Menomena has been through a lot. Formerly a trio, the band said goodbye to Brent Knopf – a founding member and songwriting force – earlier this year, as an increasingly acrimonious situation led to the seemingly inevitable, eventual split. Though the parting was more or less amicable, it raised questions: Would the band lose its mojo? Would Menomena become something different? Would Brent’s departure leave a gaping hole in the lineup we had come to love?
Those are tough questions to answer, and certainly not queries that can be suitably addressed in the course of a single half hour set. The band’s next record will be perhaps their most important yet, and the neo-duo will have to work hard to retain their vitality with a member of their core absent. The band’s set at Flamingo Cantina during SXSW did answer one question, however. Menomena can still rock a live set.
Drawing on records both old and new, Menomena played a set of hits with fire in their eyes. Sweating profusely in the midday sun streaming through the bar’s open back, singer Justin Harris slayed dragons like “TAOS,” “Muscle’n Flo,” and “Pelican” to the delight of the crowd. These giants (both Harris and drummer Danny Seim tower well above 6 feet tall) made previous stage occupants Surfer Blood look like absolute children. Menomena’s lineup may look a little different, but this band is very much still with us.
