& Others--Live (O-R)

OK City OK

OK City OK/Mercury In Transit/Daffodil--Lit Lounge--3/17/09
OK CITY OK are a trio out of Tokyo. Kay Grace, the singer/guitarist informed me that he was originally from Texas, though he had spent some time in Brooklyn. The rhythm section are Japanese. The bassist, Tom Suzuki, is a young woman with long hair, who sometimes seemed to be hiding behind her hair. When she looked up, though, she often had a big smile on her face, and at times she would dance around and shake her head as she played. The bass seemed a bit low in the mix at first, but they brought it up after a while. The drummer, Y. Shiva, kept things simple, but was certainly proficient. Kay Grace said later that when he pulled his guitar out of the case he could see that it had been damaged. A part of it, he claimed, was mashed in. He warned us before they began playing that it looked like he was going to have some problems. The first half of the set sounded messy, and it was hard to understand why. They began with a song called ‘She’s Literally On Fire’. His songs are often about love, but generally the relationships are extremely troubled, and the songs are sung from a peculiarly warped perspective. In that way, the sloppiness of the presentation fit the disturbed perspectives of the songs. Halfway through the set, Kay Grace pinpointed the problem. He pulled his hand off the strings of his guitar and let the feedback roar, telling us to keep that sound in our minds, and subtract it from the sound we were hearing as they played. It was at that point that the main guitarist from MERCURY IN TRANSIT came up on stage, rearranged the settings on the amp, which was his, and suddenly OK CITY OK had a clean sound. For the second half of their set, they were a tight and rocking band. Even the lead vocals seemed clearer, probably because you didn't have to pick them out over the feedback. The songs were good, and when he took a break for a lead, the leads had a nice edgy roar to them. When he wasn't singing, he'd often move about the stage, sometimes dancing along with the bassist. They closed out their set with another “love” song called ‘Skeleton Kiss’. While he sang this one, he nudged his mic around, until it was down at knee level, and he was bent over and singing into it. Soon he was kneeling down at the front of the stage while he sang. It was a rousing song, and a good one to close with. Thank goodness MERCURY IN TRANSIT’s guitarist had adjusted the amplifier!

Omodaka

Japan Nite 2009: Detroit7/Asakusa Jinta/Grapevine/SA/Sparta Locals/Omodaka/Flip--Bowery Ballroom--3/22/09
Ah, Japan Nite 2009! Japan Nite has become a tradition. Once a year, Audrey Kimura, of Benten/Sister Records organizes the Japanese bands for SXSW, and after the SXSW shows, she takes a bunch of the bands on a short, but slowly expanding, tour of some of the bigger cities of the United States. Thankfully, New York has always been included. Sometimes Audrey comes back later in the year, but the March Japan Nite show has become a tradition, and it’s often the best show of the year. This year she brought seven Japanese bands. Wow!
Omodaka is one guy, who is actually named Terada Soichi. He makes computer soundscapes. Some have related his music to 8-bit computer music. It certainly has some relation to that style of music, but as I comprehend it, he’s adding quite a bit more to the soundscapes than just 8-bit computer music, including vocals, which seem influenced by pop music with a touch of opera. The vocals are done by a traditional Japanese singer named Akiko Kanazawa, tonight he showed Akiko Kanazawa singing on a computer screen, and held a microphone up to the screen as she sang the songs. For one guy, he put on a good show. He was dressed in a red and white Japanese outfit, and wore a white mask which completely covered his face. He began the show by either playing a hand-held video game, or by aping playing a hand-held video game, and losing pretty quickly three or four times, resulting in the descending tone of a computer game out of steam. Most of what made up his songs tonight was played off a computer, but in every song he played the lead instrument on one of two hand-held gadgets. He was quite the expert on these gadgets. One of them he seemed to play like a ring-tone cell-phone. The other had a small screen, and the tone changed depending on where and how he touched it. During the last song he handed them out to people in the audience, and let them try their skills on his gadgets. Throughout the show he had videos of his songs playing as he performed them, along with videos of the singer. The music itself didn’t do much for me, but Omodaka is obviously talented, and he put on a good show.

OOIOO

OOIOO/Pixel Tan/Avey Tare & Panda Bear--Brownies--3/20/01
I decided it would probably be a good idea to see the acts booked with OOIOO, thinking they might prove quite interesting. Wrong!
OOIOO finally came on. Now, I was expecting a BOREDOMS spinoff to sound reminiscent of THE BOREDOMS, and the earlier material I had heard by this band did. The four women who took the stage played traditional rock instruments, in a traditional rock set-up. The only departure from that was Yoshimi occasionally added a trumpet to the sound. Sometimes the traditional instruments didn’t sound traditional, effects making things sound like techno keyboards and such; but largely, it was a very straightforward presentation of a very unique band. The music had a wide range of influences, and seemed to be an offbeat pop music for a new age. There were very beautiful, very serene moments, offset by some upbeat rockin’. Jazz entered into the mix, as did traditional ethnic musics, and spacy progressive music; but all of it was combined in a warm, pleasant sound, that, for now, defies any overall definition. It was well-worth experiencing.

OOIOO/Kim Gordon with Ikue Mori & Jim O’Rourke/Disfunctionixs--Knitting Factory--11/12/04
Unlike DISFUNCTIONIXS and Kim Gordon’s crew, OOIOO played a good long set, and the shortness of the previous sets made the length of this one especially delicious. OOIOO didn’t seem to have as wide a range as the last time I saw them, having trimmed some of the technology from their sound, but there was still a good deal of variety. They started the set off with just the drummer pounding out a tribal rhythm as the two guitarists and bassist did a kind of chanting, call and response thing, that may have been Japanese, but was more likely a language invented by Yoshimi herself. It went on for quite a while, and was a wonderful way to start things off. There were so many lyrics involved in the chanting poetics, they each had lyric sheets taped to their microphone stands just for that one song. The drummer was impressive throughout. Besides a full set of drums, she also had a couple of conga drums which she often played, along with some of the other drums, with her bare hands. Principally, it was her drumming that gave the set its tribal culture sound. The bassist often kept things quite simple, but when she began repeating one of her funky riffs, which she would do exactly the same way each time, a good number of people in the audience would immediately begin bouncing. Both the guitarists seemed to mostly stick to single note runs, rather than chords, often playing them high up on the neck. It was an interesting approach, and Yoshimi added some rousing trumpet, and a melodica, a keyboard powered by air from a tube she blew into, to expand the variety of the band’s sounds. I noticed influences from jazz, funk, rock, primitive tribal, and soul, and there was a certain jamming to the sound, but more because of its constant pulse than any real improvisation. Somehow it all seemed to fit into a style I’ll call modernized South Pacific Island. The entire set was delightful, and thoroughly entertained the sold out crowd of New York island natives and visitors. When OOIOO returned for their encore they launched into the hardest rocking song of the set, but soon slowed it down to a good, upbeat, rhythmic chant. When they left the stage the second time, they left many of us cheering with smiles on our faces.

OOIOO/I.U.D.--Knitting Factory--3/20/07
After waiting much too long in a sold-out crowd whose voices were louder than the music, which usually I would appreciate, but the music was old-style Japanese music and kind of interesting, OOIOO finally emerged. OOIOO had two drummers tonight. They were both very good, and had a wide variety of drums to bang away on. One of them even had two different sets of conga drums. At one point, when one of the guitarists was having trouble with her equipment, the drummers got onto their conga drums, and by the time the equipment was fixed, they had the crowd whooping and hollering. Yoshimi led her band through a wide variety of tribal songs, anthems, marches, and traditional festive celebrations of sound. There were a wide variety of influences, the most notable from Africa and Southeast Asia, but the music they were playing tonight all came from Yoshimiland. With her guitar, a trumpet, and a small electronic gadget, she led her band through a collection of traditional songs from a land she had invented. She and her fellow guitarist often just played odd, repetitive series of notes, using chords mostly as accents. The bassist kept things churning underneath, often using short little slides and occasionally big swoops to give her playing a very fluid sound. At one point, Yoshimi came to the microphone to say, “Please, no flash.” I think she was actually talking to the light operator, who had gone deliciously overboard on a very exciting tribal celebration number. The new Knitting Factory stage-light array is rather spectacular, and whoever was operating them was doing a fine job, though I could have done with less lights shining directly out at the audience. At another point, Yoshimi held her arm up and gave us a peace sign, holding it there for a good long time. After easily over an hour of dramatic and original music, the band left the stage. It took a little while to call them back, but the audience forcefully did so with applause, whoops, and stomping. The encore was the national anthem of Yoshimiland, with a heartfelt plea for unity, prosperity, and peace. For the final number they did a reprise of one of the first songs of the set. It was a rousing number for which Yoshimi once again brought out her trumpet. OOIOO had kept us waiting, but had easily fulfilled all expectations of the sold-out crowd.

