An Instrumental Rock Music Detour
I’m not a huge fan of Explosions in the Sky, but I rather liked their live shows that I’m more than willing to go to them repeatedly. It’s definitely a very different experience than listening to their music as one normally do nowadays–from headphones off a PMP. I guess it would probably be more accurate to say that I’m a big fan of live music in general.
But at the same time why instrumental rock? I get the feeling there’s some kind of affinity between the people I run into that digs anime and people I run into that digs, say, World’s End Girlfriend. If by affinity I mean the power to combine and create singular people who like both. In one body. This gentleman over here is an upstanding example.
Well, I mean I guess I could write a post about people liking sandwiches and liking anime, but somehow post rock just hasn’t gotten that much headway into the mainstream, despite the small successes a band like Explosions may have had. I don’t even think this is the kind of music your average music lover would get into, even if they can appreciate it. In other words, it’s not an arbitrary match; it’s no mere correlation between post-rock fans and English-language anime otaku online. There has to be some reason besides statistical collision of a large thing against a small thing. I suppose anime is pretty large?
I wish I can offer something other than my anecdotes, but I cannot. Instead I’ll talk about how Mono, which is probably one of the more notable Japanese group in the genre, rocks out with an orchestra. This detour is brought to you by Twitter, which now consumes probably more attention than it deserves out of my life.
Mono is currently on tour. Or was. I can’t say for sure, but they have been doing shows in the UK and beyond earlier this year. It also helps to know that Mono’s American publisher is located in NYC, so NY is a common destination for these folks. There’s a vibrant underground music scene in the city that never sleeps, as you can imagine.
You can see some pictures of the venue they played on Friday, May 8th, here. It’s the chapel of some pseudo-religious organization in which stadium-seated pews surround a fairly large stage. The evening began with people standing in random clumps, blocking flow in the narrow corridors that typifies an American church. There was a lot of stuff to do before the show, and the lack of good air circulation made sitting and waiting no more pleasant than standing and waiting.
The Friday show sold out very soon after tickets were on sale, all the way back around New Years, so Mono added a Saturday show. I don’t have the details to that besides that it’s at a different venue (that is smaller and more like a normal concert venue), so maybe I’ll get back to this post and add something once I hear from those who went.
This is the first time I’ve seen Mono live. Their act didn’t leave a particularly strong impression, although I get the feeling they were going for the whole orchestra motif. The bassist chick (righty, unfortunately for you K-ON tards) even wore this appropriately recital-like dress and hammered on the piano for a while. Much of the act was played sitting down, so there’s a very different kind of dynamic for the most part of the show.
And I think this kind of post rock is all about dynamics. Listening to it in a live is akin of swimming in a sea of sound; it’s almost like the experience similar to how this guy does it, like reaching into the aquarium and webbing up the dying goldfish, putting it out of its misery. A watery analogy is wholly appropriate; the aural experience is akin to the ebb and flow of sound in a loosely-structured narrative. Unlike a lot of post rock, Mono tells a well-defined tale. Still, perhaps because the venue was way too warm and I have way not enough sleep, I had a hard time distinguishing the larger motif of sound. However, each act, or song, was framed in a way that honors enough repetition and common understanding of dynamics, and just loose enough to feel not-that-repetitive. And yes, it had to be somewhat repetitive to highlight the up moments; the occasional peak in the sound that sends the backup orchestra scurrying into oblivion and the crowd on to the next level.
The Friday performance started off with the Wordless Music Orchestra, which is put together as a part of this, I think. It is a very awesome idea if you ask me, and I think it may be the key to unraveling that affinity I alluded to much earlier. At any rate, the orchestra played a piece to open for the band. It’s actually a good allusion to Mono’s musical style in that the contemporary classical piece seemed equally drab and even less defined than Mono. It is a great way to take the edge off an otherwise energetic evening, to put it kindly. But it wasn’t suppose to be the kind of show that you go and bang your head to the rhythm, so it was appropriate.
For Mono’s acts, the orchestra shed some of its 30-piece ensemble and only took out the prominent string section with a percussionist or two. The orchestra played on, not unlike some brave Viking ship charging headstrong into the North Atlantic. At times, Mono would get quite stormy. The anecdote a friend at the show described was how one of the cellist totally startled himself during one of Taka’s raving jam session (Pure as Snow?), after a relatively long period of moody coaxing of sound. The poor cellist sat next to the amp stack, so that much is expected.
But just like those Viking ships do get lost at sea, sometimes you really can’t hear the orchestra. If stacking different reverberated and distorted sounds marks the typical way a post-rock guitarist going at it, then the subtle, strong but ultimately non-amplified string ensemble will get “filtered out” at some point. The cellists had to stick their cheeks next to their cellos to get a clue what they’re playing because they just couldn’t hear themselves; naturally the audience had no chance. Granted, this wasn’t often the case and some songs did work very well with a backup orchestra, but it just leaves me to wonder if they could have done it better.
