Menomena go for broke at the El Rey

Kevin Bronson on
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menomena3-aliciaroseBy Laura Ferreiro

It’s a lamentably rare thing to find a band that exudes chemistry and adeptly performs uniquely experimental yet danceable tunes. Menomena achieved all this and more during their show at the El Rey Theatre on Thursday night. The Portland, Ore., trio – augmented to a four-piece with the addition of touring guitarist Joe Haege from Tu Fawning and 31 Knots – showcased several tunes from their most recent album, “Mines.”

While the band’s fourth album can hold its own on any turntable or MP3 player, its merits truly become apparent in a live setting. The songs’ complex layers replete with saxophone bursts, maraca rattles and deep bass lines elicited cheers from the packed audience right out of the gate, and the three main band members adeptly swapped vocals in a way that was complementary rather than jarring.

Menomena’s tremendous energy was contagious, which is even more admirable given that two of the band’s four members were feeling under the weather and keyboardist Bret Knopf said he’d been sucking down Theraflu and throat lozenges all day. Still they soldiered on until after midnight, looking entirely satisfied to be giving it their all. “It’s been entirely too long since we played L.A., but it’s always a pleasure to be here,” bassist/co-lead vocalist Justin Harris told the crowd before wishing his nephew a happy 13th birthday.

In addition to the new tunes, the band played several tracks from their equally strong 2007 album “Friend and Foe,” including crowd-pleasers “Weird” and “The Pelican” before calling it a night and presumably heading off to bed.

Brooklyn quartet Suckers kicked things off with great enthusiasm, exhibiting vocal harmonies, unexpected instrumentation and afro-pop rhythms that have become all the rage with indie rock bands such as Local Natives and, yes, Menomena, these days. While their earnestness seemed genuine, their set was sloppy and ear-shatteringly loud, illustrating that the band have potential if only they’d focus more on the tunes than the excitement of opening for a band that quite obviously influenced their sound.