A band with three lead songwriters, three lead performers, three lead voices is doomed from the start. The clashing viewpoints and conflicting desires — all that raw emotion and creativity creates a thunderhead that cannot be contained. History is littered with unbelievably talented bands that cracked under the pressure of their collective members, and Menomena, the critically-acclaimed trio from Portland, were no different.
In January of this year, Brent Knopf, the band’s keyboardist, part-time guitarist, and a full third of the writing and vocal talent of the group, decided to part ways with the other two members of Menomena. While it’s widely known that the band had major creative differences, Knopf cited his desire to more intently focus on a host of other creative pursuits as the main reason for leaving the group. Ramona Falls, #1 at the top of his list, played a special one-off show this past Sunday at the Vera Project.
If you’re familiar with Menomena, then Ramona Falls will sound familiar as well. Such is the creative influence Knopf had on Menomena and vice versa. Ramona Falls has only one album to their name, 2009’s Intuit, which was released while Knopf was still an active member of Menomena. (Menomena released their final album with the original trio, the 2010 album Mines, to vast praise by both fans and critics).
Ramona Falls drove up to Seattle from their Portland homes to be a part of the Noise for the Needy festival. While Knopf is the sole creative force behind Ramona Falls, thereby ensuring it’s future depends only on him, he enlists friends to help fill out the live sound. Dave Lowensohn, of the Claremont, California band Speechwriters LLC, played electric bass and sings backup vocals. Paul Alcott, of Portland band Dat’r, played drums and also sang backup at times and provided comic relief between songs. And Sean Flinn, who normally performs with his band the Royal We, was a last minute addition to the band. Normally Matt Sheehy would have played lead guitar, but he had to bow out only days before the gig due to a family emergency. Flinn learned the songs and no doubt practiced intensely for the two days leading up to the performance, and did a bang-up job playing electric and acoustic guitar, as well as mandolin, and singing backup harmonies to boot.
Without a new album or tour to support, the band did not perform any new songs, preferring to stick to the sanctuary of Intuit. And while the set was only 45 minutes long, it was a Sunday night at the Vera Project, and I was greatful for the short, powerful collection of songs they did play. Alcott appeared to have taken lessons from another Portland indie-rock drummer, Benjamin Weikel from Helio Sequence, as he too had a large mane of curly hair that he flung around like a mad man, mouth agape, wildly blasting away on his kit. He often stood up to add extra force to the performance, and surprised us when, during one particularly powerful song climax, turned away from the audience and sang and/or yelled, sans mic, on top of Knopf’s vocals. It’s easy to see why his drumkit was situated at the front of the stage on the left side, giving the audience a full view of his antics.
Positioned in the back where one would normally expect to find the drums, Lowensohn played his bass with quiet purpose. He would fill in on background vocals from time to time, and overall, he went about his rhythmic duties with aplomb. Flinn filled out the strings with his masterful guitar playing, not once belying his newness to the material. This was particularly evident on “Melectric,” Intuit’s opening track, upon which Flinn played mandolin and sang backup vocals, ending the song as the only person still playing their instrument, just as expertly as Knopf had imagined the song two years earlier.
It was great to see Knopf carrying on from the news of his departure from Menomena. I had a chance to catch up with him at the merch table prior to his headlining set. Asked when we could expect some new material, Knopf said the earliest would be February 2012 — a scant eight months away — but only if he got his act together and finished the recording in the next few months. I’m anxious to see where the newly-freed Knopf will take the band next. I can barely imagine the ideas of things he’d wanted to try while in Menomena, but couldn’t. In the mean time, pick up Intuit. It’s surprising this album is already two years old, and hearing it should tide you over until February.
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