Oorutaichi

Oorutaichi/Drawlings/Lights--Cake Shop--3/3/09
Oorutaichi closed out the ‘Ultra Folkies Party’, and closed it out in good style. He had a table with a laptop and a number of boxes on it. Generally, he would start up a recorded riff. Then he’d make a few adjustments to it with different boxes. When he had it set the way he wanted, he’d back away from the table, and begin singing along with it. His vocals were good, tended to be repetitive, almost tribal, but mostly what they were was joyful, and he’d often dance a bit as he sang. Bits of what he sang would become incorporated into the music. When he wasn’t singing, he’d go back to tinkering with the music, and at times, with what seemed like phasers, he would add a wah-wah effect. Sure, it was techno music, but when he sang it was like a joyful tribal music, and when he tinkered, he often was able to add a pschedelic effect to the music. It was really a wonderful performance, and he easily translated his joy in the performance of it to us, the audience. He managed to get a good variety of sounds, and when he finished up his set, he was quickly brought back for more. Before he started his encore, he thanked us for coming, and asked that we all do something. He showed us he’d like us to clap along, but this New York audience was ready to dance. His music was so joyful and positive, that the dancing started up and everyone seemed to join in, with only that small invitation to participate. For that last song, his music made us a tribe, and we were celebrating! Toward the end of that last song, he took the volume down, and then sang without the microphone, which he’d been holding in his hand since he began the set. Even when he brought the music back up, his voice was easily audible in the small room, or at least down in front, where I was.

Orange Pekoe

Japan Day: Orange Pekoe/Ai Kawashima/Yaz Band--Central Park’s East Meadow--5/31/09
Interestingly, one of the things Ai Kawashima said while talking with the MCs was that it was great for Japan Day that it was such a sunny and beautiful day, but two songs into ORANGE PEKOE’s set it began drizzling.
ORANGE PEKOE came out, and the female singer, Tomoko Nagashima, spoke with the MCs, and we were informed that ORANGE PEKOE’s sound was a mixture of jazz, Brazilian soul, and Japanese pop music. Kazuma Fujimoto accompanies Tomoko on accoustic guitar, and today they were backed up by a drummer, who very much seemed to be a part of the band, and even got a very short drum solo. They started out with a very upbeat song, and Tomoko Nagashima belted out the lyrics with a big smile on her face. She’s a very strong vocalist, and both Kazuma, on guitar, and the drummer, are excellent and versatile musicians, as well. Unfortunately, the next two songs were much more downtempo ballads, and it started lightly raining during the second song. Some of the crowd left as soon as the rain began falling, but most of the crowd stayed, and were rewarded, because around the end of the third song the sun shown down on us again, and as they started into the fourth song, which had a kind of a samba rhythm, Tomoko smiled broadly, and threw her arms out, obviously celebrating the sun’s return. By the fifth and last song it had even stopped raining again! During the uptempo songs Tomoko gestured emotionally, often with a big smile across her face, and throughout the set her vocals, the guitarist’s intricately picked notes, and the drummer’s inspiring rhythms sounded rich and beautiful. They played only five songs, but Tomoko’s beautiful voice, and her enthusiastic performance as she bounced and moved around the stage, made it a joyful experience.

Ovum

Local Sound Style/Ovum/Holidays Of Seventeen/Parker’s Theory/Rice Cookers--Santos Party House--10/20/08
OVUM was up next. They are an instrumental band made up of a drummer, a bassist, and two guitarists. The band seemed to be led by both the drummer and one of the guitarists. They began with a very gentle and beautiful repetitive lick. The second guitarist joined in, then the drummer, and finally the bassist. It went on for a good long time, and took a number of different turns, growing some with each new twist and turn, until they were roaring along, like a tunnel filled with swirling sound and headed in your direction. These guys are amazing! I’d been told they were similar to MONO, and they’re that good. They don’t have the natural feel that Mono has, of growing from one movement to another, but they do have the incredible range of MONO, and they were quite awe inspiring. Their third and last song had the widest range of all. It started with one of the guitarists strumming very lightly. He was strumming so quickly and softly I didn’t even hear it at first. I was wondering why the band was standing there and not playing anything. Then I began to hear a high buzzing whine, like an approaching swarm of insects. It slowly grew louder, and then the rest of the band joined in and things began to build. They built, and they built, and they built. It was quite majestic. Eventually they took it up to a roar. At all times the drummer controlled his beat, and seemed to be controlling the band, leading them through the changes. He’s technically something special, and the bassist spent about half the time on stage facing away from the audience, and toward the drummer. One of the guitarists had long hair, and spent a good deal of the show playing with his hair hanging down around all sides of his head, including his face. It didn’t seem to bother his playing any. They took this last song up to a magnificent roar, and then both the guitarists went down to their knees. The long haired guitarist began adjusting the knobs of whatever boxes he was using, with the guitar lying on the floor. The other guitarist seemed to be still playing his guitar, but was also directing the band by waving one arm up into the air. With a flourish of the guitarist’s arm, the entire band stopped on a beat. The roar was silenced. It was only three songs, but it felt like OVUM had played a full set, and garnered much respect.

Ovum/French Miami--Death By Audio--10/23/08
“Death By Audio” was actually scrawled on the doorway in marker about two inches long. I hadn’t noticed it. One of OVUM’s guitarists pointed it out to me. It was the only announcement that this was the club. There wasn’t even an address. On the other hand, it was a very low-key space, with two stages, movies running in the back room, and lots of bands playing directly after each other for only $5, or free if you had an RSVP. Unfortunately, they started late. I was hoping to see DMBQ tonight afterward, and so I left immediately after OVUM, but soon discovered, figuring that a college sponsored event was not going to be running late on a Thursday night, that I wasn’t going to be able to make it up to Barnard College in time. I should have stayed and checked out some more of the bands.
OVUM gave a chance for some of the crowd to move into the front room and then started up with some very soft guitar work from the shorter haired guitarist. In a short time the rest of the band joined in. Both the guitarists were seated in chairs for the first song, in which the drummer used mallots. After that the chairs were removed, but their music stayed a little lower-key tonight. They did have a few moments where they rocked things up to a peak, but it wasn’t the kind of onslaught I had seen at Santos Party House. Tonight they were just as likely to go back to soft guitar passages, some of which were quite beautiful. They played only one extra song tonight which started out with the bass. Tonight the bassist kept his back to the audience for nearly the entire set. Perhaps they were taking things easier tonight because they were playing earlier in the night, or maybe it was because they were going to be playing another set at Vanishing Point later tonight. They ended things with the same song they had closed the set at Santos Party House, and they did take it up to a big roar, but tonight when both the guitarists went down on the floor to manipulate their boxes, they took things down a bit. Once again, with a wave of a hand the entire band stopped on a dime. Even lower-key, OVUM are an impressive band.

Papaya Paranoia

Papaya Paranoia/Translove Airways--Luna Lounge--3/19/03
It wasn’t long before we got Papaya Paranoia. Besides Yumiko Ishijima on vocals, and Michiko Morinaga on bass, keyboards, laptop, and a few other contraptions, there was also a male DJ. “Have you ever seen a Japanese DJ?” Yumiko asked, but they’re not really so rare here. Unfortunately, a lot of TRANSLOVE AIRWAYS’ fans had disappeared, and the remaining crowd was quite thin. Worse yet, when PAPAYA PARANOIA started up they were shocked to find that the backing tracks from the laptop were inaudible. The soundman was claiming that they were playing too loud to get the backing tracks up loud enough to match them. Somehow they found a way to do it, and while they were working on it, Yumiko entertained us by telling us about their tour, and that this was their second appearance in New York. I didn’t know, but they had played here eight years ago. They got the laptop connection straightened out, and launched into a few upbeat dance numbers. Yumiko is quite the performer. She was wearing what appeared to be a fairly traditional kimono, except for the bare midriff. Michiko seemed to be wearing a much more modern style dress out of the same material. She and the DJ, who was wearing traditional Japanese clothing, concentrated on their instruments and let Yumiko put on the show. That’s what she did, and she did it well, dramatically waving her arms and gesturing in all directions. In the middle of the set the songs became slower and more somber, which gave her a chance to expressively use the fullness of her voice. The audience grew as the set continued, and Yumiko successfully led several sing-alongs. They finished off the set with a couple more up tempo numbers. PAPAYA PARANOIA is no longer the four-piece rock band I was so impressed with, going now for more of a dance/club sound. They continue to approach their sound in their own unique way, though, and it was good to finally see them live. Yumiko’s spirited performance left the small, enthusiastic crowd happy and smiling.

Peck You!!

Peck You!!/Uncle Bob--CBGB Gallery--4/16/06
Peck You!! turned out to be one guy on an Ovation guitar. He was a gentle, young man who told the small number of people, in halting English, about how his aim with his songs was to express himself honestly, and to bring us some beauty with his music. He opened up the evening by telling us that he was enjoying his time in New York, and that he liked some New Yorkers, but that there were some people in New York who pissed him off. When asked who it was who pissed him off, he replied, “Some people who work at Guitar Central, they have wrong attitude.” His music was beautiful, and he sang his songs with passion and sincerity, usually closing his eyes as he sang, to more truly connect with the music. His songs were all in Japanese, but he told us that he hoped we would understand the feelings. I was most impressed by his variety of picking styles. He really is a good guitarist, and seemed a nice person, as well.

