Skip to main content[experimental-pop perfection...in the flesh] During Menomena's 2004 I Am the Fun Blame Monster! brilliance spree, I was lucky enough to see the experimental pop trio perform four, maybe five times. The crux of these performances happened during mid-summer in a sweltering Lola's Room: The song was "Strongest Man in the World"—a slow-burning pop number of heavy, looping atmospheric synth cut with delicate piano and simple, tender vocals—and the performance was so affecting it brought my then-girlfriend to tears.
But, by the last time I saw Menomena play that year—before the band slipped into a three-year hiatus/incubation—its live show had flagged and gotten tired, even bored. I never expected to see the sort of crux that happened that night at Lola's again, and I don't think I was the only one. I suspect the band also knew it had something to live up to, as its members—Brent Knopf, Danny Seim and Justin Harris—came out with guns blazing this past Sunday at the Crystal Ballroom. Complete with a 20-person choir and notable guest players Joe Haege (31Knots) and Brandon Summers (Helio Sequence) on guitar and drums, respectively, Menomena's performance—a dual celebration of the ballroom's 93rd birthday and the release of the band's sophomore full-length, Friend and Foe—was flawless, the sort of flawless that makes you feel like a jackass for clapping for an encore.
So, yes, I was wrong. Menomena resurrected "Strongest Man" for the near-capacity crowd, and it sounded as fresh as if the band had just discovered the song the day before—and spent every second since honing it to perfection. Such was the case with everything the trio played, which included a select few classics from Blame Monster! as well as nearly everything from the devastatingly perfect Friend and Foe (released Jan. 23).
And new track "Rotten Hell," for me, was Sunday night's parallel to that pinnacling moment in 2004: The words "We'll get through this mess together/ Arm in arm/ Shoulder to shoulder," however simple, were absolutely crushing to hear live. But I suspect most members of the crowd had their own "Strongest Man" or "Rotten Hell"—a personal favorite, an individual reminder that, once again, Menomena is simply the best band making music in Portland.
WWeek 2015