Black Dub in Full Force

Left to Right: Brian Blade, Daniel Lanois, Trixie Whitley, and Jim Wilson
NEW YORK, November 17 – I usually don’t post two similar pieces back-to-back on this blog, but I'm making an exception. After being blown away by Black Dub’s stripped down show at the CMJ Music Marathon, I decided to attend their full band performance at the Bowery Ballroom.

I was eager to see the complete band including Brian Blade and Daryl Johnson. They were a super group jam band therefore the live performance is supposed to be top notch. I was already somewhat familiar with Brian Blade’s solo work, and I always admired his skills behind a drum set. Also Daryl Johnson was pretty amazing on the Black Dub recording.

Black Dub: Stripped Down and Devastating

Left to Right: Daniel Lanois and Trixie Whitley
NEW YORK, October 23 – While I was attending the CMJ Music Marathon to see other indie acts, I checked their overall schedule of performances and noticed Black Dub was set to play on Saturday evening. Black Dub is the current incarnation of Daniel Lanois’ super group with a rotating roster of rock/jazz/blues virtuosos. If you don’t know Lanois’ name, he has produced some of the biggest landmark rock albums such as U2’s The Unforgettable Fire, U2’s Achtung Baby, Peter Gabriel’s So, and Bob Dylan’s Time Out of Mind. He is also an absolutely brilliant musician.

Family, Friends, and Grand Hallway at the CMJ Music Marathon

NEW YORK, October 22 – Based on another recommendation, I went to check out the Seattle-based Grand Hallway at the CMJ Music Marathon. They’re a sizable band with quite a few players including violinists, woodwinds, piano, and others. Playing at the small Rockwood Music Hall, the band squeezed themselves into the corner stage.

Jane Lui Double Taps New York

NEW YORK, October 22 – Based on a recommendation, I went to see Jane Lui’s performance at the Rockwood Music Hall. Lui, a recent internet phenom, has been known as one of the more notable independent musical acts in the San Francisco scene. Unlike past generations of musicians, her career was born out of the internet and takes full advantage of powerful marketing tools like youtube and social media networks. Through a spirited digital DIY campaign, she has carefully garnered a pretty loyal following making her internet famous.

Shonen Knife at Asia Society

Emi Morimoto standing on her drums and Ritsuko Taneda rocking out.
New York, September 25 – As a part of their extravagant Yoshitomo Nara (奈良 美智) exhibition, Asia Society hosted a concert by Shonen Knife (少年ナイフ). Nara is a big fan of the band and designed some of their album covers including Happy Hour. In a larger sense, he has also credited punk music as being a major influence in his artwork.

In addition to the art exhibit, the performance was part of a new American tour that served as a coming out party for Shonen Knife's new drummer Emi Morimoto. She seemed to fit the band extremely well. Her drumming was exciting and filled with gusto.

Farewell to Giant Robot New York with Goh Nakamura

Right to Left: Goh Nakamura and Gary Wang
New York, September 12 – Devoted Giant Robot fans braved the harsh rain to attend a farewell event at the Giant Robot New York store. The store is scheduled to close on September 23. The farewell event began with a signing by David Choe and ended with a set by Goh Nakamura.

I rushed over to the East Village to attend the double headliner event. The delayed subway trains and the heavy rain slowed my progress. So, I arrived pretty late. I walked into the small store front and encountered Goh’s acoustic guitar. Neither Dave nor Goh were present. I overheard people saying that they went to some barbecue joint down the block. I probably just missed them and decided to hang out.

You Can’t Stop the Paperdoll

Right to Left: Steve Paelet, Chip Thomas, and Teresa Lee Chaisiri
New York, July 17 – After recently winning the Grand Prize at Kollaboration New York, the Paperdoll band played at the Crash Mansion.

According to their website, the band was planning an extensive tour of Shanghai (which has just concluded). They were scheduled to play one last performance before going to China. I heard about it at the very last minute and hastily rushed over to the venue. I wanted to see them before they embark on their overseas journey.