Perorins

Perorins/Dick Liberty/Millions/Push Hands--Tommy’s Tavern--4/26/09
PERORINS were the first band of the night that were not presenting variations on noise. Yes, they were noisy, but they were rocking, and the only reason it was noisy was because it was loud, and generally a bit unstructured. It wasn’t that they were completely unstructured. They did have structures to their songs. There just didn't seem to be a lot of concentration on the structure. PERORINS are a trio of guitar, bass, and drums. The guitarist seemed to be the lead singer, and he often talked to the audience in English, but with the humming of the amps and his accent, I’m not sure anybody could understand him. I believe he sang in English some of the time, too. Once I thought I heard him repeating the phrase, “I fucked up!”, but I could have been imagining it. The songs were loud, poundingly simple, and enthusiatically played. The guitarist got a lead in almost every song. Some of his slower leads sounded a bit like like a drunk man singing out of tune. About halfway through their set, someone suggested that the bassist should turn up. He did, and by the end of that song his amp had apparently blown. I believe they considered ending their set, but this band aren't quitters. The bassist took over the vocals for a couple of songs. Was he making up his lyrics? Or maybe he just knew them from playing bass to them? Whetever, he sang as enthusiastically as he had played bass, eventually taking his bass, which he had unplugged from the amp, and sliding it obstructively into the drumset. The drummer just kept banging away, and at the end of the song removed it. About that time the guitarist chased the bassist away from the microphone and took over the vocals again. The bassist, who had previously banged away at the cymbals while playing bass, grabbed some drumsticks, and began helping the drummer out. I wasn't terribly impressed with their version of grunge, but I did appreciate their enthusiasm, and their devil take care approach to rocking out.

Petit Mit

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.
PETIT MIT were a DJ and two female vocalists. The DJ wore a cape, spent almost the entire show holding a rose, not always the same one, and not always just one. He also enjoyed sipping wine in between his sampling, tape manipulations and singing stints. At first I thought the young women were dressed as kappa, but I later decided they were some kind of green bugs, with blonde(?) wigs. Their dance routines were almost completely improvised on the spot, and their voices often seemed off-key, but they were good sports and were definitely enjoying themselves. The wide variety of styles, sounds and affects used in the odd, often bizarre songs, were quite inventive, and I found myself enjoying the offbeat presentation. There was something very unique going on, and it was lots of fun. I picked up their CD to see if it works in the studio too.

Petty Booka

Petty Booka/The Moonlighters--Fez--3/21/03
PETTY BOOKA came out in shiny red, shin-length, hula skirts. They were backed by two guitarists, one seated playing a resonator guitar face up on his lap, and a stand-up bass. I don’t remember any of them doing anything especially amazing, but they were obviously all very good musicians. The two women, whom Michiko suggested were Petty and Booka, both played ukuleles with some kind of pick-up. Their ukulele playing was OK, but mostly they just strummed along. Their voices were nice, though, and their choice of songs was designed to please everyone. They opened up with ‘Ukulele Lady’, and followed that with ‘Do You Wanna Dance?’ It wasn’t long before they told us that when they thought of New York, they thought of THE RAMONES, and proceeded to play ‘I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend’, though, of course, they sang it “Girlfriend”. I was enjoying myself, and the crowd was quite appreciative of their music and their charm. It was when they began dipping into Patsy Cline, and Connie Francis tunes, basically a section of music I’m not terribly familiar with, that I noticed that, though their range of material was unbelievably wide, they basically were doing all these songs in a very similar style, leading me to believe that no matter what style of song they play, it becomes a PETTY BOOKA song when they play it. The great majority of people there seemed to think that was just fine, so, of course, it was. They closed the set with ‘Que Sera Sera’ and ‘The Tide Is High’. I really didn’t think, as they walked off the stage, that they’d be coming back, but an enthusiastic call for an encore brought them back to perform one song alone, which I believe they called ‘Tiki Torches Of Twilight’. I doubt if it was an original, but it sounded like it could have been, and with lines about executives barfing in their cars, it was kind of wonderfully wry, especially from these two young women strumming along on their ukuleles. Their band joined them again, and they closed with a slow song called ‘Adios’. Petty sang it, and did a wonderful job. It was heartfelt and beautiful, and the kind of song it would have been hard to top. PETTY BOOKA are not my cup of tea, but they’re impressively unique, and almost impossible to dislike. The merchandise table was still seeing a good amount of action when I left.

Japanese Girls Samurai Tour ‘04: Bleach/Petty Booka/Noodles/Kokeshi Doll--Knitting Factory Tap Room--3/23/04
Next up was PETTY BOOKA, accompanied by a lone acoustic guitarist, who sat behind them on a small Fender amplifier with one leg crossed over the other. Petty and Booka were dressed in cowboy outfits this time, complete with chaps, kerchiefs and cowboy hats. The outfits probably meant more to the denizens of Austin, Texas, but even in New York they maintained a certain stylish flair. Again the pair played through a wide variety of material and made it all their own. My personal favorite was their marvelous rewrite of Roger Miller’s ‘King Of The Road’ into an ode for a modern housewife, ‘Queen Of The Home’. Once again they catered to their New York audience by covering The RAMONES’ ‘I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend’ with a slight change to ‘I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend’, but they easily got the biggest response and the most applause for their cover of Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Girls Just Want To Have Fun’. Regularly, they showed us that they can actually play those ukuleles, and amazingly, had no trouble at all entertaining a room full of rockers, and doing it with their smiles and their good spirits as much as with the music itself. The guitarist was very good and helped them out quite a bit, but by the end of the set I was willing to bet they could have done it on their own.

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.
When the door opened and I could hear that PETTY BOOKA had begun their set, I thanked Mari, of TSU SHI MA MI RE, and Kazuya, from THE EMERALDS, and made my way back into the club, and up to the stage. Petty and Booka were performing alone this time, and though their previous accompanists had been very skilled, and done wonderful jobs, seeing them accompanying themselves with just their two ukuleles was magical, because they are so good on their instruments, they don’t need any help. Listening to their finger-picking, and the intricacies of their arrangements I couldn’t help but get the idea that the former accompanists had been hiding PETTY BOOKA’s technical skills. During the musical breaks, and often at other times, Petty and Booka are doing different things on their instruments that play off of, and interweave with each other. Their repartee with the audience seemed to have improved, as well. Petty did most of the talking, and was quite funny, in a down to earth, matter of fact, way. When introducing a RAMONES song, ‘Rockaway Beach’, she suggested that she and Booka should both stand like Joey Ramone while they sang the song, and they repositioned their microphone stands, so that they could play that song with one leg extended in front of them. They followed that up with ‘I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend’, though, of course, they sang it “I wanna be your girlfriend”. Some of the other songs I remember include, in no particular order, ‘The Tide Is High’, ‘Girls Just Want To Have Fun’, ‘Cowboy Hula Song’, ‘Que Sera Sera’, ‘Rainy Night In Georgia’, and there were a good number more. I’m not sure why, but I easily enjoyed this PETTY BOOKA show more than either of the other performances I’ve seen them do. They seem to be getting better, and more comfortable, and for the first time, I really felt quite caught up in their set, as, obviously, most of the audience did, because Sin-é was still filled with people when GAIJIN A GO GO began to take their places on the stage. Petty and Booka put down their ukuleles, and did a slightly saucy dance routine as GAIJIN A GO GO accompanied them on their last song. It was the same type of shallow groove that GAIJIN A GO GO had played throughout their set, but Petty and Booka’s vocals added a certain soulfullness, and a sassy sax solo and hot guitar solo both added some real gusto to the proceedings, bringing a wonderful evening to a fittingly classy conclusion.

photo by John Li

Japan Nite: The Beaches/Detroit7/Ketchup Mania/Petty Booka/The Emeralds/Scandal--Knitting Factory--3/16/08
It was another great night of Japanese rock ‘n’ roll brought to us by Audrey Kimura and Benten/Sister Records. They sold out and Knitting Factory was jam-packed with smiling, happy people who knew they weren’t gonna get another onslaught of Japanese rock like this until Japan Nite rolls around again next year. Oh yes, and, of course, all the bands told us they loved New York.
Next up were the new, revamped PETTY BOOKA. Apparently Audrey Kimura found two new girls to be Petty and Booka, and do the old PETTY BOOKA ukulele duo schtick. Tonight they were supported by an accoustic guitarist, and an amazing mandolin player who just seemed to be able to do anything. Throughout, Petty and Booka strummed their ukuleles and sang a wide variety of songs. Generally, they would sing a verse, and then the mandolin player would play an amazing lead. They would sing the next verse, and then he’d play another amazing lead. Petty and Booka were dressed in matching cowgirl outfits, and even had matching cowboy hats and matching haircuts. They spoke to us with an exagerated cuteness, but I believe they both had stronger vocals than the original PETTY BOOKA, and I was impressed. The songs I remember were THE KINKS’ ‘Come Dancing’, ‘Ukulele Lady’, ‘Que Sera Sera’, ‘Don’t Rock The Jukebox’, and a GRATEFUL DEAD cover, ‘Friend Of The Devil’, which, surprisingly, seemed to get more recognition and support from the crowd than any of their other songs. I enjoyed their set, and the mandolin player was amazing!

