Let's Knife!
I had the pleasure to see Shonen Knife in concert recently. For those of you who don't know who Shonen Knife is, it's a punk rock group that sings about very basic and silly things. The three women in the band take to their craft with the ferocity of an NFL lineman and with the artful grace of a ballerina. Recently, their first four albums, originally released in the mid-to-late eighties, have been re-released. And they are coming out with a new album, Heavy Songs, to be released in June (you can get the Japanese import sooner).
The show began with a techno-intro that came over the sound system. Guitarist Naoko strode onto the stage with the heavy metal horns (or the "I love you" sign) high in the air and a seemingly plastic smile that rarely left her face throughout the 75-minute set. Naoko's charming stage presence and her direct between-song banter ("We really love you.") won the crowd over instantly, even the guys who were only there because their girlfriends dragged them.
Bassist Atsuko could be a model (maybe she is). I thought to myself many times throughout the set, "I can't believe these pixies are making such demonic noise." (Of course that was/is the irony of the band The Pixies (with the big p), but Shonen Knife has them beat because they are so sweet. Whereas part of the strange charm of Black Francis, et al is that they are jerks and they don't care what you think about it.)
Anyway, back to Atsuko. She designed the cool and coordinated outfits that the ladies wore onstage. I should also say that she rocked equally as hard as her fret-sister on the other side of the stage. They tried to sway back and forth in unison on several occasions, but I got the feeling that the intensity of the sounds that they were creating was throwing off their synchronization just a bit. No matter. Actually, they did a fair amount of running around, and engaged in some cock-rock histerionics late in the set. I'll bet Tommy Lee did the same things with his guitar one night earlier across town. Actually, I don't want to think about it.
Joining the longtime bandmates on this tour is drummer Etsuko Nakanishi, or Ettchan. When Naoko introduced Ettchan (not to be confused with Attchan, which is Atsuko's nickname), it sounded like she had just sneezed. Ettchan girded herself before the first song by stretching her neck and arms. Then she blasted through the 15 or so songs that the ladies played. She looks like she is about 12 years old, and she pops up and down when playing.
I wouldn't classify myself as a Shonen Knife fanatic, but I think that they've done a lot for punk rock and rock music in general. If you want to hear them, I recommend that you start with the songs off of Pretty Little Baka Guy, first released in 1986, and just re-released a few weeks ago.
The show began with a techno-intro that came over the sound system. Guitarist Naoko strode onto the stage with the heavy metal horns (or the "I love you" sign) high in the air and a seemingly plastic smile that rarely left her face throughout the 75-minute set. Naoko's charming stage presence and her direct between-song banter ("We really love you.") won the crowd over instantly, even the guys who were only there because their girlfriends dragged them.
Bassist Atsuko could be a model (maybe she is). I thought to myself many times throughout the set, "I can't believe these pixies are making such demonic noise." (Of course that was/is the irony of the band The Pixies (with the big p), but Shonen Knife has them beat because they are so sweet. Whereas part of the strange charm of Black Francis, et al is that they are jerks and they don't care what you think about it.)
Anyway, back to Atsuko. She designed the cool and coordinated outfits that the ladies wore onstage. I should also say that she rocked equally as hard as her fret-sister on the other side of the stage. They tried to sway back and forth in unison on several occasions, but I got the feeling that the intensity of the sounds that they were creating was throwing off their synchronization just a bit. No matter. Actually, they did a fair amount of running around, and engaged in some cock-rock histerionics late in the set. I'll bet Tommy Lee did the same things with his guitar one night earlier across town. Actually, I don't want to think about it.
Joining the longtime bandmates on this tour is drummer Etsuko Nakanishi, or Ettchan. When Naoko introduced Ettchan (not to be confused with Attchan, which is Atsuko's nickname), it sounded like she had just sneezed. Ettchan girded herself before the first song by stretching her neck and arms. Then she blasted through the 15 or so songs that the ladies played. She looks like she is about 12 years old, and she pops up and down when playing.
I wouldn't classify myself as a Shonen Knife fanatic, but I think that they've done a lot for punk rock and rock music in general. If you want to hear them, I recommend that you start with the songs off of Pretty Little Baka Guy, first released in 1986, and just re-released a few weeks ago.
posted by Bloggalicious at 12:14
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