Mono, a rock band from Japan, is one of the better instrumental groups going these days. I saw them a few years ago in Austin, and was glad to see them again last night at Chicago’s Empty Bottle. In the quiet moments, Mono’s musicians played guitar melodies with very little effect or distortion – just plain notes in beautiful precision. Then the songs burst out into blasts of ecstatic noise. They were fun to photograph, though as usual, the Bottle was pretty dark. And like all of those spooky supernatural beings in Japanese horror movies, the folks in Mono seem to like letting their hair hang down over their faces.