Pe´z

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.
Perhaps because of the age of many of the audience, many of them had left by the time PE´ Z, apparently pronounced like the unaccented candy, began to play. Generally, I wouldn’t write about them at all, because they’re not a rock band, but here they were playing with a bunch of rock bands, and I do try to cover a wide variety of music. So I’ll make an exception for them. They’re a jazz band consisting of a trumpet, a saxophone, a stand-up bass, and a lively keyboard player in a derby. The man with the trumpet described their sound as “somewhat jazz”, but it fit easily into the jazz realm in my book. An occasional shouted accent were the only vocals. The songs were led by the horns, but the keyboardist, either seemed to be burying his derby in the keyboards, or hovering about them strangely and banging out the rhythm by feel. At times what he played was very smooth, at other times he seemed to be intentionally going against the grain of the tune. Everyone else in the band played the tunes very correctly, and the musicians were all top-notch. The most wonderful surprise was that every tune they played was uptempo. Most of the bands tonight had one slower number, to show their versatility, I guess, but PE´ Z kept things hopping at a good pace throughout their set.

Picarince

Dynamite Club/Ghost Cubes/Picarince/Guva--Delancey--2/19/05
The Picarince were up next, and they were amazing. They’re a trio who had changed into kimonos for their set, and play a very unique traditionally inspired music. Sometimes the respect for its origins overshadows the vocals of the songs, but at other times a true joyfullness was obvious while they sang. All three took turns singing lead, and all three sang well. The highlights of their songs, though, were often during the musical breaks when the guitarist would let loose an often intricate lead. While she plays these hot leads, she smiles broadly, and jerks her head and shoulders back and forth. In these moments, she and the band take the songs firmly into the realms of rock. She’s a very good guitarist, with a style nearly as unique as the band itself. The bassist is quite good, as well, and played a flute during the intro of one song. The drummer, not really in the same class as her partners, still manages to do a fine job, and provides a good variety of sounds and beats. Though all the songs began, and most ended, in a very traditional influenced style, there was a good amount of range in their material, from slow moody ballads, to tribal chanting, and energetic dance beats. Their use of a traditional approach is wonderfully unique, and gives their music a singular sound of both beauty, and glorious rocking joy!

Pillows

Pillows/Daddy/Noodles/Future 86--Pianos--3/20/05
I had heard great things about PILLOWS. They’re best known for doing the soundtrack for an anime entitled FLCL, but the music I’d heard previously didn’t especially impress me. Whatever you might think about their songwriting, which is catchy and good spirited, they are one rocking band. The front man does his job with enthusiasm, and now and then takes a lead that shows that he’d be a fine lead guitarist, if they didn’t already have a fine one. In fact, everyone in this band is on their game, and each do a great job keeping the boisterous nature of the music bouncing along in a jaunty swagger. At one point early in the set, I heard a woman saying to her friend, as she pointed at the stage, “Now, that’s a rock band!” She was right! They let us know they were happy to play their music for this sold out and enthusiastic crowd. When the lead guitarist took a lead, it always stepped out in front. The drummer was all business, and kept the beat charging forward, and the front man, sang the songs energetically with his tongue in his cheek, and a smile on his face, and regularly he would finish a verse and launch himself up into the air as he banged out another resounding chord on his guitar. They eventually left the stage, and shook hands with the fans as they made their way through the crowd and toward the back of the room. In a couple of minutes, the audience’s shouts and cheers had the band heading back to the stage. They played us only one more song, but then, while they packed up their equipment, they happily signed autographs and talked with a large number of fans who had gathered around the stage to spend a little extra time with their favorite band.

Pillows/Noodles--Blender Theater--3/21/08
It was an interesting evening. The place was sold out. I got there half an hour after the doors opened, and there was still a line that went about a third of the way around the block, and it was barely moving. Thankfully, the bands didn’t start until everyone was in. It was also interesting that it was a younger crowd than I’m used to, which was nice, and promises a good future for Japanese rock music. Also, it was nice because I got to practice some more with my new camera.
It took a while for PILLOWS to come out, and then a while longer for them to get set up, but the audience was cheering them for a good portion of that set-up time. In fact, everytime they stopped to tune up, and weren’t talking to the audience, the audience was yelling at them--mostly song requests. They were obviously the stars of the night, and their guitarist/lead singer, Sawao Yamanaka, was the obvious star of the band. He was a genuine rock star, and with no effort at all knew how to get the audience cheering and excited. The rest of the band is technically very good, and have their charms, but the singer’s the star. My favorite story was that the last time he had stayed in a New York hotel, he got seven mosquito bites, while his roommate got none. The lead guitarist, Yoshiaki Manabe, lays down some mighty tasty leads. He was introduced as “Manabe” and responded, “My name is Yoshiaki, but call me Yoshi. Don’t call me sushi.” Their songs rocked in a very joyful way, and as Sawao jumped around the stage, and climbed up on the monitors, the audience just seemed to get more and more excited. The last few songs of the set were some of the best, and had a good number of fists pumping up into the air. When they finally left the stage, a chant went up for, “One more song! One more song!” It eventually brought them back out, and after our star announced that he was tired, they played two more songs for us. After that they were called out one more time, and Sawao brought out some bottled water, threw three out to the audience, before handing the rest out to the band, and playing us one last song. It was a good show.

**PINE*am**

PINE*am--Tonic--5/16/05
When I got there the band had apparently just finished their sound-check. By the time they began playing there was still only a small crowd, but it’s a Monday night, and this being PINE*AM’s first appearance in New York, it wasn’t a bad showing. Best of all, the crowd grew more enthusiastic as the set went on. They’re a trio of keyboards with a lap-top, bass, and guitar, and all three do some of the vocals. The music is consistently a light, uptempo, techno, pop music. The tunes were energetic, and tastefully sweet. Most of the songs started with a repetitive phrase on the lap-top, then the band would join in. They had a stage costume that consisted of a brightly colored dress, and all three wore worn bluejeans with holes in the knees. Tsugumi, lead singer/bassist, did most of the talking between songs, but when she spoke in Japanese, Chizu, on guitar, would translate everything into English for us. They were consistently casual, comfortable, and polite. The biggest changes in their sound came from Chizu’s guitar, which sometimes sounded as computer generated as Taeca’s keyboards, but at other times went for a much more rock guitar sound. Taeca didn’t change her sound so much, but used a variety of techniques, and everyone in the band kept the songs bopping along at a good pace. The nicest touch of all has got to be the sweetness of the background vocals, which soak Tsugumi’s lead vocals in a layer of sugar. Halfway through the set, Tsugumi set her bass down for a song, and danced a bit as she sang. For the last couple of songs they invited people up front to dance, and a number of people took them up on the invitation. Then, with just the laptop and the guitar playing, the three of them did a charming dance routine as they sang the final number. There were a variety of beats. Without a drummer, though, their catchy pop music isn’t going to rock you over, but it’s not going to blow away either. They’ve created a unique, though comfortably familiar sound, and I enjoyed their show enough that I’ll be checking them out again tomorrow night.

PINE*am/Zeitgeist--Pianos--8/23/05
PINE*AM took the stage, each wearing a flower in her hair, and Taeca started up a programmed track with dialogue which they used for their soundcheck. It was immediately apparent how much more full and layered her programming was than ZEITGEIST’s. The programming on every song was full, warm, and cozily comfortable. When they had their sound together, I expected them to leave the stage and do a costume change, but they put their instruments down, and took off a layer of clothing each, revealing that they were already in costume. PINE*AM seemed more confident tonight, and though the crowd was small, it was enthusiastic. The trio ran through their set smoothly. Chizu’s guitar seemed toned down a bit, but it blended smoothly into Taeca’s soundscapes, and she played with her usual enthusiasm. Tsugumi’s bass playing was more intricate than I had previously noticed, and pulsed gently as it wove its way through the songs. They’ve got their sound together. It’s sweet techno-pop, and that’s before you add the vocals which, with all three of them singing, is icing on the cake. Last time we got an announcement. They were talking to the audience more then. Tonight, without a word, they turned their backs, slipped on sunglasses, and did a dance routine during the last song. Tsugumi was bassless for the second time in the set. Chizu played guitar throughout, and Taeca only played during the verses, though her programmed sequences continued. When she wasn’t playing, she and Tsugumi danced through the routine, and Chizu copied their movements as closely as she could while playing guitar. It was a fun way to close the show, and PINE*AM seemed to be enjoying it nearly as much as we were.

