& Others--Live (T-Z)

& Others--Live (T-Z)

Techma

Japan-Smacksdown-NYC: Do Thank Anal/10 Yen Ana Kinoko/Petit Mit/Bossston Cruising Mania/Electric Eel Shock/Techma/Mong Hang--Continental--10/17/00
This show, apparently presented by Micro Music who handed out a complimentary CD of their artists, was well attended throughout the evening. About half the audience wasn’t Japanese this time, which was nice to see, and Continental was the perfect club for this event.
Techma is one guy. He turned on the tape-player and began his performance. Basically, it was karaoke, except I presume the music was original, and that he had something to do with the recording of it. He only sang for us, but he threw himself into the performance with much gusto. Imagine an intellectually mature, Japanese Pee-Wee Herman, singing in good voice to a wide range of musics, and you might be getting close. He mentioned that a year ago he had played Continental, and wondered aloud why his picture wasn’t on the wall. There were a fair number of fans up front who obviously enjoyed his performance and reacted enthusiastically to every dramatic gesture. At the end of the show, he rewarded them by opening up a bag of Hershey’s chocolates and tossing them out to his fans.

Japunks #7: The Spunks/Gito Gito Hustler/Peelander-Z/54 Nude Honeys/Blue III/ Techma--CBGB--5/22/04
Japunks once more treated us to a wonderful evening of rock ‘n’ roll. I’ve actually seen all of these bands before, and yet there is no way I would have missed this. It was a great collection of bands, and the largely white audience got more than they ever could have wished for. The women carrying the cards with the round numbers on one side (each set was a round), and each band’s name on the other, were dressed tonight in black vinyl nurses outfits, with black crosses rather than red ones. Again, the result was a knockout show!
I was outside talking with some of GITO GITO HUSTLER when the door opened, and I heard the sound of processed beats, and could tell that Techma’s set had begun. Tonight he was dressed in a red uniform with blue eye make-up generously applied, giving him the look of a robotic/sci-fi bell-hop. His music had a wider range than I remembered, including some ballads and some dramatic rockers, but largely dwelling in the disco/club/techno fields. He sings along to prerecorded tapes, basically doing a karaoke performance. He moves about the stage dynamically, mixing odd poses, with mime, and strange effeminate dance moves. One of his most repeated gestures mimicked the Nazi salute, but to the side rather than forward. By the end of the show, with his encouragement, he had most of the still smallish audience aping this move. Members of some of the bands that would follow him, notably BLUE III. PEELANDER-Z, and THE SPUNKS, were right up at the front of the stage cheering him on. At one point he stopped the music and explained to us that on the very long trip from Japan all of his fellow band members had perished and left him to perform the material alone. He announced that the next song would be performed in their honor, and then did a version of Bowie’s ‘Ziggy Stardust’. I was struck by the idea that he appeared much like a distressed clown trapped inside of his costume, but he was able to pull the audience in with him, and it was certainly an interesting and enjoyable way to begin the evening.

Teengenerate

Teengenerate/The Little Killers/The Plungers--Maxwell’s--7/24/05
It had been a good evening of rock and roll, and now it was time for TEENGENERATE. The only thing said before they began was from the guitarist on the right, who announced, “We are TEENGENERATE, again!” It was pretty strange that they were playing. As far as I know, Shoe, the drummer, is currently playing with SUPERSNAZZ, and the rest of the band had put together a band called FIRESTARTER. However it happened, and for whatever reason, here was a band calling itself TEENGENERATE, and it may have been the original personnel. A healthy mosh pit started up as soon as the first song got underway, and though it died down a bit in the middle of the set, most of the time there were a good number of people happily bounding about. It was not so much a mosh pit, as an exuberant dance party. The band rocked, and were tight. The very warm reception obviously energized the band. The rhythm section pumped away like a big engine, and both the guitarists served us up some very tasty treats. The biggest surprise was the material. From their CDs, I had decided that TEENGENERATE was a rather uninteresting, much too generic, garage band, but their live presentation gave their songs a kind of classic feel. The guitarist on the right’s vocals especially reminded me of the vocals I’d appreciated in FIRESTARTER. Though everyone got a chance to sing, the guitarist in the center sang the most, and he performed with the most energy. Their fans were enthusiastic, and when TEENGENERATE finished their set, the fans let them know they were not done. This time the guitarist in the center made the announcement. “We’re too old!” he claimed, before launching the band into three more very hot numbers. After the third one he commanded us to “Go home!”, but the crowd began chanting “Wild Weekend!”. TEENGENERATE answered the call, and I believe there were two more similar requests, before the band finally decided they had fulfilled their side of the contract and left the stage. I still don’t know why they were back, but their fans made it a glorious return.

Titan Go Kings

Tokyo Pinsalocks

Tokyo Pinsalocks/Sakura Madams--Knitting Factory--3/25/08
SAKURA MADAMS were a good choice to open for TOKYO PINSALOCKS.
TOKYO PINSALOCKS were up next. They’re a trio, a drummer, a bassist, and a Korg synthesizer/keyboard player who handled the lead vocals. The singer had sparkles under her eyes, and she and the bassist both had foam flower balls in their hair. The drummer was wearing headphones with flowers on them a good deal of the time. I couldn’t tell why. From what I had heard previously, I wasn’t terribly interested in TOKYO PINSALOCKS, but live they were charming. The vocalist sticks to a very sweet, happy vocal style, regularly beaming out at the audience and spreading her love. Often she had some kind of loop that she started up for a song, at least one of which she created on the spot, and on top of that she would play fairly simple repetitive riffs, which in an odd, more modern and spacy way, reminded me of QUESTION MARK & THE MYSTERIANS. The drummer also sticks to simplicity. She constantly kept a simple beat that supported the rhythm, and didn’t seem to do much else, though she had some kind of sample board and seemed to get a wide variety of sounds out of that that she used to add interesting accents. The bassist was the real suprise, though she also kept her riffs very repetitive, they were always very active funk riffs, and she regularly danced along to them. As no one else in the band could really move much, due to their chosen instruments, it was nice to see her bopping about, which she did a good deal. She and the drummer also helped out on the background vocals. The songs were cute and kind of spacy pop, and live they had that funk groove going, which was a nice addition to the spacy, pop sweetness. They didn’t have a wide range of sounds, and the number of people up front dwindled after a while, but toward the end of the set, they played some of their newer material, and a few singles, generated a bit more energy, and got some of the people back up front again. They also seemed to be selling a reasonable number of CDs after the show, and were happily offering to autograph them for anyone who desired.

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra/Gaijin ˆ Go-Go/Yukiko--S.O.B.Õs--6/9/04
S.O.B.’s seemed to have upgraded a bit since last time I was there. Or maybe it was just that they pulled out all the tables and chairs for the packed house. That big fake tree is pretty memorable, though, and I don’t remember seeing it before.
It was a long time before TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA appeared in their white suits. There are ten of them. Four of them were on various horns. Then there was a guitarist, drummer, stand-up bassist, keyboardist, and conga/percussionist. The man who usually sang lead, also played a variety of instruments including saxophone and guitar, and sometimes sat, leaving the front-man role unclaimed. Like in a jazz band, the various musicians often took turns soloing, and the musicianship was excellent. The material stuck closer to ska than I was expecting, but they played just about every form of ska anyone has come up with, and added a bit of jazz here, and a bit of rock there. They just kept going! Early on they announced that this was the first show they had ever played in America, and that they were happy to have such a good sized crowd to play to. It was mostly made up of young Japanese, and the audience’s enthusiasm grew as the set continued. The only song I recognized was an instrumental version of ‘The Look Of Love’, but without roaming far from the ska rhythms, they covered a wide variety of music. The band largely concentrated on the music, but if the music wasn’t quite enough, occasionally the guitarist would leap into the air, and it was impressive what a dynamic stage presence the slide trombonist had as he swung his horn from side to side. The band played a good hour and a half, and the audience only needed the music to get them dancing and waving their arms in the air, but now and then they got encouragement, too, and a joyful time was had by all. Late in the set, several of the bandmembers left the stage for a few numbers, and the remaining band took things down a level. When the rest of the band returned though, they were ready to rev things back up in good style, which they did for long enough that they needed to bring it down one more time, before finally closing the set with a last rousing number. The band did return for a well deserved encore, but kept it short and sweet. They had already played longer than anyone could have expected.

