Moneen Celebrate Good Times

One thing I've never understood in regards to Moneen is the oft-used "shoegazer" label. The only way this applied to the band during their set at the Opera House on Wednesday night was when one of their shoes would be roughly at eye-level.

Whereas openers Our Mercury and The Junction used driving rhythms and odd time signatures to build tension, and Toronto upstarts the Cancer Bats completely discarded subtlety in favour of the in-your-face approach, Moneen relied purely on the strength of their songs and personalities to carry their intent. It was cool to see that the most obviously pop-oriented band also carried the most weight and played with the most passion.

What really set them apart was how they reworked their songs to create a more cohesive set, letting the first few notes of songs repeat and build until the entire room was ready to scream each opening lyric. They also used their machine-like precision to deviate from the original song structures and allow for a more free-flowing and spontaneous interaction with the crowd, while providing plenty of opportunity for requests.

Part way through their set, the band left singer Kenny Bridges alone on stage with an acoustic guitar to sing "The East Has Stolen What The West Wants." Chris "Hippy" Hughes joined him at the chorus, and the two demonstrated the emotional depth and strength their songs possess even without the cover of distorted guitars and drums.

During the few breaks between songs, Bridges took the opportunity to thank the crowd profusely, repeatedly talking about the virtues of a headlining set to a hometown crowd as opposed to the endless 30-minute sets they play on the road. The passion and enjoyment Moneen display was clearly shared amongst the audience, who took any opportunity to clap their hands in time with the songs.

During "No Better Way To Show Your Love Than A Set Of Broken Legs," the band stopped as Bridges led the audience through the arc of the crescendo, but the crowd interrupted him with a lively rendition of "Happy Birthday" in his honour. After playing "The Song I Swore To Never Sing" (which they claimed was the first time they've done it), they left the stage, only to return minutes later for an encore that included "Start Angry, End Mad" and crowd favourite "The Passing Of America." The latter concluded with a member of the audience on guitar, a friend of the band on drums, drummer Peter Krpan running around the stage with a cymbal and Bridges jumping into the crowd.

Finally leaving the stage after 90 minutes of note-perfect music, Moneen put on less of a show and more a celebration: an equal exchange between the band and their fans.