melophobe loves Menomena. If fact, our first concert review, way back in 2007, was a Menomena show in Boston. We declared their 2010 tour with Suckers and Tu Fawning one of the best of the year. And their last LP, Mines, took the #7 spot on our Best Albums of 2010 list.
So when Brent Knopf left the band at the end 2010, some of us at melophobe were a little crushed. Though by all accounts, it was a good split for everyone involved, we had hoped that they could overcome artistic and personal differences to continue writing and performing as a three-piece.
In the end, Menomena's redemption story had to end with the loss of Brent, and we've finally accepted that. And, yes, it does appear to be a happy ending to Menomena v1.0. As Chris Barth observed at SXSW 2011 and photographer Justin Kent echoed after Monday's Doug Fir show in Portland, "Menomena can still rock a live set." Kent reported that the band, which had Matt Dabrowiak and Paul Alcott of Dat'r supporting Justin Harris and Danny Seim, was in good spirits, interacting a lot with the crowd between songs. At one point, Alcott even paused to thank Knopf (who was in the audience!) for composing the music he was playing.
We're thrilled that Menomena is still going strong, and with the promise of new songs from Seim and Harris in the future, we can't wait to hear what Menomena v2.0 sounds like.
Still lamenting the end of Menomena v1.0? Their currently out of print debut release, I Am the Fun Blame Monster is being re-released May 24th. Bug your record stores!