Tomiya

Tomiya--Sidwalk Cafe--11/18/07
Tomiya appeared with a drummer, a bassist, and a guitarist. From what I could gather, she is a radio DJ in Japan. She’s already recorded five CDs, and is recording another one now in Brooklyn. All of these CDs have been released on her own label in Japan. Her band was quite good, and the guitarist, Brad Craig, was excellent. Tomiya was warm-hearted, energetic, and almost childish. The band and the soundman began setting up, and once she mounted the stage she began doing a series of stretches and jumps, seemingly to both warm-up and work off her nervousness. They started off with a few rock numbers. Tomiya obviously enjoys singing, and she puts her soul into it. None of the songs were especially brilliant, or catchy, but they were good rock songs, played well, and sung with enthusiasm. Tomiya, who had explained that her English was very broken, apologized for breaking our eardrums with her loud rock songs, and introduced her next song as a more gentle, comfortable number. Brad Craig, who had dropped some very nice solos during the rockers, opened up this more folk-like number with a very beautiful, intricate melodic run. They were back to the rockers soon enough, and Tomiya bounced about the stage, and expressed herself with a generous amount of hand movements. She was obviously enjoying herself, and her openness and friendliness made it easy for the good sized audience to enjoy themselves along with her.

Tomovsky

Tomovsky--Spiral Lounge--9/18/99
I went to this show because I had found a dream shop in my neighborhood called Japan Music Shop. I bought two CDs there and heard lots of different music. They were quite kind and the woman who owned the shop manages Tomovsky.
At Japan Music Shop I had heard some of Tomovsky’s CD, on which he’s got a full band behind him, and though not blown away I had liked one of the songs quite a bit. I arrived a bit late and missed the first song, but Tomovsky had obviously already won over the crowd. I quickly saw why. He was a charming young man. It was just him playing on a keyboard, until the last two songs when he switched to a guitar. The songs were wonderful inventions which he sang in a versatile, childlike voice. The keyboard illustrated the songs better than the guitar did, but the highpoint was definitely his winning presentation of the material.

Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re

Petty Booka/Gaijin A Go Go/Titan Go Kings/Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re/Puppypet--Sin-é--3/21/05
      Some nights are just so good, they remind you of how good life can sometimes be. Tonight was a night like that. Thank you Audrey Kimura, Benten, and Sin-é. Japan Girls Nite U.S. Tour 2005 was a wonderful celebration of life. The highlights (along with the bands) included Audrey pinning a pin on my shirt when I first arrived, a fan of Rock of Japan coming up and thanking me, and a very nice conversation with Mari, of TSU SHI MA MI RE, and Kazuya, of THE EMERALDS, who are also currently touring the U.S. from Japan. It was a wonderful evening.
      Next up were TSU SHI MA MI RE, who were actually the band I was most excited about seeing tonight. They tested their instruments, and created a short, freeform, noise improv. When they were satisfied with the results, they stopped, and Mari, the guitarist/lead vocalist, announced that they were ready to begin, and asked everyone to come up closer to the stage. In between songs, while talking with the audience, Mari had a very sweet demeanor, explaining some of the wordplay that inspired their songs, or explaining that the microphone stand she was waving in the air was meant to represent an oar that a fisherman would use to row a boat. That was during a song about fishermen, in which she acted out in dance form various parts of a fisherman’s life, like casting and retrieving a net, or rowing a boat. It was one of the longer songs they did, and it had several parts, some with guitar, and some without that gave Mari the chance to pantomime the fisherman’s life. She was able to do this because Yayoi, the bassist, was so innovative and fluid on her bass that she probably could have handled those sections solo, but she also had Mizue, on drums, to keep things rhythmically alive, and to pound home the accents when they occurred, or to stomp home a rocking beat when that was called for. Mari’s guitar work shouldn’t be overlooked either. She often used intricate fingerwork, not so much for hot leads, but to give unique textures to the band’s songs. Their range is incredible, and a song that goes along in one direction for a while, will often be jolted into a new dimension by something completely out of pace with anything preceding it. Their song, ‘Ocha Ska’ was introduced by Mari, who explained that it was a ska song about tea, and that in Japan they called tea “ocha”, at which point she started repeating, “cha-cha” in a sing-song way. Sure enough, not only did the slightly funky, ska song have a deep, throaty vocal accent, it also had a cha-cha break. It was hard to know what to expect next, and it was wonderful. Yayoi seemed to be having the best time of anyone in the room. She was always moving. Sometimes she would dance in a rowdy manner, her feet bounding this way and that. At other times she’d be headbanging, shaking her long hair forwards and backwards, or swivelling seductively behind her microphone stand with a broad smile that seemed ready to consume the room. Everyone in this band was obviously enjoying their job, but Yayoi expressed that joy the most transparently.
        I spotted Mari in the crowd during GAIJIN A GO GO’s set, and she and Kazuya, from THE EMERALDS, joined me outside, where I asked her some questions about TSU SHI MA MI RE. She explained that the band had been together five years, and that they had been performing regularly for two. When asked how they had teamed up with Benten, she told me that they had sent a demo tape to Toshiba/EMI, and someone there had put them in touch with Benten. I asked her what she was trying to say with her music, and she responded that they were singing about things that happen in normal life. I mentioned that often parts of their songs seem scary or spooky. Seemingly, in agreement, Kazuya commented that TSU SHI MA MI RE were the strangest girl band in Japan. Mari replied simply, “Girls are scary!” When the door opened and I could hear that PETTY BOOKA had begun their set, I thanked Mari and Kazuya, and made my way back into the club.

Suicide Girls/Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re--Knitting Factory--10/10/05
When TSU SHI MA MI RE stomped into their first rocking number, the crowd seemed to buzz with surprise and appreciation. This is a masterful group. They had caught the audience’s attention immediately, and soon had them firmly in the their grasp. They’ve been touring with the Suicide Girls burlesque show for a little over a week now, and are a great choice for an opening band. The only possible similarity is that Yayoi, the bassist, bounds about the stage with a lusty vigor. Mari, lead vocalist/guitarist, sings the band’s unique songs boldly, as well, but when she talked between songs, she behaved like a bubbly schoolgirl, thanking the audience for their warmth and appreciation, and proclaiming several times how happy she was. Once she introduced a song by singing and then repeating the refrain slowly and carefully, and asking the audience to sing it back to her. A surprising number of the audience gave it a good try, and I was thinking in a portion of the song we’d be asked to sing again, but we never were. Mizue, on drums, was a stronger drummer than I remembered. She has to be just to keep up with all the surprising stops and starts, and intricate changes of each song, but strangely, whenever she wasn’t playing during a song, she would bow her head down, as if resting. The music is excitingly fresh, and has so many facets that it stays fresh throughout the performance, regularly making unexpected changes, from childish folktales, to mythical fantasies, and slipping through an amazing number of different musical styles including, ska, cha-cha, gentle folk music, boogie, pop, and rock. The musicianship is impressive. Yayoi’s fingers move up and down her fretboard like a dancing spider, and her back-up vocals give Mari’s lead vocals full support. Mari approaches each guitar part from a different perspective, often using elaborate picking motifs, when she hasn’t put it down completely to act out the life of a fisherman. Toward the end of the set, Mari introduced the band. Previous to that, Yayoi had been jumping about the stage rather vigorously, and toward the end of the song had rested against the wall. When she was introduced, Yayoi came out center-stage, then turned, bent over, and threw-up. Mari quickly responded, laughing and pointing, “She’s a dirty girl!” “No, I’m not,” said Yayoi, picking up a small hand-towel, “I’m a clean girl!” and she got down on the stage and cleaned up her mess. I’ll be back tomorrow to enjoy this amazing band again!

