The Monochrome Set which consist of Ganesh Seshadri aka Bid (vocals/guitar), Andy Warren (bass), Athen Ayren (keyboards) and Stephen Gilchrist (drums) have announced a welcome return to The Con Club in Lewes where they performed 2 years ago. This time around they will be rockin’ on up on Saturday 19th October and tickets have just gone on sale from HERE. This is one of six new concert dates, with the other gigs taking place in Hebden Bridge, Gateshead, Penzance, Putney and Leicester.
The Monochrome Set formed in 1978, and were heavily influential in the ‘post-punk’ scene that evolved after the initial scorched earth of punk. The band’s early releases were on the legendary Rough Trade Label before signing with Virgin offshoot Din Disc. They also released several albums on the Cherry Red label, making a notable appearance on that labels’ well known ‘Pillows and Prayers’ compilation. Though The Monochrome Set split in 1985 the next decade saw several reunions for both live gigs and further studio recordings, their album release count now being well into double figures.
After a hiatus of over a decade the band reformed full time in 2010 and have since toured all over the UK, Europe, Japan and the USA, whilst also releasing new, critically acclaimed, studio albums. If you are undecided whether to attend their forthcoming Lewes concert, then you can get a strong indication of what to expect by delving into the review below of their previous Lewes concert, enjoy!
THE MONOCHROME SET – CON CLUB, LEWES 12.3.22
There’s a very healthy turn-out at The Con Club which bodes well for The Monochrome Set’s appearance at the venue.
The Monochrome Set make a telling point with their opening two songs: ‘Super Plastic City’ (from the 2013 album of the same name) and ‘The Jet Set Junta’ (single and opening song from their third album ‘Eligible Bachelors’). It is that they are a group for the ages and can choose to play perfect pop songs from across all points in their 40-year plus career. The third song, ‘Alphaville’ from their 1978 debut single, clinches the argument with an almost insolent ease.
As a group with a magnificent back catalogue, The Monochrome Set are entitled to be supremely confident in their approach. Their confidence is primarily demonstrated through the music itself. Frontman Bid exhibits a certain personal reserve despite the exciting music he is playing. For example, his between-song chat is clipped and oblique for the majority of the set. Nonetheless, he is capable of dealing very firmly with one unfortunate heckler in two words of short shrift.
The delivery of each song is spot-on. Hints of garage-punk relentlessness are leavened by either the sweetness of Country music or by a Spaghetti-western twang. There is a cinematic undertow to songs which occasionally seems to tickle Bid’s fancy. There is every indication he enjoys the group’s performance as much as the audience. It is also very good to be able to report on the current health of the group’s music. A particular highlight of the set emerged with ‘Hello, Save Me’ from the new album ‘Allhallowtide’. (Out as recently as 11th March on Tapete Records and on the group’s Bandcamp page.)
When singing, Bid is a communicative presence. He can croon and he can belt out a number with elan. He appears to suggest at one point that his singing voice is improved by the drink he is sipping, but that there may be the risk of a corresponding deterioration in his guitar-playing. The latter does not prove to be the case.
Bassist Andy Warren has been in The Monochrome Set since the second year of their existence. There is a certain dislocation between his quiet, almost detached, presence on the stage and the excitement of his playing which continues to be masterful and essential to the success of the group’s sound.
Drummer Mike Urban’s sensitive and thoroughgoing pummelling of his kit has graced the band both in the 1990s and in its current iteration. His enthusiasm and enjoyment of proceedings from the opening song provides an attractive counterbalance to the cooler demeanours of Bid and Warren. Plus Urban has a rare talent in being able to play the cowbell not merely for comic effect. Keyboardist Athen Ayren appears to have joined the band for the recording of ‘Allhallowtide’ and fills out the group’s sound very confidently. Her keyboards range across subtle synthesizer textures to bracing fairground organ and her contributions enjoy a genuine interplay with Bid’s guitar.
The Monochrome Set are a cracking band live. Whilst they possess a genuine joy in their material from back in the day and can charge through it with an unruly and unbridled musical enthusiasm, they have the confidence (and, it must be said again and again, the songs) to select material from across their whole career. ‘I Feel Fine (Really)’, ‘Waiting For Alberto’, ‘B-I-D Spells Bid’ and ‘Jack’ turn the middle-part of the set into a triumphal progress.
Following another fine sequence of songs’ Pucelle’, ‘Cowboy Country’ and ‘Mrs Robot’, by the time the set-closer ‘Eine Symphonie Des Grauens’ comes along, the audience is in a good place. They’ve received a master-class in how a group can transcend its own influences and become an original artefact and significant influence in its own right.
The encore is simple and perfect leading with the song itself ‘The Monochrome Set’. However, its relentless delivery appears to produce cramp in Bid’s left hand and fingers with a resulting increase in onstage chat as he seeks to recover. Indeed, the audience is invited to suggest what they would like to hear next. Shouts for obscurities are deflated as Bid recovers and advises us of the group’s service ethic. We’re going to hear what they’ve prepared for us and it’s ‘He’s Frank’, again from the debut single and magnificent stuff with which to end the performance.
Whilst that first single remains impeccable, The Monochrome Set are a 16-album strong group now and, across that treasure trove of wit and melody, they have created a body of work that all groups might envy and that precious few can equal. Very happily, as the Con Club’s audience was privileged to witness, The Monochrome Set can play it live as well.
The Monochrome Set are:
Ganesh Seshadri aka Bid – vocals/guitar
Andy Warren – bass
Mike Urban – drums
Athen Ayren – keyboards
The Monochrome Set setlist:
‘Super Plastic City’ (from 2013 ‘Super Plastic City’ album)
‘The Jet Set Junta’ (from 1982 ‘Eligible Bachelors’ album)
‘Alphaville’ (from 1983 ‘Volume, Contrast, Brilliance… (Sessions & Singles Vol. 1)’ album)
‘Summer Of The Demon’ (from 2019 ‘Fabula Mendax’ album)
‘I Feel Fine (Really)’ (from 2018 ‘Maisieworld’ album)
‘Waiting For Alberto’ (from 2012 ‘Platinum Coils’ album)
‘B-I-D Spells Bid’ (from 1980 ‘Love Zombies’ album)
‘Jack’ (from 1991 ‘Jack’ album)
‘Rest, Unquiet Spirit’ (from 2019 ‘Fabula Mendax’ album)
‘Really In The Wrong Town’ (from 2022 ‘Allhallowtide’ album)
‘Ruling Class’ (from 1983 ‘Volume, Contrast, Brilliance… (Sessions & Singles Vol. 1)’ album)
‘Hello, Save Me’ (from 2022 ‘Allhallowtide’ album)
‘La Chanson De La Pucelle’ (from 2019 ‘Fabula Mendax’ album)
‘Cowboy Country’ (from 1985 ‘The Lost Weekend’ album)
‘Mrs Robot’ (from 2018 ‘Maisieworld’ album)
‘Love Goes Down The Drain’ (from 1980 ‘Strange Boutique’ album)
‘Eine Symphonie Des Grauens’ (from 1983 ‘Volume, Contrast, Brilliance… (Sessions & Singles Vol. 1)’ album)
(encore)
‘The Monochrome Set (I Presume)’ (from 1980 ‘Strange Boutique’ album)
‘He’s Frank’ (from 1983 ‘Volume, Contrast, Brilliance… (Sessions & Singles Vol. 1)’ album)
