Menomena is found in its density, in the way that various riffs and rhythms work together to form a thick stream of catchy melodies and scattered beats. Another striking aspect of the band is how democratic it seems to be. In interviews (like the one I conducted with Seim a few weeks ago) for this new album, they’ve all described the tough, excruciating process that was behind the making of Mines. All three members are strong-willed, and will fight for what they think belongs on the album and what doesn’t. This comes through in the finished product, as Mines bounces from idea to idea, from style to style, while still maintaining that “Menomena sound.” All three members contribute songwriting and lead vocals, which makes for a rather unique listen, as it helps keep things interesting as you listen to the record as a whole.
Last night’s show illustrated this point clearly, as Seim took lead vocals for the opening song, Justin Harris for the second, and Brent Knopf for the third. Some songs feature all three of them on lead vocals, some are clearly focused on one member. But throughout it all, it’s a concentrated group effort, and it results in marvelous performances.
The band cycled through most of the songs from Mines and several from Friend and Foe. The group is very concentrated on stage and relatively serious, although they’re not afraid to break from the schedule now and then. At one point Seim’s enthusiastic drumming resulted in a cymbal and floor tom crashing to the ground and knocking over Harris’ baritone sax. After the gear was quickly re-assembled, Harris warned the crowd, “Now if you hear any strange saxophone notes, you know why.” Another bright (if strange) point came when a (seemingly) homeless man wheeled his cart onto stage during “Dirty Cartoons,” and proceeded to sit down at the front of the stage and pull out an impressive air-drumming performance. Then, as the band sang “Go home, go home/I’d like to,” he sadly walked off the stage, shaking his head. A very strange and hilarious moment, but in the context of the song, it really was quite powerful at the same time.
The amount of instrument switching and rearranging going on, even over the course of one song, was truly remarkable. Harris was the busiest of the three, bouncing from bass to guitar to saxophone and back again, along with using his feet to play a PK-5A foot controller for bass parts. Knopf switched between keyboard and guitar, but even on the keyboard he played a wealth of different sounds, going from piano to organ to synth, triggering samples that played a large role in replicating the album for the live show. Seim stuck to drums, but his prowess on the drum set is impressive enough as it is, that there was no need to try and do anything else. Seim’s drumming was the first thing to strike me about Menomena, and for the live show my belief that he’s one of the finest drummers working today was confirmed.
The band closed the night with “Strongest Man In The World” from their first album I Am The Fun Blame Monster!
. I love the song, but in the context of the show it was an odd choice to end the set; my friend and I both had the same confused look when they walked off the stage after that song. But the last song notwithstanding, the set was an incredible display of both their individual talents and their added power as a group.
The two opening bands were impressive as well. Portland’s Tu Fawning played a solid set of slightly otherworldly sounding music, with group vocals, tambourines, melodicas and kick drums combining for a rather vaudevillian aesthetic. New York’s Suckers, the second band of the night, played a solid set as well, closing with “It Gets Your Body Movin’,” my favorite track of theirs. My only problem with Suckers actually came during Menomena’s set. Now, I enjoy when the opening bands come back on stage during the headliner’s set to sing along to a big jam towards the end of the night. But –come on Suckers guy, you don’t need to come on stage for 3-4 songs throughout the set (bringing your girlfriend with you for one of them), especially when its an emotionally intense song that Seim is singing by himself into his microphone, as you’re trying to get your own voice into the microphone inches away from his face. But other than that, it was a great night and a very fulfilling one for me personally.
Previously: Photos: Menomena – High Noon Saloon (Madison)
Previously: Menomena Interview
Previously: Photos: Menomena – Empty Bottle, Chicago
MP3: Menomena – “Taos”
MP3: Menomena – “Five Little Rooms”
++
Buy: Menomena – Mines
, hasn’t been at the top of my most-played list so far. Honestly, it may not get a ton of further listens this year. But I would absolutely go to another live show, because that’s where you really get to understand what Gayngs is all about. It’s about being able to put away your conceptions about what constitutes “cool,” and what kind of music is okay to like if you’re an indie music fan in the year 2010. It’s about being able to lose these inhibitions when you’re among friends, and to be able to communicate these sincere, wide-eyed emotions with intense seriousness. It’s about having a good, smooth time. It’s about putting your middle fingers together in the shape of two guns, and holding it up for the world to see. 
