The Monolators 7/19/10 - Spaceland, Los Angeles, CA.

(Photo: Ben Golomb, via The Monolators Myspace)

(Update: Track 4 has a name. Thanks commenter!)

Earlier this week, The Monolators shared the bill with Summer Darling on the 3rd night of their latter's Monday night residency at Spaceland. This was a special show because they are going on hiatus and will be the last one for awhile (until they release their upcoming double EP in the fall), and a unique show because they performed as a 4-piece (because one of their band members sustained injuries in an bicycle accident) Oddly enough, this show is a milestone of sorts for this blog as well - while we have featured The Monolators acoustically, doing an all ABBA cover set, and in other collaborations (Cobra Lilies, When Captain Geech Met Teardrop), and even being covered by other bands - we have never gotten a regular full-band show of theirs, until now.

Tonight's setlist covered the gauntlet of The Monolators' catalog - one song from 2004's Rejection Set Me Free ("Summertime In My Car" - which was played as a nod to band-in-residency Summer Darling), a couple from 2006's Our Tears Have Wings, one from the 2007 EP You Look Good On The Train, one from 2008's LP Don't Dance, and a few from the previously-mentioned upcoming double EP. It was a very fun show, culminating in several audience/other band members joining them onstage as a collaborative "human glockenspiel" for "Let's Be Best Friends In Space." This performance should serve as a holdover until The Monolators return to the stage in the near future.

More pictures of the show can be found on LAist.

1.) Introduction MP3
2.) You Look Good On The Train MP3
3.) 14 Degrees MP3
4.) Pickup Ford MP3
5.) Silver Cities MP3
6.) Ruby, I'm Changing My Number MP3
7.) Summertime In My Car MP3
8.) Don't Dance MP3
9.) Let's Be Best Friends In Space MP3
Text File

FLAC (lossless) files available by request.

The Monolators 10/27/09 - The Echo, Los Angeles, CA. (all ABBA cover set)

(Photo by Jeff Koga)

Last week, The Monolators took part in a showed billed as a pre-Halloween concert that featured four well-known Los Angeles indie bands performing as four different bands from the past. For this occasion, The Monolators took on the material of the Swedish pop hit makers ABBA. Being no stranger to either ABBA or The Monolator's music, I was curious to see and hear how this would be pulled off.

I have to confess I have a sort of love/hate relationship with ABBA. The only real reason I'm somewhat familiar with their catalog is because I've either heard them on the radio, or was forced to listen to them on car trips when I was much younger. Heck, the only reason I saw the film version of Mamma Mia! was because Dominic Cooper had a supporting role in it (and after sitting through the entire thing, I was convinced I was almost scarred for life) It's not that I think ABBA is bad or anything - they simply aren't everyone's cup of tea (and if I hear their music too long I go stir crazy)

Anyway, The Monolators delivered a short but good set of their take of some of ABBA's greatest hits. A definite highlight was their version of "Dancing Queen," interjected with The Monolator's traditional punk/garage rock style. "Fernando," "The Winner Takes It All," and "Take A Chance On Me" stayed near the confines of their providence as ballads, but stepped into rock territory.

In interest of full disclosure, "Dancing Queen" contained a few popping sounds, but they were minimized in post-production.

1.) Introduction MP3
2.) Take A Chance On Me MP3
3.) Does Your Mother Know MP3
4.) The Winner Takes It All MP3
5.) Tiger MP3
6.) Fernando MP3
7.) Dancing Queen MP3
Text File

FLAC (lossless) files available upon request (by e-mail)