This year's pilgrimage to see the Japanese post-rock legends, one of the very few bands I like that my wife insists on going to see, despite not really liking post-rock. I think she's got a thing for Japanese men.
Sadly, the door staff at St. Luke's won't let me in with my camera, so there will be no pics or videos of the show. Still, I'll press on and see where this goes...
Line-up:
CAHILL COSTELLO: Scottish instrumental drum/guitar duo. Kevin Cahill on guitar and Graham Costello battering the fuck out of the drums. Cahill spends a lot of time on his knees shaking his flowing locks wildly, looking totally like a large shaggy dog worrying a bone. They describe themselves as 'ambient/post-rock' but they're way too in-yer-face to be ambient and way too mathy to be post rock. Mrs. Fudlip doesn't like them, but I do. Oh yes. They're VERY far from the worst band I've seen supporting Mono(Hello, Smoke Jaguar, I'm looking at you, here)
MONO: The aforementioned Japanese post-rock legends. And 'legends' they really are, having been devastating crowds for 25 years. Their 'OATH' alum has been out for a wee while now, since back in 2024, but this is the first chance I have to see bits of it done live.
They start with a couple of new ones- Run On and We All Shine On - neither of which present any surprises. They do what Mono songs do. The latter is, perhaps, the least adventurous song I've ever heard them play. It's still nice, though, but even the drummer looks a bit bored. The main surprise of the evening is that the two guitar botherers Taka and Yoda play STANDING UP throughout the whole show, a thing I have never seen before.
Anyway, a couple of oldies next - Innocence and Sorrow - before they bring out the big guns, and they play one of my personal favourites 'Recoil/Ignite' (video from 2014 https://youtu.be/OskQeuLuT0I). Stunning, as always.
Another new one next - Hear the Wind Sing - which features bass-lady Tamaki on piano. Maybe it's just the unfamiliarity of the new, but this is another one that doesn't really float my boat. But then everything is forgiven when they play Ashes in the Snow, EVERYBODY's favourite, which is pure glory, and they end the set with probably the best of the new ones, the very pretty Time goes By. Personally, I reckon they should have played those last two the other way round, but that's a minor quibble.
They go off for maybe two minutes, then they're back to 'encore' with the monstrous beast that is Com(?), the song that showed me, many years ago, how relentlessly brutal Mono could be. And still are. It's glorious and crushing, pounding and pummelling and one of the heaviest things you will see. St. Luke's organ pipes are illuminated in angry red, like bloody teeth behind the band, who are themselves barely visible as they flail about under flickering white lights.Here's a video of them playing Com(?) back in 2022, last time I saw them. https://youtu.be/T3i9ud7oTZE
I know that bands need to show off the new stuff, and that will always mean that old favourites are pushed aside to make room, but I still miss the likes of Halcyon and Yearning. Maybe the new songs will bed in and become the next favourites. Time will tell. In the meantime, Mono are, and always will be, a joy to see live. I just wish they would remember that Glasgow IS NOT the only city in Scotland.
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