#menkena

[awakeonsundaynight]

Menkena - Rocketships (Music Video) (by Steve Gaddis)

Dreamy, gorgeous shoegaze/dreampop

[awakeonsundaynight]

Menkena - Shivonne (Screen Film 2-Eye Version) (by Steve Gaddis)

Swoony shoegazing goodness...so in love with this track.

[proudofourgreatmistakes]

[somehopefulsilence-blog]

Visit Original Link

artist: Menkena

album: With You I'll Travel

title: With You I'll Travel

description: I love the euphoria and escapism in this song.

[earmeds-blog]

Menkena - Rocketships

[themusicenthusiast]

Feburary 18, 2011 - Novaak

The first act, Roy Robertson, got the night started here at Hailey's around 10:20. And after his first song he introduced himself. "I'm obviously Roy Robertson." he said. (I'm not sure why he said obviously, unless he assumed everyone there knew who he was before hand.) He continued, "And not so obviously, this is Kyle..." as he pointed to the guy next to him, who had that point was playing an electric guitar. They did a few songs together, switching out the instruments, and by the end they'd each played either the acoustic or electric axe or the bass at some point. Then Roy announced it was the end of the electric set by saying "This is your last chance to get a picture of Kyle if you want one, cause this is the end of the electric portion." "And if y'all think that was sensitive, just wait till y'all here these next songs." he said, as he got his acoustic guitar ready. Then sang the first few words of the next song "What do you do when...", and then it was interrupted by some horrible feedback. "...When the guitar feeds back." he sang, making it sound like it was the next line of the song. They struggled for the next couple tunes to get the problem ironed out, and eventually did, but it made the acoustic portion suffer a bit. Still, overall it was a good set. I preferred the more electric songs they began the night with, but even the acoustic part didn't seem too laid back. And from the looks of his calendar he's going to be fairly busy doing shows in Denton for the next few weeks. Saturday, February 26th at Rubber Gloves, Saturday, March 5th at J&J's, and Thursday, March 10th for part of the 35 Conferette festival (Club TBA).

Next up, Menkena. Out of the now three times I've sen them, I've tried so hard to like them. And I do like their music, but I can't get passed how softly sung the lyrics are. It's to the point that if you didn't see singer/guitarist, Jimmy Menkena, moving his mouth, you wouldn't even know he was singing a word. And without (audible) vocals, it's just hard for me to really get into music.

Novaak was rounding out the night, and after more or less falling in love with this band last month, I was very excited to see another show. They got their set going right at 12:40 with "Whatever Town", and followed it up by going right into "Deepest Need" and then "Mr. Memory". They took a very brief break, just long enough for front women, Jessi James, to let the meager crowd know the name of the next song, which was "Marnie". Then continued with my favorite song of theirs (at least for the time being) "With a Stretch", "Just Be", and "Bound to Forget". Jessi thanked everyone for the applause and then said they had "...A few left." Which led them to "You Pressed the Crash Button" and they finished up their set with "1hr." By that time it had only been a mere 35 minutes since they had started, which does seem like a short set for the headlining band, until you realize they'd ran through almost their entire album. It was indeed an awesome show, and I absolutely love their music. It's the perfect blend of the Pop / Indie sound with just a hint of Electronic thrown in (on some songs). And their self-described Dream Pop as well. And I take the "Dream" part to mean it's what Pop music dreams it should be, but so seldomly achieves. Granted, it's not like it's anything really groundbreaking, but it is different. Especially from the Rock 'n' Roll groups I typically stick with seeing. And you can tell all five members are enjoying being on a stage performing, but it really shows through on guitarist/backing vocalist, Blake Panter, and Jessi. Blake seems to have a pretty happy demeanor on stage and I got the vibe that he really appreciated being up there performing for the people. Which is saying quite a bit when considering there were only maybe a little over a dozen people truly watching them. And as for Jessi, I believe she wore a smile for just about the entire show, even whilst singing. And when you have band members displaying those on-stage personas, how can you not fall in love with music and performance?

Now in regards to their upcoming shows, March is shaping up to be a pretty good month for 'em. First off they be playing the 35 Conferette festival in Denton on the 11th (Club TBA). On the 18th they'll be doing an unofficial SXSW show in Austin (Details TBA). And then on the 25th they'll bring their show back to Dallas, when they open up for a couple of great Austin bands at The Prophet Bar. And I'm pretty psyched about that last show!

