Monolidic @ The Pig n' Whistle 10/6/07
My friend's boyfriend started a band awhile back with his friends, and they practiced for what seemed like a very long time, always saying, "No, no, we're not ready yet", if I asked when they were gonna play a show. They called themselves Monolidic, because they're all Korean and Chinese. (Being white, I'm not even sure I can laugh at that, so I'm just relaying it expressionlessly.) By all appearances, he and his friends were "K-town boys", going out every weekend and closing out the bars, but I knew my friend's boyfriend was a big indie kid, and a fan of Okkervil River, Pavement, The Veils, etc, and that the group of them also went and sang Radiohead songs at noraebang till God knows what hour, sometimes destroying tambourines, Who-like, while they were at it. So I was really curious to hear what they'd sound like. But then I missed their first 3 or 4 shows, due to conflicting plans.
I finally caught Monolidic at the Pig N' Whistle last Saturday night, and I can honestly say I was blown away.
Their live sound is a fun mix of raw-sounding indie rock and old school punk rock, and their lead guitarist, although he sometimes gets excited and outraces the drummer, plays excellent, melodic/spastic kind of riffs, jerking around in a way that totally reminded me of one of my heroes, The Clash's bassist Paul Simonon. He's already got the spiky hair; he'd just have to turn his collar up and start sneering, instead of grinning. The singer has a good, low voice and cool intensity, sometimes sounding a little bit like Billy Bragg without the accent. The songs were well-written too, with both high energy numbers and varied dynamics, one of them opening with just the singer playing quietly, and then building up nicely.
It would've been pretty bad-ass though, when the bassist whipped out a harmonica on one song, (as in the front pic), if he had smashed it to bits like a noraebang tambourine. But maybe next time.
Anyway, I'm happy to say they're a band to watch. The crowd was into it and the band's own enthusiasm was contagious, so it was a fun show. They're playing the Old Towne Pub in Pasadena on the 17th, if you want to check them out. (Which I recommend over the myspace, since the recordings aren't the best, and the video clips are both of slower songs.)
All photos by Jiwon Hong for LAist