Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
As The Mono L.Ps came on stage, the light changed over the Bombed Out church of St. Luke’s as if the changing of the guard was on hand and a brighter herald was needed to hail the excellence of this respected Liverpool band.
In effect The Mono L.P.s were playing first support to Amsterdam in a lot of people’s eyes, and even though British Sea Power were the main headliners of the one day festival, the Liverpool based bands had really stolen the show and provided some great surprises with the other groups that had made St. Luke’s a home for a few short hours. The Mono L.P.s were on the type of form that in the last 18 months has seen them become one of the most exciting groups to catch live, no matter the venue, no matter the length of set afforded them.
With the commander of the cello, the woman with the magic wand who weaves a mesmerising trail in her wake playing the strings as if at any moment they would start to smoulder and catch fire, Vicky Mutch, gave the three men in the band a run for their money and made them work just as hard and just as superbly as the group performed songs that captured the emotion of playing in such an iconic building in Liverpool.
The opening track of Watch The Games You Play is always a song that seems to frame the group perfectly. This is a set of musicians, the aforementioned Vicky Mutch, the deft and deliberate hero approach of Ste Reid, the brilliance of Chris Barlow and the accomplished feel of Daniel Beech, who pour disdain on rock games, the pantomime that can follow groups around and just play and play so well that anybody watching just can’t help wishing they were in this tight-knit and enjoyable band.
Look At Those Legs, The Flame, the outrageously good Die A Little Death, I Don’t Love You and the fantastic You Make Me Sick all followed in the same vein and this final song summed up just how good St. Luke’s Church is an outdoor venue. The echoing nature, the way the light falls on the stage and the memories of what the church represents to the city all coming together to give the back and forth nature of Ms. Mutch’s and Ste Reid’s angry vocals the best possible enjoyment to the collected audience.
The Mono L.P.s are here for the long run and a group of musicians who exemplify the new breed.
Ian D. Hall