Menomena, Tobias Cummings @East Brunswick Club, Melbourne(08/02/2011)

Sun 13th Feb, 2011 in Gig Reviews

After missing Menomena at Laneway Festival a few days prior, cashing in on a second opportunity to catch their live show seemed like a wise move. Judging from the conversations taking place around the gradually filling East Brunswick Club as support act Tobias Cummings appeared, many members of the near-capacity crowd had opted for a double dose.

Cummings and his hired men seemed to start a little shakily, and while the set picked up momentum as it progressed, things never really took off. The group of people on stage seemed more like a band than a solo artist/backing ensemble, but the obvious emphasis on Cummings seem to restrict the performance. At least the music sat comfortably alongside the headline act, and the performance ended before those looking on started to lose patience.

Despite this being the first visit to Australian shores for Portland’s Menomena, they managed to attract an impressively excitable crowd. There was ecstatic cheering as the band emerged on-stage and launched straight into, uh…attempting to fix their stage monitors. This would have been quite awkward if it hadn’t been for some playful stage banter – but partial credit for that goes to the fans in the front few rows. Eventually getting things started with Muscle ‘n’ Flo, the band seemed poised to deliver a performance every bit as great as their recorded work. Sadly, it never quite got there. It could have been the lack of any real stage lighting or the strangely dry mix, but there just seemed to be something missing.

Looking around, it was difficult to work it out. Danny Siem was fantastic behind the drum kit, and watching him sing lead vocals over his own drum fills was pretty damn impressive. Fellow core member Justin Harris was also a treat to watch, and spent the set making solid and often simultaneous contributions on bass, lead vocals, floor synth or the biggest goddamn saxophone you’ll ever see. Even the two session musicians brought along for the ride held their own – so why did it feel so flat? I hate to say it, but the loss of founding member Brent Knopf seemed to be telling. Every now and then, flashes of brilliance in the form of a flawless four-part harmony or killer drum fill would lift the performance, but even then it was only momentary.

Menomena were greeted ecstatically – and that audience energy definitely propped up the performance – but by the end of their set I just wanted to go home, turn the lights off and listen to Friend and Foe in the dark; particularly since that album cropped up criminally few times in a very Mines-heavy setlist. Despite the obvious crowd enthusiasm, I guess the band weren’t really feeling it either. Cutting a song from their setlist, they capped the night off with a one song encore and left me feeling a little short of satisfied.