Under the cold spring rain of April 11th, MonoNeon (aka Dwayne Thomas Jr.) was smack in the middle of his ten-show run at the historic Blue Note in New York City. The venue was sold out for the early show as the maestro of funky bass commanded the stage with his fluid band and special guest for exactly an hour.
After a quick musical intro from the group of two keyboardists, a guitarist, and a drummer, the quilted one took the stage complete with ski goggles and a knitted face mask as the head bobbing grooves rolled out. What makes MonoNeon such a compelling artist was evident during the first two songs as the synths warbled and the bass bumped while Thomas’ falsetto vocals delivered the silly lyrics to “Hot Cheetos”. The band was in sync and never let up, transitioning without a pause into the emotionally affecting “Put On Earth For You.” That juxtaposition between light-hearted goofiness and raw yearning honesty, combined with top-notch musicianship, makes MonoNeon a must-have.
“Wish Our Party Would’ve Last” and “Church Of Your Heart” allowed the players to luxuriate in the electro-funk/pop/R&B originals that clearly owe a clear debt to Prince. The bass lines bent and boomed, at times shaking the glassware on the small club’s tables. The drumbeats got a bit heavier as special guest Eric Gales joined for the high-speed funk of “Tell Me That This Love Ain’t Real.” The tune had some mid-song spacey synth work before Gales’ killer guitar solo burned hot.
The bluesy funk of “Under The Spell of You” got trippy, with electro keys bending and bass notes warbling before a guitar duel allowed the rock to soar. After the killer riffs, Gales mentioned how honored he was to play the Blue Note for the first time with his “little brother,” the fellow left-handed playing Memphis man. Then Gales started a shimmering solo, which led into “Women, Water, & Weed,” a slow-building dramatic winner.
The brief set ended with “Life Is A Glittery Fu¢kery,” propelled forward by skittering high-speed drumming, outer space synths, and popping bass, wrapping up a robust set of electro/pop/funk on a high note.
