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Review of: Who? Minque, a Toronto based rock band. Where? The Reverb, Toronto, ON Can. When? Thur, Dec. 2. What? One man's honest opinion. Why? To help you decide whether or not you might want to experience Minque.

~ Let me preface this review with a couple of observations. Number one: When I review an independent band, I absolutey refuse to fall into that critic's trap of, "they were good for an independent" or, "root for the underdog because I wasn't popular with the girls in high school." Bands are bands - they are all held accountable at the end of the day. Numba two: I am NOT the biggest fan of the venue for this show. The vibe is crappy at best and the sound in there is not flattering AT ALL. It has to be a decent soundguy's nightmare. Yeah, I know, I just alienated one of the few clubs that support independent music but truth is priority here.

~ So, here we go. I'll drop a few comments about the opening act, Debaser. Right from the beginning of the show I had this deep down gut feeling that I'd seen this band before in a previous life. The straight ahead, no-nonsense drummer, the neo-punk style bassist with his old school P-Bass and driving pick stylez, the guitar player with his klassic axes, sound drenched in delay, nice feeling for counter-melody, just waiting for his hair to thin enough so he can start wearing hats all of the time and last but not least the charismatic singer who boasted a nice tenor tone but insited on grinding his high register during choruses, a solid technique best executed after a vocal warm-up; by song 3 or 4 he was all good. So, I turned to Gus and asked her, "who does this band remind you of?" She looked at me blankly as she often does when I'm being Mr. Social Commentary. I hinted, "Doesn't that BOY playing guitar remind you of someone?" "We should have gone to see this band in OCTOBER". "I wonder if they have a show on, NEW YEARS DAY." And just as I was trying to peel another pretensious name-drop out of my thinly lined skull the song ended and as if on cue the bassist took off his jacket to reveal a vintage U2 tee. The gig was up. I've always claimed that it is much easier to create inside of a box than to walk the road of innovation. That being said, Debaser were solid overall, kept their energy up even in front of a sleepy crowd and showcased a strong set of original music no matter how familiar.

~ Now, on to my boys Minque. When all was said and done, the last chord ricoched violently off've the club walls and the smoke cleared, this night left me with a sense of inconsonance; yes, I had to look that one up - it means a feeling of "not constant, changeable even unstable or volotile". I literally felt like I was on a teeter-totter for the duration of the show.
~ Before the band even started, they unveiled this incredible red and black banner stating their website proudly, www.minque.ca and standing under the banner were four guys that looked like they just met each other outside of the bar, said, "let's start a band" and here we were. The singer proudly wore his tight David Bowie throwback tee, glam makeup complete with glitter and a stylish/effeminate sparkly scarf. The bassist, with his spiky blond fratboy/skater hair wore casual jeans and a shirt which read "Spawn 'til you Die". The guitarist was clean cut wearing a pair of slacks and a dress shirt; the kind of man you respectable ladies might want to take home to mother. And finally, the drummer was dressed unnassumingly all in black which fit his shorter, lanky stature and unoffensive playing style to a tee. The banner said, "here we fuckin' are and you fuckers better recognize!" The band's image said, "We're just not sure."
~ But, what about the music you say? Without a doubt I can say that this band boasts a strong sense of musicianship. Songs like, "Halogen", "Glamorous" and "Month of May" are just straight ahead, well crafted and a testament to song writing fundamentals. Other tunes like "Adore" and "Superhuman" don't feel quite ready but still, Minque are a "song"writing band from the singer/guitarist right on back to the drummer.
~ Decent musicians are not always great technicians, in fact, this music/technique balance seems to always be an issue, especially on the independent scene. Again, I feel that this band has found a nice balance here. The techincal expertise of Minque seems to exist in an inverse relationship to the musicianship. On Dec. 2/04 the drummer seemed to exhibit the most technical wizzardry, the bassist was solid, the guitar player stuck to what worked while the singer was strong in his open throat high register but often had trouble in his lower register (which might have been remedied with a better monitor system) and his highest falsetto. Make no mistake, these are no jazz improsarios but they are as capeable as any rawk musicians.
~ As a song writer, lyrics are the very basis for your existence. They reflect your overall vision in a way that music alone can not. The strength of Minque's lyrics do not lie in their complexity of wordplay or deep running themes but in their simplicity. Often a chorus is made up of the title being repeated in lyrical style. Consisting mostly of metaphor and AB rhymes the message here is gutteral instinct. Of course, when you strip things down so completely and only hint at meaning that can often leave your audience wondering, "what the fuck?" especially in a shitty venue where the lyrics are not always audible. This is where the visual must compensate.
~ And this brings me back to Thursday night at the Reverb. The backdrop of a new banner and very stylish guitars/gear seemed show ready while the band's personal image did not. The singer's comical posteuring and genuine but waning enthusiasm withered in the dead energy of the room. The guitar player's grandstanding solos were juxtaposed with a crowd who sat defiantly throughout the show. The bassplayer wanted to get it going but appeared to be walking through mud as he tried to drag us all out of this smokefree fog. The drummer pounded away unaffected but insisted on testing his drums between songs as if impatient with the flow of the show. Minque seemed like a band with a plan but on this night something was playing against them.
~ I could argue that straight ahead rock and roll isn't relevant enough in this day and age. Maybe the band didn't rise to the occasion on this night. Many a bruised ego might point the finger at the crowd claiming that they were just a bunch of 20 somethings out of touch with the future of music. I prefer to think of a band like Minque as one that is "on the cusp". They're right at the summit and threatening to make the other side! Maybe the secret for them is not to envision their show and then execute but to let the show come to them. Maybe the events of Thursday night should dictate how, where, when, what and why the next gig will represent. Who is going to show up?