Though they’ve been playing for almost 10 years, is just really starting to make the step from club band to theater band, something bassist Justin Harris pointed out during their set. After playfully joking with drummer Danny Seim, saying “Danny is taking the ‘Mile High’ thing too seriously,” he pointed out (to Danny), “This isn’t the ; this is the !”
Menomena, who until recently was a trio consisting of Harris, Seim, and Brent Knopf, is currently touring behind its third album, “Mines,” with additional guitarist Joe Haege to thicken the sound somewhat. However, the band hews close to its experimental indie rock roots, and tries to keep it light. At one point, Knopf had Seim laughing and having to put his sticks down when he mimed a stick count to start a song.
There’s really no defining the Menomena sound, though some songs do have more obvious influences than others. “Killemall,” for instance, bears the stamp of the Cure and Robert Smith proudly, and other songs seem to have some ties to ’80s Goth or ’60s psychedelia.
Part of the fun of watching a Menomena show, aside from the humorous stage banter, is watching the musicians switch instruments. Kopf is often playing piano/keys and guitar on the same song, while Harris will switch between guitar, bass, and sax.
The band laid a groove early on the set-opening “Tithe,” anchored strongly by Seim’s demented percussion attack, following with “Taos,” with Harris laying down thick, chunky rhythms under Knopf’s ethereal piano sounds, elicited via a keyboard hooked to a laptop on stage.
Many of Menomena’s songs have strong vocal hooks and harmonies, and all four members sing backup, with Knopf, Harris, and Seim singing lead on different songs. “Weird” featured a memorably hook-laden vocal harmony driving a synth-bass line triggered by Harris using foot pedals. It’s not quite a Geddy Lee level of proficiency, but it certainly sets Menomena apart from the pretenders.
On “Muscle’n flo,” Knopf and Harris both played guitars, creating a wall of sound with Haege that would have done any guitar god proud. The trippy, hypnotic “Queen Black Acid” alternated slide fills from Haege around a twangy guitar line from Harris.
While some people associate indie rock with “can’t play their instruments,” the members of Menomena are all fierce players. On “Five Little Rooms,” Harris and Seim matched up for a machine gun-like churning rhythm under Knopf’s guitar and piano.
Indie music does, of course, give the players room to honor their influences while creating something new. “The Pelican” sounded like it could have come from John Lennon’s most acid-drenched playing on the “White Album,” while on Knopf’s “Sleeping Beauty,” Harris’s acoustic guitar strumming provided an almost folky vibe to the synth-rich chorus.
Judging by the enthusiastic audience reception at the packed Bluebird, Menomena will likely be playing even larger venues on their next go-round. Catch them now, while you still can.
SET LIST (thanks to the guy standing next to me, who knew every song!)
Tithe
Taos
Weird
Killemall
Muscle’n flo
Five Little Rooms
Bote
Queen Black Acid
Wet and Rusting
Dirty Cartoons
The Pelican
Sleeping Beauty
Evil Bee
Encore: West, Strongest Man in the World
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Candace Horgan is a Denver freelance writer/photographer and regular contributor to Reverb. When not writing and shooting, she plays guitar and violin in Denver band the defCATS.
