Ah, Monday—probably everyone’s least favorite day of the week. For a good chunk of population, it means having to abandon the leisure and indulgence of the weekend behind, to face the reality that keeps the world in motion. But the Monday following an Independence Day weekend is especially tough on touring bands; people are barely recovering from their fireworks of excess. As a freelancer who stayed home all weekend, I could justify making the trek to Bunk Bar this past Monday night to check out couple of Canadian bands.
Monomyth and Nap Eyes are like siblings; two out of four members of Monomyth are also part of the Nap Eyes trio—a convenient arrangement for touring. Unfortunately, the turnout was not so favorable for the two Halifax bands. But the well-mannered men didn’t let this get to them, and looked to be enjoying the night for what it was on their first-ever US dates. No sooner had I gotten a sense of Monomyth’s patchwork of pop and rock when they ended their set with the cover of Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me.” A quick break and Nigel Chapman, who had been supporting his friends, stepped on to Bunk Bar's makeshift stage to enlighten us with Nap Eyes' perceptively crafted songs about wrestling with one’s struggles in life—in a rather methodical way, as a scientist-by-day would. With a handful of concertgoers keeping their distance from the stage, the two members of Monomyth that were not on stage supported their friends with cheers and dance.
This is a sort of a resurrection for Nap Eyes, with this month's reissue of their debut LP, Whine of the Mystic, which was originally recorded in 2013 and released in March 2014. And perhaps the biochemist in Chapman understands that results are a series of trials, and the meager turnout for this tour's first stop in the US is a variable in a grand experiment.
Lots more photos after the jump!