Meeks! Meiko at the Living Room

New York, August 29 – On a steamy warm summer night, Meiko took the stage at the Living Room. The Los Angeles based indie rockstar was a rare sight in the Big Apple, but she managed to pack the audience with fans.

Armed only with an acoustic guitar, she entertained the New York crowd with a combination of melodic songs and funny side stories. Between each song, Meiko would talk to the audience and sometimes carry on fully conversations. Filled with sass, she entertained the crowd with personal stories about love, her music career, and money. Meiko spoke as much as she sang. It kind of reminded me of the VH1 Storytellers show.

The Alfa Garcia Experience

(Right to Left) Jon McElroy, Zach Jones, and Alfa
New York, August 18 – I’ve seen Alfa Garcia perform at several venues in New York City, and they were all solo efforts. However, her performance at the Living Room included a three piece band. Band? This was an interesting turn of events. I’ve never heard the entire band perform live before tonight.

What’s the name of the band? The name on the venue’s bill was “Alfa Garcia”. So, is the band named “Alfa Garcia” too? “The Alfa Garcia Band” sounds too plain. I was just brainstorming names for her band, and I came up with a few suggestions.

SDCC 2010: Con Survival, Pop Candy Party, and Boris

San Diego, July 24 – I always assumed that con survival guides were weak veiled attempts at comedy. Come on… Do you really need someone to remind you of basic human functions like hygiene, hydration, and eating? It’s basic common sense. Even mindless Sims sprites know when to use the bathroom.

Then, the unthinkable happened. There was geek-on-geek violence in Hall H of the San Diego Comic-con. Stationed at the plushy table of the Giant Robot booth, I watched two squads of local police quickly marching across the convention center.

I’ve read quite a few con survival how to’s, and I don’t recall any lessons on self-defense (the zombie apocalypse ones don’t count). I guess it’s time to add some basic self-defense tips to those guides.

There were many rumors circulating in the exhibitor’s hall. The initial story described a confrontation ending in an attendee stabbing another one with a replica light saber (the geek’s weapon of choice). It’s perhaps the geekiest personal assault in history. When I read the actual news coverage, the victim was stabbed by a pen near his eye. He went to the hospital with minor cuts.

The Laughin Nose at The Loft [2009 Back Post]

This post is the last “back post” from 2009. It basically encapsulates my impressions of the Japanese punk scene from my December 2009 Tokyo trip.

Laughin Noses at the Loft

TOKYO, December 27 — Before arriving in Tokyo, I heard a lot about the punk scene and the venue circuit called “Live Houses”. Live Houses are a group of venues that specifically cater to rock acts. For many punk and hardcore rockers, it’s probably the only suitable place to turn up the amps and shred some guitars.

Prior to this trip to Tokyo, I’ve never been to a Japanese Live House, so I had to visit one. After some online research, I discovered a place called the Loft. Located in the western side of the Shinjuku district, the Loft is supposedly the oldest and most well established venue for rock and punk music.

An Osaka punk band called the Laughin Noses was schedule to play. I knew very little about them but decided to go anyway.

I took the Chūō-Sōbu train (中央・総武緩行線) to Ōkubo Station (大久保駅) and walked to the Shinjuku district. It took some looking around to find the venue, and I got lost a couple of times. I finally found the building and a sign with the Lofts’ logo (see picture above). There was a “B2” above the sign which means it’s located in the subbasement (floor underneath the basement). This place is literally underground.

I paid my admission and walked into the subterranean venue. The Loft was grimy enough to remind me of some older New York venues.


The Tokyo punk scene was a trip. They were all dressed like 70s punk rockers. I felt like I step out of a time machine, and my natsukashii (懐かしい) was in full effect. I guess the 80s post-punk period and 90s grunge era skipped Japan entirely.

When I took a closer look at their 70s punk gear, the Japanese audience had pristine shiny leather clothing. They wore the nicest punk outfits that I’ve ever seen. At New York punk shows, I’m used to seeing people wear second hand clothes from the Salvation Army. This was a completely different mindset. I guess it’s kinda like cosplay where the fans have to “dress the part.” I also saw a lot of familiar black t-shirts featuring the Ramones, CBGBs, and New York City (à la John Lennon).

