MONO live in Seattle
October 13th, 2009, 8:45 AM
Written by: Nikki Benson
To See Rating 9.5/10
Just Curious Rating 10/10
Band Members
Takaakira “Taka” Goto: guitar
Tamaki: bass, piano, glockenspiel
Yoda: guitar
Yasunori Takada: drums, glockenspiel
When Taka, Tamaki, Yoda, and Yasunori took the stage, the audience roared. They knew what was coming. MONO started the set with “Ashes in the Snow.” Taka introduced the set with the ambient noise of subtle distortion, and then looked to Yasunori to begin with the delicate trickles of a glockenspiel. Tamaki assisted on second glockenspiel to add a ironic twist to the once innocent sound. Taka then looked to Yoda, and with a gentle hand, he caressed the air to count off a simultaneous guitar start. Their soft guitar notes fell to the ground like tear drops.
MONO’s style of music, much likes a symphony, has crescendos and decrescendos to the superlative degree. This chilling introduction to the set was sure to be followed by thunderous roars. The audience, fully captivated, observed in silence and waited to be blown away. They were not disappointed. At exactly the right moment, sound came crashing through the venue like waves as violent as a tsunami.
MONO’s set list consisted mostly of content from Hymn to the Immortal Wind as this tour is in support of that album. However, they are not touring with a full orchestra as the album was designed to be showcased. To make this tour ultimately dynamic, they added a couple of their most epic songs that flowed with the album and intensified their heavy metal side. A favorite was “Yearning.”
When “Yearning” began, the audience began to shift a bit, for they knew what was coming. All members of the band held their heads low, faces enveloped with black hair like plumed feathers, and the drums pounded on . . . and on. As the sound was taken down to the strum of a single guitar string, the room exploded with noise as cataclysmic as napalm. Taka lifted his right arm off of strums in a full-armed extension in display of the extent of his emotion–and yet more sound erupted. Bringing this sixteen-minute song to a conclusion was a ceremony in itself; it started as softly as it began. Taka finished on his knees as if his yearning bore no fruit and he had no choice but to give up. The dark road continued as they played “Battle to Heaven.”
Lead by Tamaki on keys, MONO concluded the set with “Everlasting Light.” This song was the perfect ending to the set as it celebrates the dichotomy of triumph and tragedy. For the first five minutes of the song, Yasunori laid his head on his folded hands as if he were in a prayer. After the introduction to the song, Taka and Yoda played their guitars by themselves for a bit as Tamaki returned to her bass. As the intensity built, the most beautiful thing happened; Taka, Tamaki, and Yoda turned to face Yasunori. They looked to Yasunori as if there were no one else in the room. It didn’t feel like they needed Yasunori to lead the timing, it felt like they were honoring him by allowing him to lead to conclusion of the set. As the cymbals crashed, they honored each other as family. As tears streamed down audience members faces, MONO took off their instruments, Taka blew a kiss to the audience, and all of them exited the stage–no encore, it was over.
Taka, Tamaki, Yoda, Yasunori, thank you so much for what you do. For some, it was an incredible show. For others, you changed their lives forever.
Please enjoy “The Battle to Heaven,” “Yearning,” and an interview captured before the set. If you are interested in seeing more MONO footage, please visit the “MONO live in NYC” post captured in May 2009 featuring a 24 piece orchestra. There is an additional interview at on that post as well.
Upcoming Shows
Oct 13 2009 8:00P El Rey Theatre Los Angeles , CA
Oct 14 2009 8:00P Club Congress Tucson, AZ
Oct 15 2009 8:00P Launch Pad Albuquerque, NM
Oct 16 2009 8:00P Hailey’s Denton, TX
Oct 17 2009 8:00P The Mohawk Austin, TX
Oct 19 2009 8:00P Polyforum Cultural Siqueiros Mexico City, Mexico
Oct 20 2009 8:00P FBOLKO Guadalajara, Mexico
Dec 3 2009 8:00P Transmission Room Auckland, New Zealand
Dec 4 2009 8:00P The Hi-Fi Melbourne, Australia
Dec 5 2009 8:00P Manning Bar Sydney, Australia
Dec 6 2009 8:00P The Hi-Fi Brisbane, Australia
Dec 21 2009 8:00P 10th Anniversary Orchestra Show / Shibuya O-EAST Tokyo, JP
Categories: -Rock, Concert Reviews, Interviews, Post-Rock, The Best Of | Tags: An Interview with Taka of MONO, MONO, MONO live in Seattle WA, MONO Live review, MONO live show, Taka, Takaakira Goto, Tamaki, Yasunory Takada, Yoda
