After finding out about the Monmon show a
week ago the amount of time I spent listening to the tracks on their website
gradually increased up till the 21st. There was something about the basslines
and the lead guitar which played together so compatitively. At first I only
listened to the track 'Whale', because it was the first on the list and it
sounded damn good. After a couple of days I started giving the other tracks
some time and.. dammnnn. I like his voice a lot, kind of raspy but clean at the
same time, and the drum beats are simple and steady. A nice range of paces and
vibes.
Anyway, I got to the Packhorse towards the
end of Round window's set. I felt a little out of place because the majority of
the crowd seemed in their 30s (don't get offended if I'm wrong, I'm not good at
judging ages). After awkwardly dipping myself in and out of the crowd I managed
to find a cave at the back and posted up. At first I thought 'uh-oh, Dad
rock' - a judgement purely based on appearance rather than musical prowess.
However into their second last song I realised these guys weren't playing
covers of the Rolling Stones or Prince (thank fuck) but were playing some
pretty decent originals. Their sound was somewhere in the indie/alt rock realm
of things, simple yet effective riffs with a 90s-esque, feel-good kind of vibe.
Sucks I only made it for the last 3 songs though, they seemed to be having a
really good time.
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| Round window.. a view from the back. Nice hat |
I went outside to rest my feet, I thought
it would be safe enough to sit on the ledge opposite the pub as Otley-runners
would be drawn towards either the bright glowing lights of Mahmoods or the
comforting drunken yelling emanating from the Packhorse. I was so comfortable
that I decided to lie down. Big mistake, I forgot how much drunk girls like to
sit on my face. I suddenly heard some familiar student drawls of "oh ho,
he looks fooked", and "why is he lieing down??". Then I hear
"Lets sit on his face!", and suddenly some random girl has her
panties hovering an inch from my nose. I didn't know whether to lift my tongue
or yell. Can't a man lie on the street without having to think about sex for
just 5 minutes? I was doing so well too..
Anyway, Monmon came on when I got back, the
crowd wasn't too thick, probably around 30 people or so meaning I was more or
less free to do what I wanted up at the front. Their first song wasn't that
great to be honest, the lyrics were a bit cheesy, I'm not sure what it was
called but it sounded kind of different to the songs I'd heard on their
website. After that hump however they started playing some really awesome
songs, both off and on the website. As a band they are really talented,
extremely well co-ordinated and the guitar and bass work together to make great
harmonies. One song I really like is "Roofie", the intro starts out
heavy and grungey, the chorus lifts it up into the light temporarily and then
the verse throws it back in the dirt. There was one slight dissappointment, the
drummer didn't bother doing the catchy half-beat skippy thing at various points in the
song but oh well, his call I guess. The bass lines
were one thing that struck me, really solid and quite dark, at points complex
but really easy to follow at the same time. Monkeyfist and Leeds Brig are good examples of
this. I can't remember what song they thought they were ending on but we managed to yell them the
fuck back on for another one, and thank god, they played Whale. I couldnt help
but laugh to myself, it was the most perfect way for them to end it. I really
suggest listening to that song on their site, the intro is so sick - the eerie
wailing guitar which fades into rising and falling bassline, counterbalanced by
a slow simple drum beat. The lyrics too… its good for swaying. All in all they
are a sick band, 3 instruments is all they need to get their point across and I
like that. Nothing too fancy, just straight up good music.
Listen to:
Round Window
Listen to:
Round Window
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| A sliver of silver... |