Pistol Valve

Pistol Valve/Go!Go!7188/The Emeralds/50 Kaitenz/Asakusa Jinta--Empty Bottle (Chicago, IL)--3/14/07
I missed Japan Nite in New York. (I was out of town.) So, here I was catching it in Chicago. It was not the easiest journey, but, once again, Audrey Kimura had put together one hell of a show! I sure didn’t want to totally miss it! With help from my friend Paul Yamada, I rode the trains, busses, and taxis, negotiated Chicago’s byways, and eventually entered the Empty Bottle. Paul had referred to it as a dive, but I don’t mind a good dive, and found it quite roomy. The almost completely wooden and brick interior gave it a down-home bar-room feel, and tonight it was the place to be for Japanese rock ‘n’ roll.
PISTOL VALVE are ten women who all wore hats, but even that didn’t seem like a costume, because they were all distinctively different, as were the rest of their outfits. They took the stage shortly after GO!GO!!7188 abandoned it, which was unfortunate, as it took way too long to get the sound together for all of their ten instruments, which left the ten quite attractive women standing silently on stage with their instruments in their hands. Proof of their attractiveness is provided by the fact that though they stood there on the stage doing next to nothing for ten minutes, and were the last band of the evening, almost no one left the club. The passing time gave me a chance to count, as best I could, three saxophones, two trumpets, two trombones, a french horn, a violin, and DJ Lydia. DJ Lydia actually seemed to have the best command of English of any of the performers, but they only rarely let her speak. She did play a major role in the band, though. At times she was the only one providing sound. Sometimes she just added sound effects, at other times she provided major portions of the beat, and often she heavily colored the background of the tunes. When their set finally began, Lydia let loose a Jam Master Jay thing, which added a nice funk edge to what was largely a brass band. When they got a chance, they did swing, but many times Lydia’s additions to their sound seemed to confuse things. Lydia proved at various times that she is quite the talented DJ, but this band has perhaps not completely jelled yet. Experiments are often good fun, though, aren’t they? And who can complain about ten attractive women, dressed to the T, and crowding a stage. It was unfortunate, again, when halfway through their set there was a problem with the sound, causing another long pause in the proceedings, which they charmingly attempted to cover up with some chatter, getting coached on their English as they tried to entertain the crowd without music. Several times, when the set resumed they promised songs that we would know. Honestly, I don’t remember recognizing any of them until they launched into THE WHO’s ‘My Generation’. They took turns singing the lyrics. I’m not sure I completely understand the concept behind this band, but I certainly defend their right to kick it around and see what happens. The brass band was obviously talented. The DJ was talented. If they keep at it, they’re going to come up with something very interesting.

Polysics

Japan Nite 2000: Lolita No. 18/Polysics/Number Girl/Spoozys/Mummy The Peepshow--CBGBs--3/20/00
What a great night! I can’t remember the last time I saw five bands in a row that were all good!
I didn’t know THE POLYSICS either. I know them now! They performed the shortest and the most intense set of the evening. Arriving on stage in matching factory uniforms with the name of the band printed across their chests, and protective eye-gear, they quickly rocked up a storm. The keyboardist was providing wonderfully wacky effects and adding some very classy touches to this band, but unfortunately could only be heard when the band stopped and allowed her a break. Otherwise, this band rocked with an intense power that completely overpowered her subtleties. It’s hardly worth complaining about, as the band rocked with a ferociousness that threatened to go completely out of control at any minute, but never did. An extra delight was a cover of THE PLASTICS’ ‘Good’. I was disappointed when they stopped so quickly, but perhaps they couldn’t have kept up their revved-up attack for much longer than they did. They kicked ass!

Polysics--Knitting Factory--9/30/03
I was excited. Even the medley, seemingly of video game soundtracks, that played for half an hour before the band emerged, promised a kind of wacky joy, and that’s what we got. POLYSICS came out, picked up their instruments, and launched into a very uptempo, rockin’ set. They were dressed in their blue POLYSICS factory gear and protective eyeglasses, but only Kayo managed to keep the eyeglasses on throughout the energetic set. I pulled out my camera, and I began taking pictures. Immediately, I was tapped on the shoulder by Carl, and told that no photography was allowed without the band’s permission. I told him photography without flash used to be allowed. He said no photography was the policy now. I suggested they should announce their policies before they began enforcing them. Here’s my one picture. As I wasn’t taking any more pictures, I was able to move up and enjoy the show. The energy continued throughout with Hiroyuki, the guitarist, playing the showman. All the vocals used a variety of sounds from abrupt pitch changes, to various voice-box effects. The sound was quite a bit different from the show I saw years ago at CBGBs. The guitar, then overpowering, was now mixed below both the bass and the keyboards. It tamed the sound quite a bit, but it certainly didn’t slow them down. Hiroyuki let it be known that he was very happy to be playing in New York, and pleased to be opening up for RX BANDITS. He even confessed to being nervous, though that seemed more part of his humorous approach. At one point he interviewed people at the front of the stage, “Where are you from?” “Long Beach!” “Long Beach? That’s cool!” he said, smiling broadly. He repeated that routine with someone from “New Jersey!” eliciting many shouts for “New Jersey!”, and then asked how many people had bought Neu, recently released in the U.S. by Asian Man records. “You should buy Neu! You should buy Neu or die!” he said emphatically, but I didn’t believe he meant it. They did two covers, THE PLASTICS’ ‘Good’, and a another song I couldn’t quite recognize, but was later informed was ‘My Sharona‘ by THE KNACK. The set was a short one, but as they were the opening band, that was to be expected. Immediately after THE POLYSICS played, it was announced that photographing bands without flash would be permitted. Hiroyuki, Fumi and Kayo happily talked and posed for pictures with fans after the show, and impressed me with their warmth and openness. I look forward to seeing them tomorrow night at Luxx.

Polysics/Soundtrak/Champions Of Sound--Luxx--10/1/03
As soon as SOUNDTRAK left the stage, POLYSICS’ computer game soundtrack medley started up. At first it was kind of funny to hear it again, but after a while I started to get annoyed with it. Obviously, I wasn’t as excited to see them this time, having just seen them the night before, but I should have been, ‘cause they put on an excellent show! Partially, it may have just been that they were playing in a smaller room. The stage was lower. The band was closer, and the volume was louder. It was glorious, and the small crowd were big with enthusiasm. Hiroyuki was as energetic as ever, and got even more energetic when inspired by a dancing couple, the male of which danced directly in front of him for a while in a uniquely spastic manner. Fumi and Kayo, on bass and keyboards, play things much closer to the chest, though occasionally Kayo will find a section of a song that inspires her to bend forward over her keyboard and shake her head and hair for all it’s worth. The sound, perhaps because it was louder, seemed more distinctive and dynamic. At first the guitar seemed lost again, like it had been last night, but then, either I found it in the sound, or someone turned it up, but I could here Hiroyuki’s guitar, and it was even more amazing than I remembered it. He regularly sends a barrage of intricate notes flying into the mix, and alternates that with quick chords sliding down the neck, and a variety of unexpected surprises. The band just doesn’t have the same punch with Hiroyuki’s guitar buried. The rest of the band does a great job as well, though, handling the intricasies of the brilliantly quirky songs, and Kayo is constantly refining the songs with her keyboards, and extensive variety of samples and effects. At one point in the set, which largely seemed to be the same as last night with a few extra numbers added in, Hiroyuki turned his back on the audience and quickly retuned, and that one break in the flow made me realize the power of that flow. They rock, and it keeps coming. The only time they slowed down in the entire set was a song where Fumi and Kayo repeated, “Yeah, yeah”, “Yeah, yeah”, while Hiroyuki called repeatedly, and desperately, for his mother and father. I was hoping that on the last night of their tour POLYSICS would really cut loose, and, in fact, they did, but their set wasn’t much longer than it had been the night before, and even a very enthusiastic crowd couldn’t bring them back for an encore.

Polysics/Gorch Fock/The Attack Formation--Trash Bar--9/15/05
POLYSICS took the stage in their red factory outfits. Unlike the two Texas bands I’d seen, POLYSICS were incredibly tight, and Trash Bar actually gave them a good sound. Generally, Hiroyuki’s guitar is still beneath Kayo’s keyboards and effects, but it could almost always be heard, and now and then it would roar above the mix, and make its presence felt. Fumi’s bass and the drums were always there propelling the songs forward, and each instrument maneuvered with agility, hopping and skipping through each song’s hooks, stops and starts. When Kayo sang, it was often through a deep robotic effects box. The songs were spirited, spry, and every single one of them rocked hard. Now and then they’d pause a moment to give Hiroyuki a chance to rev up the audience a bit, and then they’d be rocking into the next song. It was all business, and they kept the energy high. Early in the set Kayo pulled out some gold sparkly pom-poms, and shook them for the choruses. Hiroyuki would raise his guitar up into the air and lean out into the crowd. At one point he balanced it on his head. During a song that Fumi sang he chugged a beer. The band cruised along without missing a step, till, finally, the last song warning brought the last song. The crowd cheered, and the band was ready to respond with another number, but the DJ, unimpressed, started up a song, and the moment and POLYSICS were gone.