Benten Tokyo Presents Japan Nite: Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re/Pe´z/Ellegarden/Stance Punks/The Rodeo Carburettor/The Emeralds--Knitting Factory--3/20/06
Australian Cattle God Records have started up a side label for Japanese bands, apparently in connection with Benten/Sister Records, called Benten Tokyo Records. This tour is kind of an announcement of that, with TSU SHI MA MI RE, who are already signed to Cattle God Records, headlining the bill. The audience was evenly mixed between Japanese and caucasians, and many of them were much younger than are usually seen at these shows, which is certainly a positive thing. Six Japanese bands in a row! Oh, and almost every band made a point of letting us know that they, “Love New York!” I’m exhausted, and I’ve only just begun writing.
TSU SHI MA MI RE were the band I was most looking forward to seeing, and they didn’t let me down. If anything, Yayoi, on bass, and Mizue, on drums, are tighter than they’ve ever been. They’re playing the same material they were the last time I saw them, so that makes good sense. Yayoi moves about the stage with a vivacious lustiness, when she isn’t acting out dramatic extremes, or smiling broadly and letting you in on how much she’s really enjoying herself up there. Mizue is working hard back behind the drum kit. She takes their percussion through an amazing array of beats, often in one song, and when the beat starts to really stomp, the rest of the band is doing their part, but she’s the one keeping the beat driving along at that steady clip, and sometimes doing back-up vocals along with Yayoi at the same time. They’re getting tighter, but Mari, if anything, seems to be getting looser, and that’s cool, too. She presents their material as if it was all just a hobby she cooked up with her friends, and she’s happily surprised, and a trifle embarrassed that anybody besides them would want to hear it. Some of that may be true, but some of it’s an act, because when she goes into some of her other characters in their various songs, she does them with an enthusiastic glee. They put on a wonderful show, and even though I’ve seen it before, I can’t help but be caught up in it all over again, and feel a surge of joy when they suddenly jolt into a climactic section of a song, Mizue kicks the beat into overdrive, and Yayoi and Mari step forward on the stage and shake their hair and guitars, and the sound swells into a fever only matched by Mari’s swirling hair, and Yayoi’s Cheshire cat grin. The originality and variety of their sound is a wonder. I’d be happy to go see them again tomorrow.

Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re--Southpaw--10/21/06
I’ve been looking forward to this second TSU SHI MA MI RE tour with Suicide Girls since I first heard about it. The curtain opened up, and what seemed like an old style Japanese pop song started playing. About halfway through the song, Mizue, the drummer, came out, walked up to center stage, bowed, waved, and took her place behind the drums. Then came Yayoi, the bass guitarist, and, following her, Mari, the guitarist/vocalist. Actually, they all sing, and the one new song they did, which may have been called ‘Sakura Boy’, had a beautiful section where they all sang together very melodiously. This band just keeps getting better, and when Yayoi launched into her first rousing bass line, even many of the guys who were there just to see the Suicide Girls seemed to take notice. By a few songs into the set they had easily won over the crowd. Mari is working up her cute act, charming the crowd, and the cuteness pays off when she gets flustered at her limited English. Yayoi keeps things stirred up and hot with her waves of powerful bass, her enthusiastic dancing, including kicks, head-banging, lots of strutting, and a smile that announces to the world she’s having the time of her life. Mizue, meanwhile, is kicking those drums, and putting every bit of her energy into owning that beat. Between songs she puts her head down, as if trying to recoup as much energy as possible for the next workout. Her partners are top-notch, but Mari’s no slouch on guitar. It’s the heart and energy of their sound. Early in the set, she announced, “I’m hot. Are you hot? We are going to play air-conditioning song for you.” and they played ‘Air Control & Remote Control’. The growing confidence of this band, in everything but their English, is exciting. They obviously love their material, and it’s so wild and varied, you’ll love it, too. Toward the end of their set, Mari announced, “My brain is shortcake from too much head-banging. Eat my brain shortcake!” and they launched into ‘No Miso Shortcake’. I loved the song the first time I heard it. It’s even more amazing now. Mari spits out rapid fire wordage, and then, when she takes a break, she and Yayoi step out front and do some vigorous head-banging. Yep, I’ll be there tomorrow to see them at Knitting Factory.

Bakubeni/Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re/The Notorious MSG/Echostream/Quaff/Minirex/Falsies On Heat--Knitting Factory--9/27/08
        FETES (Far East To East Showcase), put on by KarateRice in association with The New York Animation Festival was a big night for us fans of Japanese rock. There was a good crowd, including lots of folks from the animation festival. The biggest negative was the guy running the lighting. Whenever a band got the slightest bit intense, his response was to turn off all the stage lights, except for the lights which shined on the band from behind, leaving the bands backlit, and regularly blinding the audience. As fans, we often say we’re going to “see” a band, but with that kind of lighting, most of the time we couldn’t see them at all. It got worse as the evening went on. The other noticeable negative was that the evening ran late, and after midnight and THE NOTORIOUS MSG’s set many people went home, leaving TSU SHI MA MI RE and BAKUBENI to play to a much smaller crowd. Throughout the night, the show was hosted by the silliness of Kaiju Big Battel.
      TSU SHI MA MI RE were next, and after such a long wait, I was ready for them. They quickly made the wait well worthwhile. It was unfortunate that a good portion of the audience had left after THE NOTORIOUS MSG, but it didn’t seem to affect TSU SHI MA MI RE’s performance. They seemed happy to be back in New York, and played, as always, joyfully. They played old songs and new songs with equal exuberance, and delighted those of us who had stayed to see them. J.C., who hadn’t seen them live before, raved about their “power”. Yayoi, on bass, and Mizue, on drums, have always impressed with their extraordinary technique, and though Mari, on guitar, has at times seemed outmatched, she’s always been able to keep up with them, and lead them into a unique and almost childlike world. Yayoi, as always, moved about the stage energetically, with regular kicks that shot her foot up above her shoulder. Tonight, though, Mari, too, commanded the stage impressively, at times grabbing the microphone, and leaning out over the crowd. Yayoi’s bass announced ‘Manhole’, and they performed it, with all of its stops and starts, like a hurricane was bouncing about the stage. When they announced their last song there were a number of sad, “Ahh!”s, but I was happy to hear it would be ‘No-Miso Shortcake’. To everyone’s surprise, Mari jumped off the stage with her microphone and guitar, and by getting audience members to hold the microphone for her when she needed to sing and play guitar at the same time, she ran around amongst the crowd, and sang the entire song in the pit with us. It was great to have TSU SHI MA MI RE paying us another visit, and it had been a short but wonderful set. That jaw-dropping closer, though, took things to a whole new level. This band was always something special, but that last song made this a truly amazing set! What will they do tomorrow? I’m not gonna miss it!
      Again, in spite of the smaller crowd, only slightly smaller than the crowd TSU SHI MA MI RE had played to, BAKUBENI put on an enthusiastic show, and it was a good way to close the night.

Peelander-Z/Zazen Boys/Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re/Quaff/Bakubeni--Williamsburg Music Hall--9/28/08
        Wow! Two nights in a row! It was my first night in the Williamsburg Music Hall, and it’s a nice place. People had told me that it had been redesigned from when it was North Six, and that now it resembles a smaller Bowery Ballroom, and that the pillars that used to block the view are gone. They’re pretty much right, too. What was especially nice was that tonight all of the bands were Japanese except for New York’s premier J-rock band, PEELANDER-Z, who closed the night with a set that was basically a crazy party playtime! Fun was had by all, and again Kaiju Big Battel played MC for the show.
      TSU SHI MA MI RE had changed up their set a bit tonight, too. They are an amazing band. Tonight Yayoi told us that she loved us all, and that she was very very happy. You see these women tear through surprisingly intricate material that rocks hard, and then switches to cute and clever catchy pop. Mari tends to present herself as a very cute and sweet young woman. Occasionally she’ll start talking about her stupid ex-boyfriend, or something else that has pissed her off, and even that she does in a way that makes her seem to be humorously playing up the cuteness factor. Here was Yayoi, who stomps around the stage like someone who wouldn’t take shit from anyone, and she was almost blushing about how happy she was. They rock like demons! Could they really be that sweet? I guess it’s fitting that they were chosen to contribute a theme song for the Powerpuff Girls. Both nights they each pulled out a Powerpuff Girl doll to introduce the song they had written, which they say will be featured on the Cartoon Network here in the U.S. Mari pointed out that it made sense, because they and the Powerpuff Girls were powerful rockin’ girls, and that the song was for the six of them and some lucky boys. Along with SHONEN KNIFE, who also contributed a song to the Powerpuff Girls at one point, TSU SHI MA MI RE seem perfect for it. Mari again impressed me with the amount she’s loosened up on stage. Tonight she even did a couple of kicks similar, though not as high, to Yayoi’s shoulder-high kicks. Mari has a very nice voice, but when you start listening to Yayoi and Mizue’s back-up vocals, it’s a revelation how much their beautiful voices add to TSU SHI MA MI RE’s sound. Again they closed their spirited set with ‘Miso-No Shortcake’ aka/‘Brain Shortcake’, and once again Mari spent the entire song running around in the audience with her guitar and microphone, and delighting everyone, while Yayoi continued to bounce joyfully around the stage.
      It was truly a joy to see TSU SHI MA MI RE again, but next I was gonna see the Japanese band I hadn’t seen last night. ZAZEN BOYS’ off-beat rhythms and intricacies made TSU SHI MA MI RE’s stops and starts seem like smooth pop music.
      Early on in PEELANDER-Z’s set, Mizue, of TSU SHI MA MI RE, replaced Peelander Green, the drummer, so that he could get the elevator up to the balcony and then climb down from there. When PEELANDER-Z did the song that replaces each member of the band for “Bowling Time”, Mari, of TSU SHI MA MI RE, was chosen to replace Kengo, Peelander Yellow, on guitar. Surprisingly all these guest stars didn’t do anything of any greater merit than when PEELANDER-Z chooses to replace themselves with amateurs, but the usual noise was fun, and everybody seemed to be having a good time, including the audience. After “Bowling Time” enough of Peelander Green’s drumset to form a trap set was moved from the stage to the center of the dancefloor, and as he played, Peelander Yellow coerced as many people as he could to dance in a circle around the drums. Mari, still playing the guitar, joined in on that, as did twenty or thirty audience members.

