Japan Nite Comes to San Francisco...Uh Oh

Japan Nite 2008!

Where to begin...With the benefit of hindsight, perhaps I should've gotten more sleep the night before.  I had no idea what I was in for when Rad invited me to see Japan Nite 2008 at the Independent in San Francisco last night.

Up until now my experience with J-music has been...shall we say...limited.  I've experienced most everything H!P has churned out.  I love AKB48.  I have dabbled in Perfume and Pipo Angels (anyone notice a pattern yet?)  Hey, I make no apologies.  I like what I like for the reasons I like it.  So going to a concert starring six bands I have never really heard before sounded like a good time.  No more, no less.

The Independent is a "cracker box" of a venue in SF.  It's about half the size of Shibuya AX.  Rad got to the venue many hours before the show.  I won't spoil his review, but he has a great story to tell about his early arrival.  I highly recommend checking it out at http://radicalpatriot.vox.com.  When the doors opened there were about 15 people standing outside.  Rad and I were the first two to get in, so we got spots front and center.  We could literally feel the artists breathing on us.

This was an amazingly fun show!  Here is a band by band recap of the marathon concert...

Scandal ~ This was the group I was most interested in "seeing" bacause they most resembled a J-pop group.  Four teens in schoolgirl uniforms?  AKB48 anyone???  Except these girls play hard and fast rock and roll.  The song playing as they come to the stage is by the Ramones, and I'll give you one guess as to which song it was.  They led off with a great tune called Space Ranger, which also happened to be the CD/DVD single they were selling at the show (for $5!!!)  This group has the same intesity as another famous group coincidentally called Scandal.  (I hope Patty Smyth doesn't sue!)  It is shocking at first (in a totally awesome way) to see them play this kind of music.  If you strapped guitars around Atsuko Maeda, Tomomi Itano, Risa Narita and Rina Nakanishi, this it what it would look like!  And the lead guitarist is great!  Not only can she really rip, she looks like Jun Jun!  For girls this age, they sounded amazing.  Perhaps not as polished as some of the bands coming later.  But this group has a gimmick, and they are really going somewhere.  Their MySpace site is http://www.myspace.com/scandal4  Check out Space Ranger...

Judging by the line for autographs and tour goods after their set, there was definitely a "Wota Representation" in the audience.  Did CK line up for a CD and T-shirt???  Uhhhhhh, lets talk about the next act...

The Emeralds ~ They get my nomination for the most "intentionally" humorous band of the night.  The trio's sound is very straight forward and fast rock.  I heard many "Ramones" references from the crowd.  Now at this point I want to qualify something.  Rad and I were up against the stage AND...right next to the guitar amps.  So for most of the show we were getting a heavy dose of guitar, but were straining to hear the lyrics.  Although the lead singer/guitarist was playing a Gibson "Les Paul", it was very "tinny", and had my ears ringing very quickly.  The bassist and drummer interacted with the crowd very well.  The highlight being them "begging" the crowd to buy their shirts and CD's or they wouldn't be able to afford flying home.  These guys definitely have some Sex Pistols influence as the singer kinda has the Johnny Rotten style going.  http://www.myspace.com/theemeralds   Here is a cool little Emeralds' collage...

Ketchup Mania ~ I loved this group!!!  They were my favorites of the night.  Ketchup Mania plays fast, furious, and with a surf-thrash sound.  If this group was from the US, they'd be straight outta Malibu!  Dai, the lead guitarist has the "Slash" look.  Wani is never-ending energy on drums.  And the lead singer, Hiro...oh my god, she is great!  Love her voice, sort of an "anime-style".  And she has awesome stage presence!

Hiro

Ketchup Mania has been around for quite a few years.  Rad remarked that Hiro reminded him of Kago Ai.  I'm not sure if I agree(I'm thinking more Toda Rinne), although I have the same attraction to all three of them.  So maybe there's something to it.  You can check out some of their music at  http://www.myspace.com/ketchupmaniajf  My two favorites were Bad Bad Bad (cool animated PV), which Hiro did a pretty good audience participation bit with, and Real Yaayo...