Polysics--CBGB--10/2/05
I got to CBGB gallery, and POLYSICS were standing outside in their stage outfits. First PEELANDER-Z snubbed me, then the CBGB Gallery doorman snubbed me. I already knew downstairs at CBGB Gallery is a lousy place to see a band, and was really considering just turning around and going home. I’m a trooper, though, and I’d heard good things about POLYSICS’ Boston show, like that it was three times as long as the CMJ show I’d seen at Trash Bar. Hiroyuki Hayashi--guitar/lead vocals, Kayo--synthesizer/vocals, Fumi--bass, and Yama--drums, put on a great show! Hiroyuki did his frantic act, pandered to the crowd, did some of the craziest solos I believe I’ve ever seen him do, topping the wildest one by balancing his guitar on his head again. He also did some very classy solos, that artfully ripped through their spaces and then slipped back into the Polysics roar, distinctively defined by Kayo’s effects and antics on the synthesizer. Throughout the entire set, minus the flurry of the pom-poms in one song, Kayo strives to mimic a robot, and does an excellent job of it. Her humor is slyly displayed in the music, and her extremely restrained performance reflects that humor well. Yama was rocking hard. Whenever I looked back there he seemed to be all over the drums. When Fumi wasn’t doing a dance step along with Hiroyuki, which actually I only noticed them doing once, her head was bouncing along with the beat. It was a great show. The entire band’s energy is impressive. Hiroyuki’s is excessive. Oh yes, and he managed to chug another beer tonight during Fumi’s song. The set was about an hour long, and then they came out for a three-song encore. Hiroyuki introduced the first song by saying how happy they were to be playing at CBGB, the home of THE RAMONES. Then Kayo sang ‘Psychotherapy’ for us.

Polysics/Jaguar Love/Black Gold--Mercury Lounge--10/31/08
It was Halloween, and POLYSICS came out in yellow DEVO costumes with the red plastic flowerpots on their heads. They even opened up with DEVO’s ‘Uncontrollable Urge’, and did a rockin’ job of it, too. At one point Kayo came out from behind her keyboards, and Fumi, the bassist, and Hiroyuki Hayashi, the guitarist, shared a microphone. Kayo held it for them, switching from one to the other when it was their turn. Kayo didn’t sing a note. She just handled the microphone. After two songs they took off their DEVO costumes, and they were, of course, wearing POLYSICS costumes underneath. Fumi and Hiroyuki even threw their DEVO costumes out into the crowd. They kept rocking, and at first I thought they had maybe become a bit poppier, though still continuing their quirkiness. The songs continued to be so varied, though, I finally decided they hadn’t changed that much at all. Everyone except Masashi Yano, on drums, sings. Kayo has a regular microphone and a headset microphone. The regular microphone is her regular voice, but the headset microphone manipulates her vocals into a lower key and gives them a computerized sound. That was the vocal she uses when she sang THE KNACK’s ‘My Sharona’. They are one tight band, and every now and again Hiroyuki Hayashi runs out into the center stage, regularly doing some guitar theatrics as he does. Once toward the end of the set he even took off his guitar and did some jumping jacks. Then he put his guitar back on and did some more jumping jacks. He also led arm gestures several times during the set. The receptive audience always quickly responded and copied his gestures. It was great to see POLYSICS again, and it was a very energetic set. The crowd, many of them dressed in all kinds of crazy Halloween garb, responded joyfully. Throughout the set Masashi Yano, the drummer, plays a simplistic, but meticulous style, that keeps their set clicking along at a fast pace. He never smiles, but then, neither do Kayo or Fumi. Even Hiroyuki Hayashi doesn’t smile much, but his now more mature face is still amazingly animated, and as the front man of the band, he keeps things hopping at a frenetic pace. They waved goodbye, and made their way out the backdoor. The crowd exploded, and eventually began chanting “Polysics! Polysics! Polysics!...” over and over, until finally the band returned, and played two more songs, starting with ‘New Wave Jacket’. Then, once again, they left the stage, and this time the audience happily filed out into the Halloween night, except for a good number of people who patiently waited for a chance to get up to the merchandise table.

Polysics/These People--Blender Theatre at Gramercy--2/13/10
I wasn't planning on seeing POLYSICS tonight. I was planning on heading down to Santos Party House, and see if I could get in to see GELATINE and MSG’s Chinese New Year show. Andy contacted me yesterday, and let me know that he had scored free tickets to the show. Today he invited me to join him, so I changed my plans. Thanks Andy! As it turns out, the gossip/news is that Kayo is planning on leaving POLYSICS after this tour. The band is apparently planning to continue, but Kayo is an important member, and it’s a bit of a bell ringer that this will theoretically be Kayo’s third to last show with POLYSICS. We were asked to turn over our cameras at the door, and when we entered and saw the floor space crowded even for the opening act, I was almost relieved I wasn’t allowed to take any pictures.
POLYSICS came out and set up their own equipment. After checking their various instruments and microphones, they launched into a short song, and then left the stage to applause, and then surprised silence. The B-52’s ‘Rock Lobster’ started playing, and was followed by a number of even more popular ‘80s hits. About five songs later POLYSICS returned to the stage and started rocking almost immediately. The first song featured a whistle which Hiro blew as he played guitar and sang. During the second song Kayo waved pom-poms, and she sang the lead vocals on the third song. All the songs were high-powered and energetic. Fumi, on bass and vocals, and Yano, on drums, powered the songs, and Hiro, on guitar, and Kayo, on keyboards, add the lead vocals. This is a very tight band, and it's a band that just keeps rocking. Song after song of pop energy just kept rolling off that stage, and most of it is surprisingly catchy and joyful. Now and then Hiro had to stop the flow to give himself time to retune. As he tuned, he would chat with the audience. "What's up?" "How are you?" "We're Polysics from Tokyo." "Nice to see you again!" "Thanks for coming to see Polysics!" "You are fucking great!" He also regularly shouted out repeatedly something close to "Toisu!" He explained that in Japan it means "Hi!" Some people I talked to suggested that might not be true. Generally, whatever Hiro was saying, or talking about, it was an effort to rev the crowd up, and probably to be humorous at the same time. He regularly moved about the stage doing things like kneeling down to play a lead, or doing jumping jacks in one song when he wasn't playing or singing. If he ran off to one side of the stage, Fumi would usually run off to the other side of the stage to give them something to look at, too. Several times Hiro played with a theremin, and it always added a nice touch to the songs. Kayo was featured in one song playing what I think was a recorder. The music just kept coming, and at a furious pace. Toward the end of the set I was starting to come down, as if from a sugar high, but I was still feeling joyful, and enjoying the set. I was just somewhat burned-out by all that energy. Polysics just kept rocking away, but after another song or two they thanked the crowd and left the stage. They received an enthusiastic call for an encore from the crowd, and soon returned. The first song they played was a little more toned down, but a very nice, catchy, and still energetic tune. They followed that up with another all-out, energetic, crazy, pop number, and then said goodbye, and thanked us again. The crowd cheered loudly, thanking Polysics, but it was obvious they weren't coming back out again.

The Portugal Japan

Peelander-Z/The Phenomenauts/The Portugal Japan/The Emeralds--Knitting Factory--11/5/05
THE PORTUGAL JAPAN are a trio of young women. I asked a couple of people who had heard their music to describe it, and was told that they were both very pop and very rock. Live, the rock aspects were the most obvious. Both the guitarist and bassist wore leather jackets, and the entire band wore bluejeans. THE RAMONES major influence on this band, besides the punk image, seems to be the ‘60s pop influences, which, in spite of the very rocking presentation, are easily apparent. The covers say a lot. Tonight those were THE SAINTS’ ‘Do The Robot’, THE SONICS’ ‘Have Love Will Travel’ and MC5’s ‘Kick Out The Jams’. Throw in a dash of hair metal (mostly to represent some of the stage moves), a bit more emphasis on the garage rock, and an acknowledgement of their definite pop influences, and you may be starting to get the idea, but the strength of their rock presentation would probably still be a happy surprise. Some of their moves seemed choreographed. At other times they would stare straight ahead in a classic punk manner, but they would always rock. The guitarist and bassist are proficient, but it’s the drummer who has the real chops in this band. She hits her drums hard, but her technique is skilled, and she is much more than just a pounder. A couple of their songs had such tasty pop hooks that I mistakenly suspected they might be covers which I just didn’t recognize. Their set flew by much too fast, but they easily delivered their share of rocking.
Pulled out from the crowd to replace Peelander Yellow for bowling time was Fukiko The End of THE PORTUGAL JAPAN, and, I think, replacing Peelander Blue on drums was PORTUGAL JAPAN’s drummer. Fukiko launched into the guitar, and really cut loose more than I had seen her do during their set, while the tri-colored Peelanders, and Peelander Pink, cleared a lane in the crowd and used hapless Peelander Yellow as their bowling ball, knocking down all the pins, and readying the evening for its glorious close.

Prambath

Radio Heartbeat Power Pop Festival: Milk ‘N’ Cookies/The Jack Lee Inferno/The Go/Prambath/Electric Shadows/Top Ten /Genteleman Jesse And His Men--Southpaw--4/1/07
PRAMBATH are a tight band. Both the guitarists are good, and the drummer was one of the best drummers who played tonight. Not only did he handle the skins excellently, but he also handled the majority of the back-up vocals with a class that really gave the band an added shine. Their front person was a woman who handled the bass and the lead singing. She also covered a good bit of the stage, keeping things interesting, and regularly stalking out to the front of the stage when her vocal duties didn’t keep her behind the microphone. She and one of the guitarists regularly talked to the audience, but unfortunately most of what they said was difficult to understand. She, especially, had a very thick accent. One of the first things he said was, “We are PRAMBATH, from Japan. Eat sushi!” I think he even raised a fist for that command. They were a good band, and their material, though not incredibly strong, was handled well, and always presented with energy and a good deal of joy. For some reason the audience seemed to throw more stuff at them than at any of the other bands. The most impressive moment for me was when she asked the crowd, “Do you know THE DEAD BOYS?” She seemed taken aback that there was so little response. It may have just been that not many people understood her. The guitarist mentioned CBGBs, and again it received little response. They did get some response when they launched powerfully into ‘Sonic Reducer’, though. It was one of the most dynamic songs of their set, and they laid it on thick! It was good to see how powerfully they could play, and there was always a dose of punk in their presentation, but, except for that song, they generally stuck to a more power pop oriented approach, and they did that well.

