Dan Hillier
With The Fleece decked out in Poundland’s finest Halloween tat ahead of the coming weekend’s club nights, tonight’s environment is quite a strange one for this bill. After all, one doesn’t envision Halloween themed student nights and all the hijinks they entail when listening to MONO. But Kevin Daniel Cahill presents something that’s perhaps even more terrifying than the cheap plastic ghoulies hanging from the venue rafters; one’s own thoughts.
One half of post-classical duo Cahill Costello, Kevin Daniel Cahill’s set is 30 minutes of looping ambient fretwork that’s minimal as it is atmospheric. With just a single guitar, an array of pedals and an evident understanding of how to get the most out of such a setup, Cahill essentially distils the atmospheric qualities associated with their headlining tour-mates and post rock as whole into a singular, one-man-delivered soundscape.
The end result is a sound to get lost within, a sound liminal and one perfect for pondering, reflecting and getting lost within ones own tangled thoughts. Clearly, it’s a sentiment clearly shared by all within this building given now everyone is either staring transfixed or listening with closed eyes. It’s a wonderful set that shows how expansive minimalism can be, and one that’s hilariously contrastive with it’s environment.
As for MONO, well, the walls of The Fleece could be decorated with real human remains and it’s likely not a single person would notice during this set; MONO are simply transfixing. Opening with with the gilded shimmer of ‘Run On’ prior to dropping into further material from their most recent record Oath, this set comes to stand as not just the first date of a month long continent wide tour, but a masterclass in the power of tension, release, and the of the liminal space between the two. What comes to pass is ultimately a lesson that keeps one and all in this room utterly arrested with a kind of silent attention and stillness that’s only rivalled by the skeletons hanging from The Fleece’s rafters.
Whilst MONO have always harboured a kind of real weight in their work, it’s the live environment that makes such a fact inarguably tangible. Offering a set that that’s continuous passage of sound that feels alive, breathing and almost human, tonight doesn’t serve feel like a show in promotion of their new record. Instead, it feels more akin to the band releasing the ever evolving creature of sound the band have spent years rearing.
As this sonic beast roils through thunderous cascades of heft with the likes of ‘Sorrow’ before delicately sauntering through the delicate beauty synonymous with that of ‘We All Shine On’ and ‘Hear The Wind Sing’, it’s impossible to not be in absolute awe of the emotion such a creature radiates. Even during the quieter passages where gaggles of students can almost be heard going to and fro to Halloween events, one can simply not draw their gaze from the soul of sound MONO manifest here.
Judging from the crowd reaction, it’s a sentiment universally shared here. But with the vast majority of punters here donning previous tour apparel, shirts from other post rock bands of similar ilk or donning merch from the nearby held ArcTanGent, it’s safe to say that the majority here are well acquainted with previous renditions of MONO’s live creation. But whilst some features of this set remain unchanged, such as the life affirming nature of the set staple that is ‘Ashes In The Snow’, to see almost metaphysical beast in a new evolved form with new features taking the shape as material from Oath is a sight to behold. Truthfully, MONO’s live creation is as towering, bestial and imposing presence that can seem as daunting as the creatures of Halloween lore – something proven with the raging closer ‘Com(?)’ – but a beast that will provide nothing but comfort and awe with the kind of patience that MONO as a creative entity demand.