[daltex]

Menkena @La Grange (by Brian Hamm)

[themusicenthusiast]

January 22, 2011 - With You I'll Travel

Mike Graff, who was a guitarist in the legendary Dallas band Course of Empire, was opening the show here at LaGrange. (Note: CoE, from my limited knowledge, was one of THE bands back in the day. In their case from '88 to '98.) So knowing what I just said I was interested to see what he was like. Decent and great. Those two words sum up his set. Decent, referring to his singing abilities. He had an okay voice, not bad by any means, but certainly not the best. And aside from his first two songs, "Boogie Rock" and "Slam Bam Women", I was never very engaged in his set. Which I was ready for it to be over one or two songs sooner than what it was. Now on to the great, which describes what kind of guitarist he was. But I guess there's no way you could spend ten years in band that is considered one of Dallas's most legendary bands, and not be great. Like I said, he performed a good show, but not good enough that I have a desire to see another one.

First off I might should give a shout out to the Dallas Observer for introducing me to the next act. The band is called Novaak and the Observer had written a good little review of their new record, which prompted me to check them out. And if it wasn't for that article, I would not have even been at this show. Their facebook page only lists frontwomen, Jessi James, and guitarist/backing vox, Blake Panter. But for the live show they had a full band, consisting of a bassist, drummer, and keyboardist. The songs I'd listened to (which was actually their entire album, & I listened to it a few different times) sounded truly amazing. And I had my doubts that they would sound that good live. They ended up sounding even much better. They opened their set with "Whatevertown" (I picked up a set list of theirs after they were done. That's the only reason I even know what songs they did.) And then went right into "Deepest Part". Most of the songs they did went that way, with Blake segueing right into the next song. They did a few others, "Mr. Memory" and "Marnie", before getting to one of my favorites, "With a Stretch". Jessi and Blake co-sang parts of this one, the first verse and choruses, and it sounded beautiful! They had a few songs left, "Just Be" and "Bound to Forget", before wrapping it up with their other song I really like, "1 Hr". Their set was pretty awesome, and after learning that they've only been around since last May, it makes it that much more impressive. And it really doesn't seem fair that a band, that has existed no longer than that, should have so much talent. But they do. Their songs have a Indie Rock sound, with even a little dash of Electronic thrown in, and the lyrics show a lot of maturity. And Jessi has a beautiful voice. I'd say one of, if not the best female vocalist I've heard of, and I'd go as far as saying one of the best singers I've heard of period. The only negative thing I can say about their set was that they failed to have their newly released "I Am, You Are" album with them to sell. Which was a big letdown, but if their plan was to make new fans and then have them see another show so they can get the record, then it worked on me. They'll be playing at Hailey's in Denton on 2/18, and if that means I can get a physical copy of the album at that show, then I'll be there. And speaking of the album, I'd highly suggest getting it. The year is still very young, but it should be a definite contender in making an album of the year list.

Menkena was headlining, and really this night was all about them, as they released their new CD, "With You I'll Travel". I'd seen them once before up in Frisco, and while they were entertaining in their own right, I wasn't too crazy about them. And the same could be said about this show as well. More than anything they're a theatrical band, which is nice to see. They use visuals for all of their songs, and it really does add to the show. Unlike most times that I've seen bands use visuals, where it looks like a desperate attempt to look cool. Their set started with the first video, a time elapsed video of the full moon going through all of it's cycles. Eventually the band made their way out to the stage and were greeted with much applause from the crowd, who had nearly packed LaGrange. I think they sound pretty good, but on the clips of songs from the album that I listened to, as well as the live shows, it's hard to even hear frontman, Jimmy Menkena, singing. I guess that works well for them, cause they certainly have their fan base, but I like to at least understand (and hear) a few words here and there. Aside from that aspect their 50ish minute long set was entertaining, with all the videos that accompany the songs, and the use of their own lights that they use. (Even when they are shining directly in your eyes, making you temporarily blind.) But it still didn't make me any more of a fan, which is why I didn't bother picking up their album. But I would recommend at least checking it out, especially the songs "With You I'll Travel" and "Rocketships".