Noriko Tujiko

Typhoon Ministers

Typhoon Ministers/Ashen Figure/Bangladeafy--Lit Lounge--3/10/10
TYPHOON MINISTERS set up their equipment and left the stage. They returned wearing dressy outfits, and with their winter coats removed. Masaco, the drummer, handed a disc to the sound man, and they waited. Their intro tune came on, and it seemed to be an original composition of their own. They waited for a verse or so, and then approached the stage. One of the things they had done while setting up the stage was to move the drums from the back of the stage to the front, so that both Mari’s piano, and Masaco’s drums shared the front stage. They started their first number, and I was happily surprised at their energy, and their technical ability was quite competent on both piano and drums. They both sang, and both had nice vocals. Their songs tended to be very up-tempo and energetic, and most of them were joyful, and had a certain amount of drama. In fact, the songs often had a show tune quality--usually very happy show tunes. They did have one song which started out a bit slower, and Mari sang most of this one. It was an odder sound than most of their obviously pop influenced numbers, and it suddenly occurred to me, possibly because of the piano flourishes, that that one song reminded me of the quirkiness of Sparks a bit. Most of their songs though were just unbelievably energetically pop, and especially Masaco put lots of energy into the delivery of the songs. They didn't do as well on the between song patter. Masaco introduced most of the songs, and her English was iffy at best, but she was so delightfully unsure of herself, and she was so intent on getting her ideas understood, the audience sympathised, and clapped and responded positively to whatever she said. Typhoon Ministers got a good amount of applause for each song, and when they finished their last song Mari took a deep breath and exhaled with visible relief. They were obviously keyed-up, but I hadn't realized before that, how much of it was nervous energy. It was a charming performance.

Understatements

Japan Nite 2002: Bleachmobile/The Salinger/Understatements/Bonkin’ Clapper/Nananine/Clammbon--Elbow Room--3/18/02
Again Supervoid.com sponsored Japan Nite, and like last year, as we left we were given a various artists CD with two songs each by ten Japanese bands, five of whom had performed for us that night.
I was wondering how UNDERSTATEMENTS were going to follow BONKIN’ CLAPPER’s hot set. They did it by being the only band of the evening to take their time setting up. When they did finally get around to it, they tested their various instruments, and then walked off the stage again. By the time they came out to play, a good number of people had left the club. By the time they finished, even more had left. They’re a four-piece with keyboards. The guitarist plays an acoustic guitar with a pick-up, Ed pointed out that you couldn’t differentiate it from an electric guitar. It rocked just as hard, and it was the only guitar they used. They seemed to be going for a kind of r&b/soul type thing, but for the most part, I don't think it worked, especially in the now much emptier room. The biggest hole in their set occurred in the middle, as they ponderously played a song with the lyrics, “Disco/It sounded like disco” repeated over and over again. They followed that up with my favorite song of the set, a rather catchy soul/pop ditty, and I began to think that they might have saved the best for last, but only one other song even approached it.

Unicorn Table

Unicorn Table--New York Anime Festival at The Javitz Center--12/8/07
This was the first New York Anime Festival, and it was my first anime festival. I fear a description will do little more than show my own ignorance, but here goes: There were a lot of young people, many of them dressed in silly costumes, and most of them having a really good time.
By the time I got in line for UNICORN TABLE’s performance, it was already long. It had more than doubled by the time they let us in. They were introduced by a radio DJ from Tampa. The area divided off for the performance space was big, and there was a large screen to the left of the stage, so that everybody could see the band well. Besides the two stars of UNICORN TABLE, Salia, the female singer, and Shingo, the male guitarist, there was also a bassist, a keyboardist, and a female drummer. Salia mentioned early that usually just the main two appear live, but that tonight, for this special occasion, they had brought “the whole crew”. It’s a very professional group, and though I believe they were using some support recordings to flesh out things like back-up vocals, the band and the singer could be heard well, and were not only holding their own, but overpowering most of whatever support they were using. The music was slick pop music, with a rock backing band, and Shingo added an occasionally edgy guitar lead to take things one step further. This talented band could easily have taken their music in a number of different directions, but they stayed with the pop/rock, allowing Salia’s beautiful vocals to lead the songs forward. Salia and Shingo both covered the stage well, and later on the bassist did, too. The audience loved it and cheered them on with lots of dancing, hand-waving, and cheers. After they’d done about a set’s worth of material, the band left the stage and were replaced by a black, male DJ and two black, female dancers. A nice funk sound started up. The dancers introduced themselves, and soon Salia was back to sing some songs from her new solo release. She sang with support tapes, and the DJ added a bit of a hip-hop mix to it. So, you had a funk thing going on, with a bit of a hip-hop spin added, but Salia sung her songs in the same sweet pop way she had sung the UNICORN TABLE songs. It didn’t receive as warm a response as the UNICORN TABLE material had, but Salia sang about four songs, and they were politely received. Plus, the one which had been featured in an anime got her a good amount of applause. UNICORN TABLE reappeared after that, and did an instrumental before Salia rejoined them. This time they were all wearing UNICORN TABLE T-shirts. Throughout the performance, whenever they played a song that had been used prominently in a well known anime movie, the audience made its recognition and appreciation known, and there were quite a few of the songs that seemed to be well known by the large crowd. The band played a few more songs, and then raffled off a piece of jewelry designed by Salia, a DVD of the band, and a UNICORN TABLE T-shirt as Christmas presents for the audience. A number of the raffle numbers called brought no response, which slowed things down a bit. They followed that up with their last song, during which they got most of the crowd singing along with them. It received a good amount of applause, but when they left the stage, there was almost no call for them to return, so they didn’t. No encore was a surprise, but they had certainly played a good long time, and probably most of the audience had been at the festival since that morning and were ready to go home.

Up-Tight

Up-Tight/Coptic Light--Tonic--10/23/05
Amica introduced me to Aoki, who was UP-TIGHT’s singer/guitarist, and Aoki pretty quickly let me know that VELVET UNDERGROUND were a big influence on the band. They set up quickly, launched into a slow, somber rocker, and Aoki was right. I could hear the VELVET UNDERGROUND influence, though certainly UP-TIGHT has its own approach. The rhythm section of the trio played simply and kept to the basics. Aoki closed off the song with an extended guitar solo, making good use of some feedback. The second song was a much softer song. At times, Shirahata, on drums, would stand up while he drummed. At other times he’d quit playing completely. That song, too, closed with a raucous guitar solo. Aoki announced that the next song was inspired by VELVET UNDERGROUND’s ‘Sister Ray’, and was called ‘Sister’. It was more expansive than the other numbers, rocked harder, and brought out Shirahata’s most ardent immolation of Mo Tucker’s riding of the floor tom-tom. It also brought out some of the most intense feedback, toward the end of which Aoki raised his guitar up by its whammy bar and then dropped it back down several times. They managed to stretch ‘Sister’ out about twice as long as the previous numbers, but I was still surprised when they closed the set. The small audience gave them a good response, but Aoki claimed that his strings were totally gone and that they couldn’t play any more if they wanted to.