And some songs did work out well, especially the more subdued tracks, like Silent Flight, Sleeping Dawn. (obv.). Pure as Snow also worked well even if it became hard to hear after. The set list is something like most of Hymn plus some fan faves:
- Ashes in the Snow
- Burial at Sea
- Silent Flight, Sleeping Dawn
- Are You There?
- Pure as Snow
- 2 Candles, 1 Wish
- Where Am I
- Follow the Map
- Halcyon (Beautiful Days)
- Everlasting Light
I think the key thing about the show was that it’s experimental rock/orchestra music. Key word being experimental. I definitely had no idea how it would have worked out. Mono did perform with a string ensemble before, and I would guess it sounded a bit like how it was last weekend. My preconception of the two definitely collided in a game of chicken and I am not sure who emerged as victor. Perhaps neither did. Instead, some concert promoters and the advancement of post rock genre as a whole might have sat on the sidelines and laughed to themselves like smug bastards. I can’t say I didn’t enjoy the show, however, so all is well.
Interesting coincidence, I actually discovered both Mono and Explosions in the Sky a couple of weeks ago while using up my monthly emusic credit. Very engrossing music. Guess I might have to see if they’re coming down here any time soon. :)
Check out IA http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=explosions%20in%20the%20sky for live stuff. They usually have a good deal of live stuff. Grab some Red Sparowes and Godspeed You Black Emperor if you find some.
I was pretty ticked that I couldn’t get tickets for Mono’s show here in ‘06 (they were playing in a really small joint, but I did catch Deerhoof).
On another note, I think these post-rock bands sort of deliver something from the shoegaze which is, My Bloody Valentine. They are nowhere near as loud, delirious, or sexy, but have a clearer composure. It’s good stuff.
I love me some post-rock, and it’s a sound that really does work so much better live. On the recordings, the slow parts usually become too much for me, but live it’s amazing. I recently saw Cynic live, who is like a mix of prog and post-rock, and it felt like my soul was leaving my body or something. Very powerful shit.
you would not believe my surprise when i found out that lastarial likes animes, 65dos, AND trains. what an upstanding netizen.
I’m kicking myself for not coming across the aforementioned bands up until now. Thanks for the write-up!
kransom: yes, he’s got pretty much everything going for him.
digitalboy: I have a hard time getting into post rock now, only because I can barely stand to listen to it using headphones or not turn the volume all the way up. So generally I just listen to something else. Awesome lives ruined me.
schneider: I’d definitely recommend Explosions as they are a good gateway band into this genre. 65 Days of Static is also p. easy to get into.
I suppose it’s weird that I’ve heard of Mono and Explosions in the Sky, but Oasis was brand new to me. I blame Cymbaline.
These things are great for late nights in the lab, with the volume turned up, too.
Interesting, I love post-rock. I have never heard any live, but reading that has certainly made me wish too.
I totally recommend live post-rock. It’s a wholly different experience for most people, just because most people are not hardcore audiophiles with their $$$$ speakers at home.
Based on my vast personal experience seeing post-rock bands live (1 show lol), my feeling is there are better genres to see live. I like a bit of spontaneity, and fun. Music isn’t always srsbsns, afterall — and if other post-rock acts aren’t srsbsns 100% of the time, never mind. That being said, I recommend the 2008-04-02 eits show on archive, dude who recorded it knows his shit…
Well, the reason why I like post-rock live is a srsbzns reason, but I’ve been to “fun” lives where it’s, lol, fun times, so that’s a different reason.
I have seen quite a bit of this stuff live, and I’d have to say I’m looking forward to Mono. You nailed one thing, at least for this particular strain of post-rock: it’s about the dynamics. Explosions can certainly pull that off, although I didn’t find them to be incredibly riveting. Godspeed You Black Emperor! were mind-melting every time I saw them (most of them sit while they play too, but I guess that’s how string players do it), although they have a tendency to go like 3 hours and make you forget you’re enjoying it.
On the flipside, the less dynamically-focused bands can be great as well. Seeing Stars of the Lid (is Texas the post-rock capital of the world or something?) do basically one thing for 40 minutes was completely captivating. They also had strong visuals though, with a giant projector going around the room. And Labradford didn’t do much with dynamics either, but made everyone forget the headliner when I saw them open for Low.
Anyway, like I said, looking forward to it. Mono are a dramatic and dynamic band and as long as I can find a comfy place to watch from (that was the key to the epic Godspeed shows) I’m sure I will enjoy it. Thanks for the preview.
I absolutely adore post-rock. Love the bands mentioned, especially live. It just carries the emotions of the songs way better.
BTW, you might want to check out some pioneering acts like “Tortise” and “Mogwai” if you haven’t already done so.
Could you maybe be even more specific and say slice of life anime and post rock?
Nice accompanying picture… I am looking forward to seeing more classic music images rendered through a K-on filter.
Btw, as the recommendations are flying, I’ll big up God is an Astronaut (http://www.superadmusic.com/god/). They’re from Northern Ireland, but they have toured the US in the past so go check ‘em out. Nicest guys in the genre.
dare I be so specific merely on anecdotes! although you might be right…