Puffy (aka Puffy AmiYumi)

Puffy AmiYumi/Bleu--Irving Plaza--7/20/02
For their last song BLEU called out Ami and Yumi, thanked them for a “great tour”, and Ami and Yumi sang along with them on a song called ‘Sayonara’.
It took a while, but eventually PUFFY AMIYUMI’s band came out behind the screen and got tuned up. Finally the screen raised up and the band and Ami and Yumi came out. I was expecting a real show from Japan’s top duo, but they and the band were all dressed in regular street clothes. To my surprise there was no apparent choreography, but that was fine. About the only real showy aspect was the light show, which was pretty spectacular. Otherwise, it was a fairly straight rock show. The back-up band was really strong, with bass, drums, keyboards, and two guitarists who both took turns doing leads. The guy with the mohawk’s leads were a bit edgier, though he did a really smooth one on a pop song. The guy with the longer hair did more hot-shot metal-style leads. The songs ranged from pop ballads, through uptempo pop numbers, and on into some very hot rockers. A couple of times Ami and Yumi made announcements in English, but much of their talking was in Japanese, and Ami suggested that if we wanted to know what they were saying we should ask the nearest Japanese person in the audience to translate. At one point someone from the audience yelled out, “You could translate!”, and Ami quickly shot back, “No I couldn’t!” It was a good show. Ami and Yumi sang together and alternately. Their vocals seemed to blend together beautifully and seamlessly, and the songs were almost all wonderful, happy pop ditties that expressed a kind of joy that Western pop music seems incapable of these days. Ami and Yumi only rarely seemed actually inspired by the music, but they consistently hopped up and down, and shook their hair around. Though they didn’t seem especially enthused, they were certainly not feeling hard pressed to do their job, and it occasionally had members of the audience hopping along with them, and always had a large portion of the audience, fairly evenly divided between Japanese and caucasions, bobbing their heads along with the music. In one song Yumi started a mouth harp solo, and Ami finished it off with her own mouth harp. After the encore I asked my friend Dan what he thought about the show. He claimed, “It’s not my cup of tea, but the band was great!” He didn’t like the “over-processed effects” on the vocals, claiming that only one song had used harmonies, and that the digital processing had made them sound like chipmunks, and blended the vocals so much that only one vocalist was necessary. The audience as a whole, though, seemed more than satisfied with the show, and there were many smiling faces as we filed out into the street.

Puffy AmiYumi--River To River Festival: World Financial Center--7/11/06
I was able to get a good seat, so I’d be able to get a good picture of PUFFY AMIYUMI, but before the show began, a man walked around announcing that no photography was allowed. It was announced from through the P.A. just before the show started, too, so once again PUFFY AMIYUMI goes without a photo. The show was good. It seemed to be a different, younger band than last time I saw them. This band wasn’t quite as top-notch professional as the last band, but they were all very good, and they seemed to be having a great time, maybe even better than Ami and Yumi. There were two guitarists, a bassist, a drummer, and a keyboardist who also played some guitar. One song even brought out two male dancers who seemed to be dressed as construction workers. The rhythm guitarist did the most jumping about, but everyone in the backing band got rambunctious at times except for the lead guitarist, who seemed to concentrate on his guitar playing and certainly served his purpose well in that area. Ami and Yumi did more talking in English than I remembered, and though they both read their English annoucements from notepads, their English is improving. At times they seemed to be bored of their own announcements, but they regularly made fun of their pronunciation, repeating words several times as if practicing. They also regularly made seemingly humorous asides in Japanese. The entire band dressed casually, though Yumi wore a nice slinky vest thing, that came down to her thighs over her well-worn jeans. Ami was wearing cut-off white jeans, and a white T-shirt. On the back of the T-shirt were scrawled three lines. Her long, dark hair, small bits of which were red, kept me from reading the first line, but the second line read, “PUNK ROCK”, and the third line seemed to read “DNA SLANG”. Yumi’s hair was blonde. Most songs stuck to a fast rock beat, but they did change the pace a few times. Ami and Yumi seemed to have divided the center stage and generally moved about in their respective areas as they sang in unison, now and then soloing. They both moved quite a bit, though Yumi seemed to move a bit more, and once or twice they even left their respective areas to move up front, or over to the side areas of the front of the stage. Sometimes they seemed a bit bored, but just as often they got into it and showed the fun they were having. They covered Green Day’s ‘Basket Case’, did a song by one of the members of OFFSPRING, ripped music from a WHO song, and closed one number with an obviously intentional goof on THE KNACK’s ‘My Sharona’. The crowd, of all ages, responded warmly, enjoying the performance of this pop/rock band, and though the applause had died down by the time PUFFY AMIYUMI came back for their encore, the band was warmly greeted once again. They opened up the encore with ‘Radio Tokyo’ from the new record, which with synthesizer strings impressed me the most of any of the songs they played tonight. They followed that up with a couple more songs, lined the entire band up in front of the stage and took their final bow. It was a very enjoyable show. They rocked, the weather was good, and the nearly filled World Financial Center concert area was set up and handled well.

Puppypet

Quaff

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.
      QUAFF took the stage for their soundcheck, and exhibited the showmanship which is obviously one of their most winning characteristics. After their soundcheck they each received cheers as they left the stage. They soon returned, and rocked us hard with their synchronized movements and hand gestures, and their songs which regularly featured repetitive slogans. It was quite the show, with the bandmembers, except for the drummer, regularly stepping forward to the front of the stage, and leaning out over the audience. The band featured a drummer, a bassist, two guitarists, and two lead singers. One of the singers flourished a folding fan and wore a mask which he didn’t remove the entire night. The other singer wore a jacket, which on the back read “Quaff Or Die!” The bassist and one of the guitarists seemingly had visual-kei hairstyles. Or maybe they were just styled after long-hair metal bands. Whether they’re a visual-kei band is not for me to say. There was some metal influence, though. Either way, they did put on one hell of a show, and the audience obviously enjoyed them very much. The singer without the mask seemed to handle the more melodious vocals. A number of cards were displayed, explaining that one of them was not actually human, was immortal, and so had been able to learn every song ever written. They then went into their cover song of the evening, Michael Jackson’s ‘Beat It’. They regularly interacted with the audience, teaching us to recite various things in Japanese, and to mimic some of their hand movements. The audience was always happy to oblige. One of the Japanese phrases they taught us, fittingly enough, was “Ousu!” Apparently it’s an affirmation of being ready to rock. So, to QUAFF I say, “Ousu!”
      In some ways BAKUBENI had similarities with QUAFF, and QUAFF were out in the audience to cheer them on. Jesus had told me earlier that both these bands were visual-kei bands. BAKUBENI’s style, however, is much more punk than QUAFF’s. Their music is, too. Still, they share many things with QUAFF’s presentation, interacting a good deal with the audience, teaching us Japanese words and phrases, and turning slogans into chants. They also have a sincere joy of performance and rocking out, as did QUAFF.

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.
        Yep, next up was QUAFF, who I also saw last night. They were introduced tonight as heavy metal, Japanese arena rock giants, and that description fits them perfectly. Again, they rocked things up nicely. They’re an accomplished band. The two guitarists, two lead singers, and the bassist cover that stage as if swarming. They just don’t stop moving and changing places around the stage. It’s like a free-for-all. As a photographer, it’s really annoying. You see a nice chance for a picture, and before you can take it they’re moving around again. They’re obviously having a great time doing it, and that fun translates to the audience. Their fun is an invitation to us to have some rockin’ fun ourselves. The cards came out again. Apparently it’s the singer in the mask who is the immortal alien, and has memorized all the earth’s tunes. I was expecting them to go into ‘Beat It’ again, but tonight they did a very nice version of THE FOUR SEASONS’ ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’. It was nice that they were changing things up a bit for those of us who had seen them last night, and it shows what a talented bunch of musicians they are, beneath that party band exterior.
      When PEELANDER-Z did the song that replaces each member of the band for “Bowling Time”, the bassist of QUAFF was chosen to replace Kotaro, Peelander Red, on bass. Surprisingly the 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. The singer who doesn’t wear a mask from QUAFF helped Peelander Yellow sing ‘Ninja High School’ early in the set. After “Bowling Time”, while the guest star band was still playing, 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.

