LIVE: Of Men And Monsters @ The 9:30 Club - 11/25/12
All photos by Paul B. Jones (pjones@chunkyglasses.com/www.paulbjonesphotography.com)
It was a cold Sunday evening at the 930 Club. The line stretched down the street and around the corner. Though the near 30 degree weather every person in line stood with excitement and smiles. They had all come to enjoy a night of indie-pop-folk from the Icelandic masters Of Monsters and Men.
Since their release of “My Head is an Animal,” Of Monsters and Men have been riding a wave of popularity. Their single, “Little Talks,” can be heard from local rock stations to the top 20 radio.
This varied popularity was especially evident in the crowd that ventured to the 930 Club. The crowd was diverse in age, there were people from the early teens to parents to older adults. This diversity showed how their music can reach people of various ages. It was the mix of the usual hip twenty something’s; but in addition was several families, small kids, and a surprising amount of older adults.
The band started their amazing set with “Dirty Paws,” which introduced an energetic crowd to a band that is very comfortable in their own skin. They followed up with “From Finner,” “Slow and Steady” and “Mountain Sound.” Towards the middle of the concert they performed slower part of the set with songs “Your Bones,” (a cover by the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs,) “Skeletons” and passionate “Love, Love, Love.”
They picked up the energy level after the slow set with “King and Lionheart…” Finally the moment came when they played their hit single “Little Talks.” The crowd went crazy with singing, dancing, clapping and waving their arms to the beat. ) With this suspended energy, the set ended with “Six Weeks,” and five and half minute ballad of varying tempos and instrument changes.
The crowd cheered and clapped for the band as they exited the stage, and when the band finally reappeared and the crowd went crazy, yelling and clapping as they performed their encore set. They performed some lesser known songs called “Sloom,” “Beneath My Bed” and “Yellow Light.”
What was most impressive about this show was the bands cohesiveness. They played with all smiles and an unbridled energy and passion. The members of Of Men And Monsters are all extremely talented multi-instrumentalist, each of them playing not only their signature instrument, but each other instruments as well, occasionally winking at each other and making funny faces if someone accidentally hit a wrong note. That isn’t common in most bands, so it was a treat to see the extent of their creative talent.