According to their Wikipedia entry, the Laughin Noses have been around the Japanese punk scene for near 30 years starting in 1981. Tonight their age didn’t seem to slow them down. They were completely metal on stage and thoroughly rocked the Tokyo crowd. Belley (山崎 健) did some serious guitar work, and Charmy’s (小山 祐) vocals were pretty awesome. His vocal stylings had hints of Johnny Rotten and Joey Ramone.

At several points in the performance, the audience got so rowdy that punches and kicks were flying in every direction. Even the lead vocalist got kicked in the face a few times from overly aggressive body surfers. He continued his performance despite receiving a few blows from the audience.

The Laughin Noses played an excellent punk show.

Related Links:

• Laughin'Nose on MySpace Music
  
• Japan Live: Japan Live TOKYO LIVE HOUSE GUIDE
  

Tibetan Punk New Year Celebration

Patti Smith
NEW YORK, February 26 — On a chilly winter night, I attended the 20th Annual Tibet House Benefit Concert at Carnegie Hall (West 57th Street and 7th Avenues). The concert supports Tibet House's on-going efforts to preserve the living culture of Tibet. Also a portion of the proceeds benefit The Tibetan Community of New York and New Jersey and Doctors without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières).

This year's concert was packed with tons of great punk acts. The audience seemed electrified as they rushed the stage several times. They were promptly restrained by the Carnegie Hall security detail. It's was one of the livelier benefit concerts in recent memory.

The performers included: Philip Glass, Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew, Gogol Bordello, Tenzin Kunsel, Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, Regina Spektor, Jesse Smith, Michael Campbell, Drepung Gomang Monks, and others.


Philip Glass
The concert started with very somber openers. The Drepung Gomang Monks began with their traditional throaty chant. They were followed by a minimalist musical segment by Philip Glass and a passionate set of soft jazzy folk music by Regina Spektor. The only exception to the subdued tone was the colorful Reggae style beats performed by Bajah + the Dry Eye Crew.

In a sudden change of pace, the atmosphere suddenly exploded when Gogol Bordello took the stage. Eugene Hütz, the lead singer of the band, performed an acoustic set of three Gypsy inspired punk tunes that excited the crowd. Younger audience members rushed the stage blissfully unaware of Carnegie Hall’s reserved decorum. The venue’s staffer and security detail quickly held them back.

Gogol Bordello was soon followed by the amazing Patti Smith. Smith started her set with the R&B classic “Love Train”. The increased volume of her performance resulted in a lot of unintended audio feedback. She was visibly annoyed with the audio problems but powered through her set. During Smith’s set, the audience again rushed the stage to the dismay of the venue’s security personnel. She finished her set with a powerful rendition of “Gloria”. The audio feedback problems resurfaced in her final song, and she tossed the microphone stand across the stage. Smith sang the rest of the song with microphone in hand.

Iggy Pop

The closer was the legendary Iggy Pop. Pop walked onto the stage with a black long sleeved shirt which he promptly discarded. He began his set with “The Passenger”. The audience went wild, and the crowd in front of the stage grew. The security could barely keep order. At the start of “I Wanna Be Your Dog”, Pop even jumped into the audience in an attempt to crowd surf. According to Rolling Stone Magazine, “nobody caught him.”

During his set, Pop also had the same feedback problem that Smith experienced. Frustrated he stuffed the microphone in his jeans. Then he proceeded to pick up the microphone stand and repeatedly hammered the pristine hardwood floors of the Carnegie Hall stage. You could see the worried expression on some of the Carnegie Hall staffers.