Detroit 7 ~ By far, this was the band that most people came to see.  And why not?  Tomomi, the lead singer/left-handed guitarist was probably the best musician of the night, and she was gorgeous.  The "Hendrix" references were not lost on her either as her repertoire includes a "Star Spangled Banner" guitar solo!  Another band that plays hard and fast rock.  Tomomi has a very intense stage presence and singing style not unlike Annie Lennox of Eurythmics or Debora Iyall from Romeo Void .  As beautiful as she is, I had trouble watching her sometimes as her facial expressions had me wondering if she was trippin' on acid.  And Miyoko is a tireless drummer.  Very tight musicianship here, but they could be more fan-friendly.  Although they were the first group from this show to respond to my MySpace "friend" request...Arigatou Tomodachi!!!  http://www.myspace.com/detroit7 

Also, a mosh pit broke out during this act, which picked up intensity as Detroit 7's set progressed.  This also lead to the last time I saw Rad that night.  I think Rad is great!  Like his Blog, he is very enthusiastic at these shows.  And like his Blog, he can be very controversial.  Again, I don't want to spoil Rad's story,  let's just say there was an altercation.  I'll say no more...

Petty Booka ~ Oh my god!!!  What can I say about this group?  I can think of about 20 "snarky" things right off the bat.  But I'll start with they are friggin' adorable!!!  Let me set the scene...three middle aged white guys.  One on guitar, one with a stand-up Bass, and one with a Banjo.  Then you have the young guy with a Mandolin.  "Petty" and "Booka", who couldn't be more than 20 years old come out in powder blue western-gear, novelty store cowboy hats and Ukeleles.  They can be best described as a cross between Allison Krauss and Tiny Tim, if you can picture that.  The girl with the lower voice sounded like Momoko from Berryz Koubou...that was the LOWER VOICE.  The girl with the higher voice made Momoko sound like a baritone!  Even funnier was their set list.  I think two of their songs were originals.  My favorite being "Don't Laugh" which was very pretty.  But mostly they played covers...

Don't Rock The Jukebox - Alan Jackson  This makes sense.

Come Dancing - The Kinks  Huh???  Still they were much better than Ray Davies and his stupid sounding fake Italian accent on the original

Que Sera Sera - Doris Day  This is out of left field!  How Hitchcockian of them!!!

Friend of the Devil - Grateful Dead  How appropriate for San Francisco!  Actually this is one of my favorite songs by the Dead, and I thought Petty Booka's best song here as well.  This is a clip from the show in Seattle the night before...

"Got two reasons why I cry away each lonely night,
The first ones named sweet Anne Marie, and shes my heart's delight.
The second one is prison, babe, the sheriff's on my trail,
And if he catches up with me, I'll spend my life in jail."

I'm sorry, I just found it kinda funny that they would be singing these lyrics.

Watching them on stage reminded my of Andy Kaufman's debut appearance on Saturday Night Live!  I did some searching around the internet and found that this group seems to have an ever-changing lineup.  Even the songs on their site sound like different singers.  But they were definitely cute.  http://www.myspace.com/pettybookatokyo

The Beaches ~ Checking my watch, it is getting close to 1am, and we still have one band left.  Rad is nowhere to be found, and I have to work the next day.  So I grab my gear at the coat check, and head to the back of the venue.  I figure I'll watch a song or two, then bail.  I'm glad I didn't.  Along with Ketchup Mania, this was my other favorite group of the night.  Definitely Rock, definitely New Wave, but what stood out for me was the unmistakable Reggae sound.  Yes, The Beaches is certainly an appropriate name.  The lead singer was great. He sounded like Burning Spear with a touch of Bad Brains, stage dove TWICE, and launched his guitar into the drum kit.  Speaking of the drummer, he wasn't the "fastest", but this guy did some things on the drums I'm not sure I've ever heard before.  Amazing!!!  Check out their site   http://www.myspace.com/comeonthebeaches  Yes, I also think Beavis and Butthead would like that Web address.  "Hana Hou" was a great song last night...

As I said before, I am on a "road of discovery" in the J-music world.  I am so happy, and so thankful to Rad that he invited me to this show.  This was a chance to hear some amazing music in an extremely intimate setting.  We got a chance to shake hands and chat with almost every group.  And I got to hang out in the alley and have a smoke with Ketchup Mania!  That was pretty cool too. 

Home at 3am...finally some sleep.  Until next year...

CK in California