I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: August 7, 2017] Monakr

I had never been to The Foundry before. It is a small club (450 capacity) above The Fillmore in Philly. It’s a very nice place–couches, booths, a large bar and a really good sound system.

I had never heard of Monakr before this show.  They are a Chicago band, primarily synth.  I would have even said poppy, but there’s a few different sounds going on–some dance, some R&B and some alt music.

They played a short set (about 30 minutes) and it was all good.  The guys are all pretty good-looking, but that shouldn’t distract you.

Matthew Santos has a really powerful voice (he has the trappings of the pop star with the way he soars and sinks his high notes). And the way he moves his hands with the melody.  He also seemed very confident–well it turns out that he has sung on a Lupe Fiasco song and was nominated for two Grammies, so I guess that explains a lot.

The band is a four piece, but there were only three guys on stage, so I’m not sure if we had Dan Brunell or Saam Hagshenas on synths.  He was fun to watch because he had one of those devices with lots of white boxes that light up red when you play notes.  What set the band apart from your typical synth pop band was the addition of live drummer Jonathan Marks.  Marks’ drums (and especially cymbals) were surprisingly quiet–especially in a small place.  But he was really intense, playing some complex rhythms and patterns.

Their songs were fine.  I wasn’t really blown away by any of them.  But then he started singing lines that I knew from Elizabeth Fraser.  Turns out it was a cover of Massive Attack’s “Teardrop Explodes.”  It’s kind of audacious to cover a huge hit, especially one sung by an iconic female.  (I was more impressed when I thought it was a Cocteau Twins song).  While I prefer the original, obviously, their version was good–louder and with a very different vocal delivery.  It really brought the house around.

After that, their final song seemed to have a bit more life in it as well and they left the stage with everyone feeling petty good about them.