Reviewed on 17th May 2005.

Mono

Live at Joseph's Well on Monday, 16th May 2005

They came all the way from Japan to play in Leeds, so I thought I could make the journey from Bradford to see Mono, purveyors of epic, sky scraping post rock a la Mogwai, Godspeed, etc.

First up though, we have local lads A Day Left, who whiz through some big, loud numbers, complete with screaming, cello bows and crazy afro haircuts. Wasn't exactly my cup of tea, but for what they were I guess they were pretty entertaining. They had quite a fierce little crowd with them too, so it's far beyond me to say anything bad about them. Catchy emo? Post rock? Bundle the two together I think, and you're halfway there.

Red Stars Parade were just fucking loud though. Again, not exactly my thing, but the sound was good and clear, which is always a plus when it's insanely heavy metal we're talking about. Any fans of Envy or equally loud, monstrous metal music would be advised to check them out. A bit like Marmite I think - you either get it or you don't. Again though, they seemed to be enjoying it all, and the crowd seemed happy enough, so they must've been doing something right.

Mono though were just immense. There are no words to describe how passionate and intense they looked, sounded and felt all night. Two guys sat with guitars on their laps, a girl who looks slightly frightened stood between them playing bass, and a drummer somewhere in the background, hiding.

On tracks like set opener '16.12', they simply amaze with their unique guitar playing style, their gentle swaying and their intense concentration until it just implodes into one of those ball crushingly intense moments, full of squealing guitars, heavy feedback and insane amounts of noise. And then, as if by magic, it's so quiet you can hear a pin drop. Well, empty glasses anyway.

The music on display tonight ranges from the most beautiful, pleasant tones, reminiscent of say Stafrænn Hákon, or Mogwai at their most serene, to the sound of apocalypse.

During 'Lost Snow' I swear I could hear the end of the world coming, and when it does, it's sure as hell gonna sound like that did - guitars crying in agony, drums going into overdrive and a bass being pummelled into oblivion.

It's a hell of a contrast, and when you feel the song rising and becoming more and more intense, you have one of those moments where you just wish every gig could be like this- and when it hits you, it hits you hard.

Amazing, awe-stricken faces were lining the crowd, and mine was one of them.