Vampillia

Noriko Tujiko/Vampillia with Noriko Tujiko/The Present/ Kocho Bi-Sexual--Pianos--5/2/08
It was a nice combination of performers tonight. All of them were working in unique ways to push boundaries of one kind or another, and they generally kept the late night show interesting.
VAMPILLIA tonight were an eleven member troupe. Some of the members hadn’t been able to make the trip from Japan. There was a bassist, a drummer, two guitarists, two violinists, a keyboardist, and a man their info card called a DJ. He had some kind of box, or perhaps several, but there were no turntables, and there was so much going on, it was difficult to tell what he was adding to the sound. Out front were a couple of singers, one in a Japanese-style robe, and the other, stripped to the waist with “Michael is in my house“ written on his chest, and “X Japan” written on his back, both in red ink. That one handled the punk style vocals, and had a partially shaved head with a flurry of hair coming out of a semi-mohawk cut. When he wasn’t singing it was almost more interesting. He would often hold a pose, with his mouth open in a circle, almost as if he was performing butoh. He definitely gave VAMPILLIA a distinct look. The singer in the robe would sometimes sing, sometimes bellow, and once threw himself off the stage and lay on the floor in front of the audience groaning. One of the guitarists was also a vocalist. He sang in an operatic falsetto, was quite good at it, and apparently quite serious about it, though he wore a long black dress, and a blonde wig. I would have thought him an attractive woman, if I hadn’t been alerted by Jun (of GELATINE). The musicians all seemed competent enough, and the featured musicians seemed to be the the women of the group--the female violinist, and the woman on keyboards. During softer, more melodious moments, it was often only the two of them performing, with perhaps the drummer playing delicately on the cymbals. Now and then Noriko Tujiko would come up on the stage and sing in a serious and more full-throated way than she did later when she performed alone. So, you had the stage crowded with musicians, and the theatrical singers were out front. Songs often started out very beautifully and sweetly, usually featuring the keyboards and a violin, and then the rest of the band would come in, and from there the sound could go in a variety of directions, from a number of rock styles, to burlesque, to European drinking songs, and there were definitely frequent opera influences at work. Often, for a crescendo (sometimes lasting half the song), the band would go into an all out freak-out, which occasionally sounded like something from a horror soundtrack, and at other times just became a noise improv, with everyone in the band making as much of a racket as they possibly could. Their sound was more often baffling than intriguing, but the great number and variety of performers kept things interesting, and the whole thing was quite a spectacle. I’m not sure I need to see it again, but I’m glad I saw it once.

Veronica’s Violet

Veronica’s Violet/The Morning After Girls--Pianos--3/24/05
Unfortunately for VERONICA’S VIOLET, most of the crowd who showed up for THE MORNING AFTER GIRLS left immediately after their set. When VERONICA’S VIOLET began, there were less than ten people in the room, and some of them left almost immediately. The band is made up of two men and two women. One of the women sang lead and the other played bass and handled the back-up vocals. The reason that some left immediately, was no doubt because as soon as VERONICA’S VIOLET began, it was obvious that they were a fairly straight hard rock band. There were no real surprises, but they did rock hard, and they rocked well, especially the bassist and guitarist. The bassist had a wonderful style that kept the songs active and throbbing. She also had a very nice, sweet voice, which I actually liked better than the lead singer’s vocals. The lead singer tended more toward a standard gruff, rock style, that worked fine for this standard rock band. The guitarist was technically very good, and surprisingly subtle for a hard rock guitarist, as they usually tend toward overkill. The arrangements were strong, and the songs themselves, though very much in a standard hard rock mode, were good, and I enjoyed their set. Probably my favorite aspect of the band was the contrast between the sweet and rough vocalists. The lead vocalist remained fairly low-key throughout the set, often allowing the bassist and guitarist to take center stage, but for the last song she surprised me by leaving the stage and actually getting in our faces a bit. By then, they had drawn some more people into the room, and though the crowd was still small, it gave them a warm reception.

Volume Out

Guitar Wolf/Peelander-Z/The Spunks/ Goggle-A/The Young Ones/Rocket Jack Vaders/Volume Out--Japunks Jamboree #6 @ CBGB--11/18/03
That was a wonderful night, a kind of miraculous night, and with GUITAR WOLF on the bill, the size of the crowd grew very fast, and the palefaces may have actually outnumbered the Japanese! One of the nicest touches were the women who came out at the beginning of each set and held up signs with the “Round” number for each set on one side, and the name of the band on the other side. There were seven rounds in all, and, yes, it was a knock out. Thanks Japunks!
At about 7PM exactly VOLUME OUT marched onto the stage, paper bags over their heads with holes cut in them for the eyes and mouths. Round One had begun. They took the bags off after the first song. There were three of them and they played bass (a Hofner copy), a lyre-style guitar, and a female drummer played standing up on just a tom-tom, a snare, and a cymbal. They all wore white shirts with what looked like blood stains on the left side of their chests. They weren’t strictly rockabilly, but they were in the neighborhood. They could play, though the drummer seemed to play basically the same thing for every song. Unfortunately, neither the bassist nor guitarist, who both sang lead at different times, could sing terribly well. Still, considering the smallish crowd at that point, they worked it pretty well. The most interesting thing they did was a variation on ‘Louie, Louie’, which they called ‘Fujiyama’. For their last song, the guitarist replaced the bag on his head, and closed the set by leaning backwards until only his feet and head were touching the ground. In that position he played his best lead of the entire set. Not a bad way to close out what was otherwise a fairly iffy set.

Water Fai

Pika Yuka/Preacher And The Knife/Water Fai/Hard Nips/Moon Mama/Boats--Pianos--3/16/10
WATER FAI is from Osaka, and are all women. They have two guitarists, a keyboardist, a bassist and a drummer. Andy suggested, from what he had heard on MySpace, that they were a post-punk band, and I'd have to agree. They're a feminine post-punk band. Their songs seemed to be based on simplistic riffs, which they repeat over and over again, but they do so gently, delicately, and they seem to add embroidery to the riffs as they jam them out into the cranial cosmos. They had a wide variety of sounds, too, from soft vocal cooing, to downright aggressive exclamations of rocking out with some squealing feedback from the guitar. Mostly, though, they stayed with the gentle pulsing jams, and though their level of technique was not amazing, they were quite capable, and their grooves were seductive, and hypnotizing. The crowd had continued to grow, though the people seemed to remain toward the rear of the room, as if avoiding the stage. I was dissapointed in WATER FAI’s stagecraft, though one of the guitarists found ways to express her emotions in her movements, and the band are all certainly attractive. At times I felt some of the explorations of the extended riffs were a bit on the feeble side, but the riffs themselves kept rolling smoothly and firmly. I'm not that fond of jam bands, or trance bands, but this is a band that is obviously taking its own direction, and is destined to grow and improve as it travels on its journey.

We Acediasts

We Acediasts--Brownies--7/8/01
An acediast is someone suffering from the sin of sloth, in case you wondered. Yes, I looked it up. Whether this band was suffering from that sin, I’m not prepared to say. Its music may very well have been, though. They were made up of a drummer, a bassist, a paleface guitarist, and a singer. They started out with a slow throb, and much of their music continued in that vein, ranging between a somewhat less talented CAN to, when they picked up the beat a bit, a milder version of THE BUSH TETRAS. The singer was the show. He ranted into the microphone, reminding me of a schoolboy answering back after being picked on in the schoolyard. He seemed to be improvising to the pulse provided by the band, and occasionally he would dance/stagger about the stage, almost always to a rhythm noticeably faster than the band was playing. It was certainly a unique performance, and they have the potential to develop into something interesting, but that may be a ways off yet. Their set was over quickly, and the audience seemed satisfied with that.

Fuyuki Yamakawa

Some Cats From Japan: Atsuhiro Ito And C. Spencer Yeh/ Kanta Horio/Fuyuki Yamakawa--The Kitchen--9/28/07
When the doors opened at 8PM there weren’t that many people there. I was able to get a ticket at the door, and had a wide choice of seating. People slowly kept coming in, though, and they had every seat filled before the show began. Personally, I found this show to be a meaningless experience. Granted, each of the artists had invented their own forum for presenting their artistic selves, and that’s something, but I feel confident that had the artists allowed members of the audience to get up and play with their contraptions, with no previous experience, the novice performances would have been just as interesting as the performances these “artists” presented for us.
Fuyuki Yamakawa is a very skinny man with long black hair. He walked to a microphone stand set up at center stage, adjusted a few knobs and microphones, took off his jacket, and tossed it into the air. As it landed he stepped onto a footpedal and assaulted us with a barrage of sound, most of which, I believe, came from his vocal chords. I’m not sure how it was done. There may have been a small microphone up his nose for all I know, but when he changed the shape of his mouth, it changed the pitch of the sound. Next he adjusted a microphone that amplified his heartbeat, and began mixing that with his breathing, and the vocal chord sounds, which may very well have been his version of traditional “Khoomei” overtone singing, which they mention in the program. It was unique, and it was interesting at first. He’d do it one way, and then he’d mix it up and do it differently. Then the lights went down, and a set of bright lights began to flash along with the beat of his heart. You almost had to squint your eyes. He was able to manipulate his heartbeat some, but it was probably more interesting that he had removed his shirt, and had tape all across his chest. Next he took up a guitar. He almost never touched the strings, but played it by tapping on the body and the neck, blowing on it, banging it against his body, shaking it, and bending it around in front of the amp to extract feedback. After playing with the guitar for a while, and mixing it with some of the other effects--the stage lights were still turned off, and his lights were still flashing--he began singing in a deep voice, unlike the vocal chord singing, which had been higher pitched. He sang a few things, and it was the most traditional part of his act. It sounded remotely like an ancient Japanese monk leading his sect in a celebration and a spiritual search for macabre enlightenment. When he stopped, the lights came on, and there he stood with his hair draped down in front of his face, like a taller, skinnier, black-haired Cousin It. The audience clapped politely as Fuyuki Yamakawa took his bows.

