04.15.08
Its not for the cock, its for being way overdue.
Menomena, Nottingham Rescue Rooms, 28/02/2008
Menomena are a mix. All three members are impressive multi-instrumentalists who so far have created three albums exploring many different styles and influences from the Blur like ‘Rotten Hell’ to the rolling funk bass and saxaphone in ‘Gay A’ which are all wrapped up in grammy nominated artwork. Tonight in Nottingham the trio’s individual performance styles add yet another dimension to the band’s variety. The juxtaposition of drummer Danny Seim’s performance, which is how you’d imagine Frankenstein’s monster would have been if he’d been given the arms of a talented percussionist and a decent set of pipes, with keyboardist Brent Knopf’s giddy, almost imp-like performance wonderfully displays the unrestricted way in which Menomena both perform and make music. The evening’s performance is a charmingly intimate affair with the barrier, both mental and physical, between audience and artists became increasingly blurred as time went on. Shots of Jagermeister are passed between the band and the audience after guitarist and vocalist Justin Harris jokingly asked for ‘an alcoholic remedy’ after apologizing for his voice due to a cold. By the end of the generous and well thought out set, which included a wide range of the band’s recording career, the more enthusiastic members of the audience were pulling distorted shapes along with their new found friends on stage. By the end of encore ‘Rotten Hell’ the crowd showed their reluctance to part ways with the band with a prolonged warm round of applause for which the band looked grateful to receive.
Spanish said,
April 18, 2008 at 8:35 pm
wo0p! in my top 15 gigs ever… maybe! What about the interview with Brent? have you written about that yet?