This was a fun one. Washington, DC’s storied 9:30 Club hosted an evening of soul, playing to a packed house Saturday night. On the bill? The amazing Lee Fields with support from the funky Monophonics.
Hailing from the San Francisco Bay area and led by producer/multi-instrumentalist (and a solo artist under his own name) Kelly Finnigan, Monophonics’ latest album (the band’s fifth) is Sage Motel, released in 2022. Praised for capturing a difficult to nail ’60s soul vibe, Sage Motel tells the story of, as the band itself puts it, a “place where folks experience the highs and lows of human existence. A place where big dreams and broken hearts live, where people arrive without ever knowing how they got there. It’s where folks find themselves at a crossroads in life.”
Along with the usual guitar, drums, and bass, Monophonics features the glorious use of synths and horns to create a pure retro soul/psychedelic rock sound. Reviews compare Finnigan’s voice to Marvin Gaye, and I agree with that; however, as someone who was previously unfamiliar with Monophonics, I would also argue there are similarities in the band’s sound to contemporaries like St. Paul & The Broken Bones. But while Paul Janeway’s performances and songs reflect a grounding in the church, Monophonics feels like the darker flip side of that retro soul band coin with a more intimate feel to their performance. Indeed, late in the set, the band played their incredible “Warpaint,” a song about addiction.
In any event, the crowd ate it up, singing along and dancing and, by the time I left the photo pit three songs into the set, the venue was already full, surprising for an early show. Monophonics may be known as Bay Area band, but they have a following in the DC area, too, as demonstrated Saturday night. Some folks even left after their hour-long set, finishing up their Saturday night elsewhere. Those who left early missed out on something good, as Lee Fields took the stage with his band, The Expressions, at about 7:45pm and promptly tore the house down.