MONA...

Hey guys!

Apologies for the long delay between posts, all work and no beer make Tom a VERY dull boy!

 
Today I’m going to be talking about a gig I had the absolute pleasure of attending, with my good friend Mark. This is a band that has recently been nominated for the BBC sounds of 2011, the MTV Earls of Indie awards, and won the MTV New Band for 2011.  
MONA are an American four piece rock band, hailing from Nashville, Tennessee. Formed in 2004 and sporting a boarder line 60 Greaser style and a Johnny Cash swagger, (that even the man himself would be proud of) these guys transcend merely a rock band…. They’re a bunch of genuinely top blokes!

Arriving in the Cockpit, Leeds, you’d be hard pressed to think it was much of a ‘big group’ music venue. It’s small and cramped, but in some ways has an elegance and intimacy that larger venues sorely lack… and filled almost to capacity it was ready to rock.

MONA took to the stage with a ‘cryptic’ set list, and to an air of high anticipation throughout. Having herd four of tracks (…which I loved…) I had very high hopes for a great gig, and being stood right at the front, within touching distance of the guitarist build my excitement further!

The band started without further-adu, and slammed straight into their second single “Trouble on the Way” which, I’ll be honest I had no idea what the rest of the crowd where doing, all I know is I was loving it!

Moving swiftly forward they hammered home their latest single “Teenager”, a personal favourite, and the crowd was going wild. With a high ‘student’ population at the front it was hard to miss the elation throughout, my only problem was that it seemed to be over too fast…

Then came the other two MONA tracks I’ve herd, “Lines in the Sand” & ”Listen to Your Love” (which the band have a new video out for… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6spfw6JNsM) It was a great feeling to be within a group of people who all had the same feeling that they were witnessing the start of something special.

However, after the first four songs had been played, and with no debut album out there seemed to be a sense of nervous anticipation about what was to come next. The gig was rocking, but all of the big hitters had been knocked-out… or so we thought!

MONA managed to keep a rocking audience without the aid of ‘headline tracks’! Something I’ve never experienced before! Tracks such as “Say You Will” went down a very well with the crowd, and with the lead singer actually jumping into the (only about a foot away) audience during “Pavement” it seemed they could do no wrong!

Then came the encore, which felt like it was over all too fast….

Only for the band to throw away the rule book, and give the crown exactly what the wanted, by coming out and performing the Johnny Cash inspired “Lean Into The Fall” as a second encore!

After the gig I was left with the impression of a band that are in the ascendancy. A highly polished, and flowing performance, gave MONA the feel of a band who just naturally click. Leaving the crowd wanting more and a burning desire to hear more more more!!

MONA are releasing their self titled debut album on the 16^th May, and pack more punch than your average indie-rock bands put together. If you get the chance DEFINATLY go and see them, if not be sure to check out the album when it comes out, it should be a stormer!

(Had to mention also that after the gig in the attached bar me and Mark got to meet the band, and they’re a bunch of seriously cool guys, and put up with basically a pair of, what were by then, “fan girls” in the two of us. Cheers lads!)

Thanks for reading! Get involved with MONA on Fb and Twitter:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/monatheband

http://twitter.com/#!/MONATHEBAND

Cheers Tx