So where were you the night Michael Jackson died? Most of you were probably home watching television. Me, I was in Fibbers watching MONEEN. It was rather a whim gig, I wasn’t sure if they’d be entirely my cup of tea, but they looked interesting, and I elected to go along primarily because LIGHTS ACTION were supporting, and they’d seriously impressed me when they double-headered with Telegraphs in the same venue a couple of weeks previous.
And they impressed me again tonight. For a band that didn’t get a soundcheck, they sound seriously good. In fact, the slightly more ragged sound works well for them, bringing the edge that’s a part of their sound but not always immediately apparent further to the fore. This is particularly apparent – and beneficial – on the rockier tracks like ‘Travellin’ Man’ and rocked-up blues of the as-yet unreleased ‘Bastard Sons of the Sea,’ although it’s no detriment to the big-chorussed lighter-wavers like ‘Young Scarlet Young,’ either.
As the radio-friendly epic set-finisher ‘Bottom of the Sea’ draws to a close, singer Patrick leaps from the stage and bulldozes his way through the first few rows to find himself, micless, somewhere near the bar. It’s hard to tell if it’s frustration at not being able to hear in the monitors or exuberance, but it certainly makes for a memorable end to a solid set.
Moneen have drawn a respectable – and clearly devoted – crowd, and within minutes of launching into their set, it’s easy to see why. Emo’s become a dirty word in recent years, synonymous with whining teenagers with black eyeliner and nail polish. With bands like Fall Out Boy, Panic! At the Disco and My Chemical Romance churning out limp, hormonal teen angst about how everything sucks ‘coz the girl of your dream fancies some jock, it’s easy to forget the origins of the genre lie in the term ‘Emotional Hardcore.’ So while Moneen do deliver emotion, it’s a diverse array of emotions, with no shortage of passion in the mix. What’s more, there’s a heavier edge to the sound, with some truly monster riffs driving many of the tunes along – because yes, they are tuneful, too. It’s the blend of melody and big, big power chords – the guitar sound on lead track of the new EP ‘Hold that Sound’ is dirty, gritty and weighty – that make Moneen’s music so much more powerful than the aforementioned bands, and sets them apart from the pack.
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Texts start filtering through about a third into the set, and front man Kenny Bridges announces that Michael Jackson is thought to have had a heart attack. The atmosphere takes a turn for the strange, but the band play on. A song or two later and the news is that Jackson’s dead. But Moneen are professionals: they know the crowd have paid to see them and they play the rest of the set with the same boundless energy as they began. Bridges is remarkably agile – one moment he’s here, the next he’s there, and you could be forgiven for thinking there are more people on the stage than there really are.
Amidst the confusion that’s circulating, Moneen power their way to the end of the set (at which point there really are more people on stage) and leave the crowd on a high. A definite triumph.
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