Can You Gig it?: Moneen @ Camden Barfly, London

This is a guest spot by Laura Scott, who is from somewhere called Canada. Recently she went along to see a band called Moneen, who are from – hey! – Canada as well.

The other week I had the chance to check out Moneen at the Camden Barfly, as they headlined one of two UK shows before kicking off their week-long tour with Brand New. Despite the fact the show had been organised fairly last minute, with the band having to borrow equipment from opening act Lights. Action!, the Barfly was packed and Moneen delivered a solid performance.

Playing predominantly old material with a few new songs from their forthcoming album The World I Want to Leave Behind, they had the whole room singing along from the moment they stepped on stage.

The four-piece indie rock group from Ontario, Canada formed in 1999 and have released three albums to date, with their new and highly-anticipated follow up to The Red Tree (2006) expected to drop sometime this fall. They have developed quite a reputation over the years for their stunning live performances, and this show was no exception.

They kicked things off by launching into “Are We Really Happy with Who We Are Right Now?” (heavy, man – Ed) as vocalist and guitarist Kenny Bridges delivered an indefatigable performance, leaping around the stage. This was followed by a number of old favourites, including “Bleed & Blister”, “Tonight I’m Gone…” and “The Passing of America”, much to the delight of the crowd.

They also took the opportunity to play two new songs, “Hold That Sound”, from the new EP, and “Believe.” The new material seems to be a bit of a departure from the tech-rock sounds of their last albums. Regardless of this shift, both new and old fans received the new material enthusiastically, only adding to the anticipation surrounding their upcoming release.

As their set came to an end, Moneen finished up on a high with “Don’t Ever Tell Locke What He Can’t Do.” At this point general mayhem broke out as the crowd surged with excitement, fans jumping up onto the stage and all the microphones, with the exception of guitarist/vocalist Hippy’s, seemingly disappearing into the crowd.

Moneen are an astounding live band that consistently deliver passionate, high-energy rock that continues to impress. It is for this reason that the band has developed such a loyal following with some fans travelling from as far away as Norway just to see them play. Hinting that they may be back in the fall to tour their new album, I would highly recommend taking advantage of this second chance to go check them out.

This review first appeared on PopJunkie