Qypthone

Qypthone/Himawari/Creme Blush/Spoozys/Peelander-Z/Condor 44/Fantasy’s Core--New York -- Tokyo Music Festival--5/26/02
This night of the New York -- Tokyo Music Festival was quite the success. Let’s hope it does become an annual event! The pier was a nice place to be. The wide variety of bands was intriguing. The MC regularly mispronounced the bands’ names, when he knew them at all, but that’s a small complaint. The bands set up quickly and kept coming.
While QYPTHONE were setting up, I noticed a beautiful woman I had seen in the audience up on the stage with them, and I remember hoping that she was in the band. When they started she wasn’t with them, but she soon joined them and turned out to be their lead singer. The rest of the band is male and were all dressed in black. They’re made up of keyboards, congas, a stand-up bass, and a guy who played a variety of synthesizers. Occasionally the keyboard player would dance about the stage waving what looked like a small tapedeck, but I’m not sure that’s what it was. They played bossanova, and were obviously having a great time doing it. The audience was very much enjoying it as well, with many of us bouncing about with big happy smiles on our faces. With their modern additions to the bossanova beat, and the attractive woman on lead vocals, they reminded me of PIZZICATO 5. She looked every bit the fashion model, and the way she danced, doing the twist and various dances of that era, she looked very much as if she was doing a fashion shoot right there. Her vocals were little more than OK, but she won this crowd over immediately with her smiles and energetic dancing, and the party didn’t stop until the band left the stage.

Red Bacteria Vacuum

Japan Girls Nite: Gitogito Hustler/Bleach 03/Noodles/Falsies On Heat/Red Bacteria Vacuum--Bowery Ballroom--10/21/07
Wow! What a night! This special Japan Girls Nite ‘07, brought to us by Audrey Kimura of Sister/Benten Records, is only happening once, right here in New York, and was lots of fun, but then, I knew it would be. The crowd wasn’t that big, but it was OK for a Sunday night, and the crowd was enthusiastically enjoying themselves more and more as the night went on. Interested in getting an OK to photograph the event, I had warned Audrey that Bowery Ballroom was usually very strict about photography, so I found it humorous when I saw a bouncer, who had that night accused me of videotaping, pulling Audrey aside for videotaping her own show. Oh yeah, and I think every band told us that they loved New York, though one of the guitarists of FALSIES ON HEAT may have spit and pretended to heave shortly after telling us how much she loved our city.
RED BACTERIA VACUUM started things off with a roar of punk rock. It was like a jump start, a great way to begin the evening! At one point, for one song, they slowed down to an energetic pop speed. Everything else rocked at a good clip, and roared out of the gate and around and around the track. They’re a trio, and were technically fine. They played their songs with energy and exuberance. The guitarist, sporting war paint, sang most of the leads, but the bassist regularly helped out on vocals, and when she wasn’t singing, she was moving about the stage a good deal, and seemed to really enjoy shaking her long hair all over the place. Their material wasn’t amazing, but it was a lot more fun than I had given it credit for when I heard their CD. The difference was obviously their performance. They were having a great time up there, and it was a joy to see.

Rin’

Rin’--Arlene’s Grocery--5/17/06
RIN’ were doing a promotional appearance for their new U.S. release, Inland Sea, on Domo Records. The show was being professionally documented, and a full room of interested people were there to see them. The three women played traditional Japanese instruments, backed by a drummer/percussionist. The instruments included the koto, the jushichigen (a fourteen string koto--they normally have twelve strings), the shamisen, the biwa, and the shakuhachi (a traditional Japanese flute). Each of the three women switched between two of these instruments, and they all sang some. Part of the concept behind RIN’ is the mix of Japanese traditional instruments with Western music. The Western music was all piped in through the P.A. It was quite rich, to an orchestral degree, and with the various traditional instruments, it had the fullness of a movie soundtrack. Usually there was a good rhythm behind it, too, and the drummer/percussionist kept things interesting with a wide variety of percussion instruments. RIN’ were all excellent musicians, and the woman who played biwa and shakuhachi often did some playful strutting while playing one of her assorted shakuhachi. She had four of them to choose from. The richness of the instrumentation, and the fullness of the tracks they were playing along with, filled the room with a traditional feeling (the Western music) and with intriguing new sounds (provided by the traditional Japanese instruments). All three of the women added some wonderful vocals, that seemed to unite the two musics more than anything else in the sound. The only departure from these blendings of Western and traditional Japanese music were a shamisen/biwa duet without any piped in sounds, which, in truth, seemed to get the biggest reaction from the audience; and the last song where RIN’ was joined by Leigh Nash, a former singer for SIXPENCE NONE THE RICHER, who sings three songs on the new release, Inland Sea. Her vocals did not have the wonderful effect that the band’s vocals had, but she did give their sound a mature pop feel, which might very well expand their potential audience.

Rinken Band

Rinken Band--Japan Society--4/10/02
I was invited to this performance, which is good, because I didn’t know about it previously. The Japan Society has a wonderful theater, which I’ve seen many movies in, but few performances. RINKEN BAND are in the world music genre, but are said to have added pop and rock to their traditional Okinawan music. The only noticeable influence of popular music was the use of a modern drumset, electric bass, and various keyboards. They also used traditional drums and percussion, but their lead instrument is an eletrified sanshin (a three-stringed plucked lute), which Teruya Rinken, leader of the band, invented and calls a cheren. The band performed in costumes inspired by traditional Okinawan costumes, and designed by Tomoko Uehara, Rinken’s wife and the band’s lead vocalist. It was wonderful to hear this music, which reminded me of music I heard at a Japanese obon festival. The music was quite beautiful when Tomoko sang, and full of spirit when the three male dancer/percussionists sang. The performance is well designed to introduce Okinawan traditional music to the entire family. It was presented with humor, and lots of audience participation, including a dance lesson which kept the audience on its feet for the last couple of songs. The audience repaid the band for this expenditure of energy by enthusiastically demanding an encore. My only complaint was a row of lights hanging from the ceiling above the stage which sporadically shone out at the audience. Over and over our eyes were allowed to accustom themselves to the dimness of the theater, only to be temporarily blinded whenever this row of lights flashed on and off at us. It didn’t make the show any less enjoyable.

Rocket Jack Vaders

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 two was The ROCKET JACK VADERS. Already there was a good sized crowd. They were a four piece band with two guitarists. The rhythm guitarist was a woman. They were not a tight band, but they could all play well, and they did rock. The lead guitarist traveled about the stage in an awkward manner, striking odd poses now and then with an arm or leg stuck out at odd angles. They opened up with a couple of instrumentals, but then added vocals to their sound. They went back to the instrumentals once or twice, but most of their songs featured vocals. The most interesting thing about them was that the band had a rough sound, but the lead guitar was played as clean as it could be, and gave me the impression of a kind of VENTURES sound. He was very good, and I haven’t heard a sound like that in ages. The contrast with the rough band behind him worked well. His odd movements looked good, too. The bassist was also quite animated. He jumped around a lot, and at one point took a dive on the front of the stage which took down two microphone stands and a bottle of beer all at once. Near the end of the set the woman sang a DEVO song. I was impressed enough that I immediately headed back to their table and picked up the CD they had for sale.

The Rodeo Carburettor

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.
THE RODEO CARBURETTOR, another trio, were up next. I wasn’t familiar with them, but they had an impressive edge. They rocked it, and they rocked it hard. The drummer kept things lean and mean. The bassist kept a good pulse going, and the guitarist/lead singer sang with a vigorous theatricality, blasted out the rhythm in roars, and his leads were both rough and agile. They really only had one sound, but they did it well, and with his expressive singing, they kind of reminded me of an early, primitive WAKUSEI. His singing didn’t stray far from hot-tempered, but I liked it, and I liked the edgy assault of their songs. A somewhat wider variety of material would help, but the thing they need to work on the most is that the two times the guitarist retuned, he turned his back on the audience, and the band waited for him, as did the audience. Their CD was the only one I bought tonight, and I look forward to hearing it.

Ruins

Ruins--Tonic--7/16/99
I went to this because Hitoshi had seen them and liked them a lot. The place was packed, and the additional air-blowing fan they pushed in as far as the extension cord would allow, didn’t help much. The band started up as I entered the club and played for about forty minutes. It’s amazingly intricate music, and the sounds were surprisingly wide-ranging considering that it’s just a drummer and a bassist. The vocals are actually operatic, or mock operatic. It’s quite strange. It took awhile, but after being assaulted for half an hour or so, I recognized the prog-rock aspects Village Voice had mentioned. It’s true, it’s like they took the worst of seventies-rock (E,L&P and such) subtracted all the explorative jamming and played all the intricate breaks in a row at twice the speed while singing opera. Yeah, well, that’s not really my cup of tea, but they did it unbelievably well, and with a humble joy of presentation. The crowd was enthusiastic and brought them back for three encores.

Ruins Alone

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.
RUINS ALONE fittingly followed RONRUINS. Yoshida got a few breaks, but he was playing drums most of the evening, getting quite a workout, and doing a great job. RUINS ALONE was his shining moment of the evening. There he was alone on stage. Tapes including a wide variety of instruments played behind him as he sang and kept the beat to the intricate music of the recordings. Like RUINS music has always been, the changes kept coming, rapidly, and constantly, and Yoshida was ready for every single beat. He pounded those drums for several songs in a row, and the pace, though it varied constantly, never lost its frenetic energy.