Related Links:

• Iggy Pop Brings Punk Carnage to Carnegie Hall at Tibet Benefit : Rolling Stone : Rock and Roll Daily
  
• Music Review - Tibet House Benefit - Iggy Pop, Regina Spektor and Patti Smith at Carnegie Hall - NYTimes.com
  
• Tibet House Benefit 2010 in pictures (Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, Regina Spektor, Gogol Bordello & more) - BrooklynVegan
  
• Tibet House Benefit Show Enthralls Carnegie Hall
  

The Polysics at The Blender: Technicolor Pogo Punk Explosion

NEW YORK, February 13 – On chilly Saturday night, I walked into a techno-rock explosion. The Polysics, a "technicolor pogo punk" band from Tokyo, played a one night engagement at the Blender Theater (Irving Plaza).

The Polysics are primarily known for their distinctive Devoesque sound and innovative music videos. Their music is a mix of classic techno-pop with a hard edge punk guitar. Having been raised on British New Wave, I was quiet partial to their synth-pop sensibilities.

I also enjoyed the geeky punk flavor of their stage show. Hiroyuki Hayashi, the lead vocalist, was very animated and charismatic. He was bouncing off the walls like bunny on speed and performed some comedically awkward hip thrusting. In several instances, Hayashi had the entire audience mimic some of his bizarre hand gestures and motions. The crowd loved the interaction.

At one point in the performance, Hayashi proclaimed that “Polysics will be your Valentine!”


The highlights of their performance were “Rocket”, “I My Me Mine”, and “Electric Surfing Go Go”.

The band played to a bizarre mix of fans. In the audience, there were hard core techno fans wearing Devo hats rocking out next to Japanese Goth kids. It was a pretty lively crowd.

Related Links:

• Polysics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• allmusic ((( Polysics > Overview )))
• Polysics Celebrates Kayo's "Graduation" from the Band with a Tour - Los Angeles Music - West Coast Sound
• Interview with Polysics: Each Era Each End | The Aquarian Weekly

Alfa at Best Buy: Hurry While Supplies Last!

NEW YORK, February 11 – I’ve seen plenty of indie music acts in bizarre locations. Some of the more notable ones were a shopping plaza in Kowloon, the tiny back room in a New York City bar, and the subbasement of a parking deck in Shinjuku. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen a concert at Best Buy (60 West 23rd Street). So, when I read that Alfa Garcia was going to perform there I was a bit curious.

I decided to go to the Best Buy to check out the performance. As I walked past the large display windows, I found Alfa in the store front. She was standing on a small elevated platform that looked strangely like a pedestal. I immediately thought she looked like a product on display. Alfa’s gone commercial! She’s sold out! (Just kidding…)

Alfa performed eight songs including “Supergirl”, “Second Skin”, and “Don’t Write Your Goodbyes”.

Regarding the venue, Best Buy didn’t seem like the best place for a musical performance. The high drop ceilings and the warehouse nature of the space didn’t seem to provide good acoustics. The noisy shoppers also didn’t help matters, but Alfa still played brilliantly.


Overall, the event had an interesting schizophrenic atmosphere between Alfa’s singing and the customers haggling over the price of HD television sets.

Related Links:

• Alfa: Second Skin « Born In Chinese (Album Review)
• Alfa's MySpace Page
• Alfa's Facebook Fan Page
• Alfa's Twitter

Raw Chinese Punk at the Ding Dong

P.K. 14
NEW YORK, November 20 – Three Chinese bands traveled almost 7000 miles from Beijing to rock the Ding Dong Lounge on the Upper West Side. The venue was tiny sliver of a New York store front, and the stage was just a six foot wide alcove in the back. It looked like a basement with exposed brick walls and the haphazardly improvised wires and sound cables. The place was ideal for a raw punk show.

The night opened with Xiao He. He performed a one man experimental techno fusion show complete with electronic beats, commercial samples, and chanting. It was a bizarre cacophony of sounds from his laptop. The music rode a wave of orgasmic peaks and valleys. It was completely trippy.


Carsick Cars
Carsick Cars followed with a post punk set. The band managed to produce an awesome sound with dueling melodies between the guitar and bass. It was eerily reminiscent of Joy Division or early New Order. Scott Schultz, writer for the L.A. Record, said that the sound reminded him of Peter Hook’s bass work. They completely rocked the tiny bar.