Yoshitake Expe

Yoshitake Expe/Blissed Out/Sun Castle--Lit Lounge--4/1/10
Yoshitake Expe is a guitarist from Osaka. He plays what he calls ‘Space Guitar’. He had already set up all his boxes, pedals, and amplifiers in the rear section of the stage where the drummer usually sets up. BLISSED OUT ended their set, and while they were still packing up their own boxes, Yoshitake Expe, in dreadlocks and sports pants, slipped back behind them and began playing his guitar. He may also have been setting up his sound a bit, but almost immediately he was getting some very distinct sounds. He did a lot of looping, usually starting off with rhythmic tracks which he got by banging on the guitar, or tapping on the low strings and looping the sounds. One by one he would add effects to it, and then play on top of that. He was able to send it all through various speakers and effects, and sometimes the sound seemed to be spinning around, traveling a circuit of speakers. Some of it sounded exactly like what you would expect from the phrase ‘Space Guitar’. His area of the stage was set up with pedals and boxes all over it, and he sat on a stool, played his guitar, and regularly reached out his feet, over here, and then over there, and tapped on the various boxes, switches, and pedals he had arranged around him. I talked with him briefly afterward, and he claimed to be using twenty different effects boxes, but in a quick count I was sure I counted more than that. In Japan he says he uses more, but this was all he could bring with him for his U.S. tour. If he didn’t use them all, he came very close to using them all, and the sound continually changed as his performance went on. Sometimes he used more of a samba beat, then he’d begin adding sounds to that, and there was regularly a leg reaching out to add some new effect to his musical stew, which slowly mutated, grew, and changed until about forty minutes after he had begun playing he stopped, and thanked us. Yes, he’d also used a microphone from time to time, but the vocal effects were so buried in the mix, they didn’t stick out distinctively at all. He received a good round of applause from the small audience and was still packing up his collection of boxes, pedals, and effects when I left the club.

The Young Ones

Guitar Wolf/Peelander-Z/The Spunks/ Goggle-A/The Young Ones/Rocket Jack Vaders/Volume Out--Japunks Jamboree #6 @ CBGB--11/18/03
That was a wonderful night, a kind of miraculous night, and with GUITAR WOLF on the bill, the size of the crowd grew very fast, and the palefaces may have actually outnumbered the Japanese! One of the nicest touches were the women who came out at the beginning of each set and held up signs with the “Round” number for each set on one side, and the name of the band on the other side. There were seven rounds in all, and, yes, it was a knock out. Thanks Japunks!
Round three brought us THE YOUNG ONES. No, not the English comedy show, but a Japanese trio of straightforward punkers. Their performance style was quite workmanlike, but they could all play quite well. Their set rocked hard. Every song slugged away at the still growing audience. The bassist provided a nice flowing style, and moved around the stage comfortably. It was about the only movement. The guitarist, who sang, regularly went back to his amp and turned his back on the audience while he tuned up. He didn’t offer us much more commentary than an occasional one word like, “CBGBs!” before launching the band into the next song. On his collar he wore a button that read, “DAM NED”. I believe that referred to the band, THE DAMNED. They closed their hard-driving set with a cover of THE DEAD BOYS’ ‘Sonic Reducer’.

Yura Yura Teikoku

Yura Yura Teikoku/A Soft Circle--Tonic--10/14/01
YURA YURA TEIKOKU set up fairly quickly. They are a trio and started in on what seemed like a late ‘60s pop song structure in a rock format. It was interesting how much of a poppy aspect the guitarist could get out of just his guitar and vocals. Then the band would take things into a rocking release. The second song was reminiscent of a KINKS riff, and the rocking worked especially well. They were a good rock band, but the pop aspects kept surprising me. Then as we moved into the middle of the set the songs got mopier. As the songs began trudging into the mud at the side of the road, the breaks became like Roman candles which shot off into an unseen orbit, never to return. At times the bassist would let his fingers flow on the fretboard. At other times he’d keep a couple of notes pulsing like drone notes. As the set continued, the pyrotechnics expanded, and during the breaks the guitarist began turning and lunging his way around the stage, twice bounding off a ledge up into the air above the stage, as the leads shot farther and farther out into the cosmos. Toward the end, the occasional song would start out at a more rocking clip, and the escapes went on for longer periods of time, until after one of the longest interludes, the band brought the song and the set to a dramatic close. The crowd gave them an enthusiastic response, but the band left the stage and only returned to pack up their equipment.

Yura Yura Teikoku/Endless Boogie/Invisible Conga People--Knitting Factory--7/9/06
It was great to have ENDLESS BOOGIE opening up for YURA YURA TEIKOKU! The crowd seemed to appreciate them, and I even overheard someone in the audience commenting that it was obvious they had been chosen because they were kind of an American version of YURA YURA TEIKOKU.
As I waited for YURA YURA TEIKOKU to take the stage, I recognized both Nao of SEAGULL SCREAMING KISS HER KISS HER, and Mark of IN CORRIDORS standing next to me, and happily chatted with them while we watched YURA YURA TEIKOKU set up their stage. As if in appreciation of ENDLESS BOOGIE, YURA YURA TEIKOKU started off their set with a couple of boogie style songs. It wasn’t how I remembered them, and my appreciation of their wide range of material grew as the set continued. As a trio, they’re amazing. They started changing things up almost immediately. Some songs would start with slowly repeated riffs. One reminded me of a kind of DOORS slow strut. Another was kind of choppy with a funk groove interweaved mostly by the bassist. Some were straight rock songs, and there were a few that reminded me of the poppier material they had been playing last year, but the guitarist’s singing didn’t seem as pop oriented as I’d remembered. Toward the end of the set, the echo effect on his voice would send it bouncing around the room. It was amazing to watch them run through such a rich variety of song forms. The YURA YURA TEIKOKU signature on all these different styles, though, was that when the guitar break came, they would sometimes loosen up with some slow expanding riffs, but often would just shoot off into manically psychedelic excursions. When the guitarist really took off, he’d move about the stage, and his body would move like the guitar sounds he was playing, either weaving, or sometimes jerking spastically. The good sized crowd was getting just what they wanted, and were eating it up. I was informed later that the band has been around for a good ten years now, and it shows. The bassist and drummer are well chosen. They had no problem enriching the variety of material, and when things took off, they were the power that accelerated things out into the cosmos. The set lasted easily over an hour, and the last three songs were all climactic enough to have each justly been the last song of the set, but then they’d start up again. Finally they ended their wonderful set, and the crowd was energized enough to demand even more. The band returned, played a short rocker and were gone, leaving a guitar feeding back, and drowning out the music that was quickly turned on as they left the stage for the last time.

