Mono – Kings Arms December 10, 2015

The music did the talking last night at the Kings Arms as Mono played a blinding set proving that you don’t need a vocalist to tell a story when it comes to music.

Before the Japanese quartet took the stage, a couple of Auckland’s finest got things started. Unfortunately I missed Greenfog’s set, but arrived in time to catch Mothra.

The three-piece instrumental outfit was very extremely impressive as the mixed a jazz aesthetic with heavy rock overtones. Bassist Reuben Saffer was particularly remarkable thanks to his fluid bass lines that seemed to open up the band’s sound to another dimension. The fact that they projected film clips from the classic Japanese sci-fi film from where they got their name didn’t hurt either.

The four members of Mono took the stage at 10:35, with guitarists Takaakira Goto (Taka) and Hideki Suematsu (Yoda) seated on either side of the stage. Drummer Yasunori Takada was seated behind his kit and the rear, leaving the crimson-dressed bass player Tamaki Kunishi to be the most visible musician. She would sway from side to side throughout the set as she laid down her basslines, breaking out of her seeming trance when the music would suddenly explode, sending her and her bandmates into fits of musical ecstasy.

Just about all of the eight pieces the band performed over their hour-plus set fit into a similar template…a soft, fragile intro piece that would gradually build in intensity until the tension finally broke and the music burst out of the stage and stunned the crowd.

The experience was nothing less than cathartic, for both the musicians and the audience.

Tamaki put down her bass to play keyboards on Kanata and also played vibes on Where We Begin and Ashes In The Snow.

Meanwhile, drummer Yasunori Takada was a monster behind the kit, playing incredibly complex patterns and keeping everything together.

These four people have been making music together since 1999 and it shows. There was no oral communication on stage, but it was clear from listening to them that they were definitely communicating with each other on some kind of higher level.

It was a pleasure and an honour to be in their presence.

Marty Duda

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Mark Derricutt:

Mono set list:

1. Recoil, Ignite
2. Death In Reverse
3. Kanata
4. Pure As Snow (Trails Of The Wintry Storm)
5. Halcyon (Beautiful Days)
6. Where We Begin
7. Ashes In The Snow
8. Requiem For Hell