I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: February 20, 2025] Mono

I saw Mono back in 2019 and I was blown away by their show.  I haven’t been able to see them since, and I was mildly bummed that they were opening instead of headlining this show.  But any chance to see them is a good one.  And, it introduced me to Alcest!

The crowd was really really into Mono.  In fact a couple of people up front left after their set.

They played mostly new songs.  All of their songs are instrumental and sound vaguely similar, so I can’t tell them apart.  That’s not an insult, they play seven to ten minute epic tracks that build to varying degrees of intensity and I could listen to them all night.

I was in front of guitarist Hideki “Yoda” Suematsu who is described as a rhythm guitarist but who does a lot more than that.   Bassist Tamaki Kunishi was in the middle (except for the one song she played keys on).   And Takaakira “Taka” Goto was on the far side of the stage (and hard to see on the mostly dark atmosphere).

Their drummer Dahm Majuri Cipolla was tucked in behind a rack of amps, and it was hard to see him.  He also had a gong!  And I was a little bummed that I could only see a part of it, but it was cool to see him smack it on two different songs.

They played for about fifty minute (five songs) and it was great.  A couple of fans were a little too intense for my liking.  A few too many whoops at quiet moments (I mean, come on, they’re making a mood) and the guy who shouted “I love you, I love you” sounded so much like Buddy the Elf talking to his dad I almost burst out laughing.

The five songs were terrific.  I loved hearing Ashes in the Snow again.  When the song started, both Tamaki and Dahm played glockenspiel, and that quiet opening made the ultimate explosion at the end even more powerful.

Like last time, the last song ended the same way.  Even though it was a different song.  When the drums stopped, Dahm, stepped away and waved.  Moments later, Tamaki left and it was just Taka and Yoda playing their guitars and messing around with the effects pedals. The song ended and the bass and drum left the stage while the two guitars bent over their pedals squeezing out the final noises.

When I saw them as headliners they were really dramatic and impressive on stage.  As an opening band, they stuck to the music–nothing flashy or fancy just 50 minutes of gorgeous intensity.

I’m so happy to have seen them again.

Ø = Oath (2024)
¶ = Pilgrimage of the Soul (2021)
⊗ = Nowhere Now Here (2019) 
Ψ = Requiem for Hell (2016)
≅ = Hymn to the Immortal Wind (2009)
ϖ = Walking Cloud and Deep Red Sky, Flag Fluttered and the Sun Shined (2004)
¹ = One More Step and You Die (2002)