Yura Yura Teikoku/The Obits/The Invisible Conga People--Music Hall Of Williamsburg--10/19/08
YURA YURA TEIKOKU came out and while they set up, one of the songs that was played over the P.A. was THE MODERN LOVERS’ ‘I’m Straight’. I don’t know if this was someone’s comment on the band members’s long hair, but it was great to hear that song again. The band started up soon, but only Ichiro Shibata, on drums, and Chiyo Kamekawa, on bass, were playing. Singer/guitarist Shintaro Sakamoto played only maracas on the opening song, though he did sing. That song had a kind of island groove to it. The next couple of songs each picked up the pace slightly. Then the fourth song started off again with Shintaro Sakamoto singing and just playing his gold maracas, which reflected the light of the spotlights. Once they’d gotten the song started up well, and Shintaro had sung a couple of verses, he tossed the maracas out into the crowd, and went back to the guitar for good. They picked up the pace a few times, inspiring Shintaro Sakamoto to go off into some wild leads, and often his legs seemed to mimic his fingers, as he danced/twisted himself around the stage. Most of the songs had a much slower beat, though there was always a good groove going with Chiyo Kamekawa’s sexually pulsing basslines. Shintaro’s vocals have mellowed a bit since the last time I saw this band. YURA YURA TEIKOKU seem to be leaving behind the extended psychedelic jams, though there were some tonight, and going for a more soulful, pop groove. His vocals are following that trend. Shintaro Sakamoto doesn’t have a great voice, but he does use it well. The soulfulness is coming through, and the reverb definitely helps. On one song where they were doing a slower groove, they went into the lead break, and revved it up for the wild lead, the shaking hair, and the jerking dance steps. At the climax of the lead Shintaro took a jump up into the air. It was inspiring, and when they slowed back down and smoothly slipped back into their groove, it suddenly reminded me of The Doors after one of their wilder leads, slipping back into a slower groove. It was not a comparison I would have made before tonight. At the end of their last song, Shintaro raised his hands to wave goodbye, and the band left the stage. Very quickly the P.A. music came on, and the lights began coming up. I heard a voice behind me say, “What? No Encore?” He wasn’t clapping or cheering, but not many were. Part of the fault lies with the speed that the P.A. came on and the lights went up, but largely, though they had responded warmly throughout the show, the audience hadn’t called for an encore, and so didn’t deserve one. We had a surprise coming, though. YURA YURA TEIKOKU did come back out. The lights went back down, and they played the most uptempo song they had played all evening. They rocked it hard for about a minute and a half, and then they left for good.

Zazen Boys

Peelander-Z/Zazen Boys/Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re/Quaff/Bakubeni--Williamsburg Music Hall--9/28/08
        Wow! Two nights in a row! It was my first night in the Williamsburg Music Hall, and it’s a nice place. People had told me that it had been redesigned from when it was North Six, and that now it resembles a smaller Bowery Ballroom, and that the pillars that used to block the view are gone. They’re pretty much right, too. What was especially nice was that tonight all of the bands were Japanese except for New York’s premier J-rock band, PEELANDER-Z, who closed the night with a set that was basically a crazy party playtime! Fun was had by all, and again Kaiju Big Battel played MC for the show.
      It was truly a joy to see TSU SHI MA MI RE again, but next I was gonna see the Japanese band I hadn’t seen last night. The ZAZEN BOYS’ drummer, Atsushi Matsushita, was the other person Tatsuya, guitarist for local band UZUHI, had told me he was excited to see. He was right again! ZAZEN BOYS are led by Shutoku Mukai, who is best known for leading a popular underground band named NUMBER GIRL. Beforehand I made a point of checking out some ZAZEN BOYS videos on YouTube, and didn’t quite know what to think. They seemed to be trying to seriously combine jazz with experimental pop music. Tonight the rock influences were more prominent, but that may have been because they generously performed a couple of NUMBER GIRL tunes along with the ZAZEN BOYS’ material. ZAZEN BOYS are obviously all gifted musicians. Even so, the drummer did stand out. ZAZEN BOYS’ off-beat rhythms and intricacies made TSU SHI MA MI RE’s stops and starts seem like smooth pop music. They seemed to use as many odd beats and rhythms as they could invent. It’s not music that I would go out of my way to listen to, but to see them perform it live was fascinating. Why would a man who had successfully led a rock band have turned to this kind of experimental music? From his very straightforward presentation of the material, I began to conjure up the idea that perhaps Shutoku Mukai at some point had been disillusioned by the simplicity of rock music and been alienated by its trappings and its audience. For whatever reason, he seems to have decided that he wanted to use his prodigious talents to create music that couldn’t be so easily defined. What he’s come up with is a music that seems perverse in the number of twists and turns it takes. It’s as if he and his band are trying their hardest to keep you guessing. It almost seems like, except for one song they played which had a very smooth island groove, if at any point something they came up with seemed predictable or easily marketable, they would immediately want to throw a wrench into it. If you think that sounds like a negative, it probably would be for you. To watch them play this difficult music was inspiring. To watch them play it flawlessy was a learning experience. Tonight they were warmly received, and Shutoku Mukai even went in for some crowd participation when he had us repeatedly sing out the title of a song called ‘Cold Beat’. It wasn’t a hot beat, but it wasn’t a cold beat either. If anything, it was a fractured, apocalyptic beat that jerked on and off like a contrary machine. The band’s mastery over this quirky material was marvelous and even exciting. They’ll be playing Maxwell’s on October 4th, and Mercury Lounge on October 5th.
        When PEELANDER-Z did the song that replaces each member of the band for “Bowling Time”, Mari, of Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re, was chosen to replace Kengo, Peelander Yellow, on guitar. The bassist of QUAFF was chosen to replace Kotaro, Peelander Red, on bass, and a great commotion ensued when ZAZEN BOYS’ amazing drummer, Atsushi Matsushita, was called to replace Peelander Green, and he didn’t come. A number of people ran around looking for him, and in not too long a time they found him and he took his place behind the drums. Surprisingly all these guest stars didn’t do anything of any greater merit than when PEELANDER-Z chooses to replace themselves with amateurs, but the usual noise was fun, and everybody seemed to be having a good time, including the audience.

Paper/Zazen Boys--Cake Shop--3/6/09
ZAZEN BOYS waited a while, and, sure enough, they got a good sized crowd. It was a treat to see them again so soon. They are an amazingly tight band. There’s a good deal of jazz influence in their stylings, especially the way the rhythms often stop and start. The band as one drops a flurry of beats, then stops, then does it again, often at Shutoku Mukai’s countdown, or his merest nod. Several times he announced that they were ZAZEN BOYS from Tokyo, and that they were glad to be back in New York. I think he was wearing the same black hat he was wearing at the Music Hall Of Williamsburg show back in September. Shutoku Mukai is obviously the leader, and it’s quickly apparent how well he’s got this band trained, and what excellent musicians they all are. When they get past the stop and start quirkiness, and get onto a rhythm, they play it with a syncopation that sounds less like jazz than an inherited traditional folk music. Shutoku Mukai does all the vocals, and also switches between guitar and keyboards. He keeps his vocals unique and varied, and though he’s limited as a singer, you almost don’t notice. The lead guitarist regularly seemed to just repeat the same riff over and over, often at an incredible speed. The bassist played intently, sometimes jerking along with the music, sometimes making faces, and often looking back at ZAZEN BOYS’ secret weapon, Atsushi Matsushita, on drums. He attacks those drums throughout the set, and keeps this band rocking. After a few songs, Shutoku Mukai switched to keyboards. He was able to get nearly as much variation in sounds from his keyboard as from his vocals. He started ‘Cold Beat’, one of their rockingest songs on guitar, but halfway through he switched back to keyboards, and as the song raved up, he picked up the keyboards and held them over his head for a moment. They rocked that one up, and they kept the rock coming. For the last song Shutoku Mukai was back on guitar, and jumped up onto Atsushi Matsushita’s bass drum, where he crouched and grinned for almost half the song. It was a good strong set, and nice that they’d been inspired enough to throw in a bit of theatrics.

Zazen Boys/Jagwire/Bona To Vada--Pianos--3/8/09
“We are Zazen Boys from Matsuri Studio, in Tokyo.” is what Shutoku Mukai said a number of times. Matsuri Studio is apparently their record label. Early on he apologized that his songs were all in Japanese, but suggested we should try to understand the feeling of the songs. Actually, he sang two songs in English, ‘Cold Beat’, of course, and one which I assume was called ‘I Don’t Want You Around’, which he immediately took back, telling us after the song that he did want us around, and, of course, that he was happy to be in New York City. It was easy to see why. There was a good crowd there to see them, and by the end of the show, most of that audience was bouncing up and down, enraptured by ZAZEN BOYS. It was amazing to see, as ZAZEN BOYS’ music is not the easiest to come to terms with. There are good number of stops and starts, and twists and turns, but by the time this band got to the end of their set, which again featured ‘Cold Beat’ and another rocker, this crowd was totally behind them. Shutoku thanked the audience again, and promised that ZAZEN BOYS would return to New York again in September. Atsushi Matsushita, on drums, was as amazing as always. Ichiro Yoshida, on bass, though he often seems to be hiding behind Shutoku Mukai, is working hard back there. And Sou Yoshikane, on guitar, also played some percussion, and tonight for one song he played a little machine which may have been capturing parts of Shutoku’s vocals and repeating them in the mix. It was probably doing other things, as well, as he was working it intently. That machine leads me to believe that though many parts of their songs are intensely specific, there is some improvisation going on at times, which befits this jazz inspired band. It was an amazing show, with many of the same songs as on Friday, two days ago, but there were a couple of new songs thrown in, and tonight the crowd actually managed to get them to do an encore, a song which may have been called ‘Kimochi’. Shutoku Mukai explained to us that it was about how he wanted to tell us his feelings. It was a soft, tender song, but in between the vocals, the band would launch into one of their stop and start, tear the lid off the thing, surge of rapid beats. Then they would go back to the gentle ballad. What with Pianos’ better sound, and the fact that everyone in the audience could actually see the band tonight, this was a much better show. I was glad to see them again, and to ZAZEN BOYS, we’ll all have to sing, ‘See You In September!’

