Takaakira Goto with author
Japanese instrumental post-rock band Mono's adoring Austin fans crowded into the Mohawk on Saturday. The outside stage area and both patio decks were jammed with noise rock lovers eager to see the Japanese group who first appeared in Austin in 2001 at the South by Southwest Music Festival. The atmosphere was almost tangible with expectation. Mono delivered.
Austin seems to be fertile ground for the experimental rock scene. Case in point, bands like Explosions in the Sky and My Education have strong followings in the Live Music Capitol. So naturally Mono, from Toyko, were welcomed back to Austin with open arms. Even with Austin City Limits fresh in the memory banks of most local fans, there was an excited, anticipatory buzz circulating around the Mohawk before Mono began their set.
From the first note, the show was hypnotizing. Lead guitarist, Takaakira Goto's charismatic stage presence drew in the crowd. His technically superior playing style eventually led to Goto playing on his knees with his instrument inverted onto the stage so that he was playing the guitar both upside down AND backward. If that was not enough, he also appeared to hit his guitar with stylized punches as the show neared it's conclusion. The theatrics were matched by exquisite guitar work from Goto.
Bassist/keyboardist, Tamaki Kunishi was smack in the middle of the stage wearing a simple, but attractive black mini dress and f*ck me heels while she held tempo with Yasunori Takada on drums. In fact the entire band wore black possibly in an effort to appear monochromatic so that visually they reflect their band name. Rhythm guitarist, Yoda chimed in with layers upon layers of sound. The Mohawk crowd responded with an attentiveness normally reserved for a symphony performance.
Mono in Japanese is a modifier to common words. According to yahoo, "mono doesn't really have a meaning. you add mono to change the meaning of another word." After seeing Mono perform live, it seems the name is fits the band perfectly. Mono takes the most common rock instrumentation and turn it into something completely non-traditional yet wholly entertaining simultaneously. Just like the Japanese word qualifier, mono the band has taken something ordinary and turned it into something else. Seeing Mono perform was truly a memorable experience.
If Mono represents the future of experimental post-rock, then we all have something to look forward to. Mono will perform in Mexico and Australia before returning to Japan for their 10th Anniversary show in Toyko on December 21st. A short video from the performace is below. Recommend turning sound down due to distortion.
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