Zoffy

Japanese New Music Festival: Acid Mothers Temple SWR/Zoffy/Ruins Alone/Ronruins/Zubi Zuva X/Shrinp Wark/Akaten/Seikazoku--NorthSix--9/3/06
The Japanese New Music Festival was Atsushi Tsuyama and Makoto Kawabata of ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE, and Tatsuya Yoshida of RUINS in various combinations. The only exception was RONRUINS, a project of Yoshida’s which included Ron Anderson on guitar and vocals, and Jesse Krakow on bass and vocals. The majority of the people attending understood the situation. All the bands were there. They were just made up of the same three people, and many didn’t play more than a few songs. At one point I was just going to do one report of the entire evening, but as it turns out, I’ve divided my reports up for the different “bands”. Throughout the evening, the three principals regularly welcomed us to “The Japanese New Music Festival”. They did it so often, it became a running gag. All three of the principals sang in most of the “bands”, though Kawabata tended to stick to back-up vocals.
Yoshida got a break for the first part of ZOFFY’s set, though he did join them for the final few "jazz" songs. ZOFFY were Tsuyama and Kawabata. Again, Kawabata began on violin, but switched to guitar after a couple of songs. Tsuyama started on flute, but also played some on his small pink guitar. The first song was a “very very old” song. With the flute and violin it passed as the most serious song ZOFFY did. The next song was a “very very famous” song. It turned out to be DEEP PURPLE’s ‘Smoke On The Water’, featuring Kawabata on scratchy guitar, and Tsuyama singing in mock Dylan style vocals. All the songs after that were announced as “very very famous”, and things just kept getting sillier. Tsuyama began using his “Mongolian style” vocals on LED ZEPPELIN’s ‘Immigrant Song’, and used them again on THE ROLLING STONES’ ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’. Yoshida joined them again for a few “very very famous jazz” songs by Miles Davis. Each of them started with Kawabata masterfully presenting full-bodied, funky introductions to the songs, each supported vibrantly by Yoshida on drums, and each ended by Tsuyama with one squeak from a small toy trumpet. The first song had seemed serious, but they had quickly become silly, and were obviously just having some fun, perhaps to loosen us up for ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE SWR.

The Zoobombs

The Zoobombs/The Elegant Too--Brownies--4/28/00
THE ZOOBOMBS, bass, drums, guitar, and keyboards, came on and rocked. I had heard their sound described in various ways, but didn’t expect what I heard. They did have some funk, but I heard a lot more blues in their sound. To me, they seemed in many ways like a good ‘70s rock band minus the long solos. They rocked with a respect for funk and rhythm & blues, and jammed on it when they got a good groove. Because of that, of the Japanese bands I’ve seen they reminded me most of BUFFALO DAUGHTER, but are much closer to a straight rock band. The band members are all technically good, and the songs grew as the band worked them through the sometimes extended constructions. They always had a groove going and they usually rocked it for whatever it was worth. The guitarist/lead singer was the show. He jumped around the stage, signalled the changes, and worked the crowd when he felt like it. It’s an impressive band and they put on a good show. I was disappointed it ended so soon, and I’ll look forward to seeing them again.

Detachment Kit/Zoobombs/Voicst--Knitting Factory--9/17/05
It was a pleasure to see a good band warming things up for ZOOBOMBS.
Since Knitting Factory had been calling them THE ZOO BOMBS, I was relieved to find out that it actually was THE ZOOBOMBS. There they were, setting up their stage. It had been so long since ZOOBOMBS had played in New York, and the young boy that I noticed Matta looking after later is probably one of the main reasons. I was excited to see them again. They’re a quartet with guitar, drums, bass, and keyboards. They did a fine set of rock and rhythm and blues. There was some early trouble with the bass, and none of them seemed particularly happy, but they knocked out their songs, and Don, on guitar and vocals, did put some energy into his performance, directing the rest of the band, and raising his guitar in the air as the songs built in intensity. It was the last song that brought some real drama to the set. Don pulled up the microphone that had been positioned in front of Moostop’s bass speakers, and began singing through it. They’d taken the sound down to a throb, and Don began intoning some strange recitation as if he was channeling Damo Suzuki, of the band CAN, who once upon a time managed some very strange, yet hearfelt musical journeys. It was a new sound for ZOOBOMBS, and exciting to see that they are still reaching to expand their range. They topped the song off by building it up again with Don, on guitar, and Matta, on keyboards, trading leads, bringing some psychedelia writhing into the mix. I was warmed up now. Unfortunately, it was the close of their set. A great one, certainly, but it had come much too soon.

ZOoOoOm

ZOoOoOm--108 Starr St.--11/3/06
It was like a prank scavenger hunt. I got off the L train at Morgan, and there were messages taped to the wall that the show had been moved with instructions on how to get to the new location. Eventually, a group of us who had met during the search were ushered into the place. ZOOOOOM were already playing in a corner of the basement. There are three of them, a guitarist, a drummer, and a woman on drums and percussion who also sings. They had a good strong beat going, and were pounding hell out of it. The woman put her sticks down, picked up maracas, and began singing what seemed close to tribal chants, and then began drumming with her maracas. The male drummer was working hard the entire time I was watching. The guitarist sometimes put his foot up on the bass drum. His guitar lines followed the rhythmic nature of the drums, and seemed to be cheering them on. The woman, who stood while she played and sang, had long hair, which she thrashed around to keep it out of her way as she performed. She had a peculiar looking drum that I asked her about after the show. She had made it out of a bass drum, and it was that wide, but it was only about 7" deep. She called it her tympani drum. It was fun to watch them play, and they had a small crowd circled around them as they spiritedly pounded out their mystic ceremony. About fifteen minutes into their set, of which I saw only about ten minutes, someone came down and told them they had to quit because they were too loud. They should take that as a compliment! I wish I’d been able to see more of ZOOOOOM, and spent less time traipsing around East Williamsburg. Fifteen minutes? Too loud? It was time to go!

Zubi Zuva X

Japanese New Music Festival: Acid Mothers Temple SWR/Zoffy/Ruins Alone/Ronruins/Zubi Zuva X/Shrinp Wark/Akaten/Seikazoku--NorthSix--9/3/06
The Japanese New Music Festival was Atsushi Tsuyama and Makoto Kawabata of ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE, and Tatsuya Yoshida of RUINS in various combinations. The only exception was RONRUINS, a project of Yoshida’s which included Ron Anderson on guitar and vocals, and Jesse Krakow on bass and vocals. The majority of the people attending understood the situation. All the bands were there. They were just made up of the same three people, and many didn’t play more than a few songs. At one point I was just going to do one report of the entire evening, but as it turns out, I’ve divided my reports up for the different “bands”. Throughout the evening, the three principals regularly welcomed us to “The Japanese New Music Festival”. They did it so often, it became a running gag. All three of the principals sang in most of the “bands”, though Kawabata tended to stick to back-up vocals.
Next up were ZUBI ZUVA X, who were all three of our principals doing acappella. They placed two microphones close together, and began repeatedly singing “Zubi Zuva X”, their band name. Tsuyama seemed to be leading the proceedings, but all three were enthusiastically adding their contributions. The second song seemed to be based around the same lyrical catchphrase, but the third song developed from the repetition of the name, “Maria”. Early on, it was sung like a West Side Story reference, and each of the men counted the rhythm. Yoshida used a drumstick like a baton. Kawabata had a stick as well, but Tsuyama was waving a fan to direct the beat, and once or twice unfurled it for dramatic effect.

& Others--Live (T-Z) Techma