The band had a huge pedal set-up for guitar and vocal effects. The venue was not set-up to handle the incredible amount of equipment with the sound cables passing thru so many devices. In one of the songs, an effects pedal completely cut off the microphone, and the band basically played the rest of the song as an instrumental rendition.


P.K. 14
The headliner of the night was P.K. 14, an older Beijing punk group. They have been pioneers in the Chinese music scene with the promotion of a harder punk influence. Their sound was more straight punk with driving beats and simple melody. Yang Haisong’s vocal range and timbre are very similar to Ian McCulloch of the Echo and the Bunnymen. Some of their more radio friendly songs reminded me of the Talking Heads. They had a strange quirkiness. However, their straight forward hard punk tunes were the biggest hits with the small local punk crowd.

It was one of the most thrilling nights of raw punk music in the city. P.K. 14 and Carsick Cars completely rock the Ding Dong Lounge with a sound reminiscent of the late 70s post-punk sound.

Related Links:

• P.K. 14 - Asia's Best Bands - TIME
• Carsick Cars, PK-14 & Xiao He are coming from China - 2009 Tour Dates (6 NYC shows) - BrooklynVegan
• Carsick Cars on MySpace Music
• Weekly Popcast: Wale, P.K. 14 and Carsick Cars - ArtsBeat Blog - NYTimes.com
• Live: PK-14, Xiao He, and Carsick Cars Bring Chinese Experimental Rock to Brooklyn - New York Music - Sound of the City
• Carsick Cars and P.K.14 at powerHouse Arena, Glasslands and Santos Party House - Concert previews
  - Time Out New York
• Carsick Cars (carsickcars) on Twitter
• Holy Warhol Maos! China's Carsick Cars Cover the Velvets' "Sunday Morning" - Los Angeles Music - West Coast Sound

The 6th Annual READ Philippines: Kill All Robots!

Warhol Soup
NEW YORK, November 5 – I originally walked into the Nightingale Lounge expecting to see Alfa with an acoustic guitar singing her tunes. Instead I unexpectedly entered a Filipino literary benefit called The 6th Annual READ Philippines. It’s an organization promoting Filipino writers in schools, libraries, and other public venues.

The event featured performances by: John-Flor Sisante, M. Josephine, Bonnibel Fonbuena, Warhol Soup, and Alfa Garcia.

Sisante started off the night with some acoustic ukulele songs. What is the whole Filipino ukulele connection? I know three Filipino acts that use the ukulele. Maybe it’s a Pacific Islander thing. Sisante did an interesting political tune called, “Lovesong of a Palin Presidency”. He started stomping and motivated the crowd to clap.

He was followed by M. Josephine, an R&B vocalist from Jersey City. She performed a few songs over a pre-recorded music track. Her husband joined her for a Hip-Hop/R&B duet.

An interesting addition to the line-up was Fonbuena, a Texas Filipino spoken word artist. She was off the wall fun. She did really interesting pieces about life, her nephew, and robots. Fonbuena proclaimed, “kill all robots!” She also did a humorous piece about her feelings of pride over Manny Pacquiao’s boxing career. I thought she was going to call him the real, “Thrilla in Manilla”. She didn’t. Fonbuena was so hippy and chill. I absolutely loved her stuff.

Warhol Soup, a New Jersey Filipino funk band, took the stage with some very funky songs. They even managed to do a cover of Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror”. I also enjoyed the funky madness of “Adobe Funk” and “Felicia”.


Alfa
The night ended with Alfa as the headliner. She stated that the headliner role was a surprise and the pressure was on. She performed amazingly as the evening’s closer. The highlights of her performance were “Love as Tragedy” and “Second Skin”. I think that she is one of the most exciting young voices in the New York indie music scene today.

Overall, the benefit was an interesting accident. I enjoyed all the performances by the local Filipino music community.

Related Links:

• Alfa: Second Skin « Born In Chinese (Album Review)
• Alfa's MySpace Page
• Alfa's Facebook Fan Page
• Alfa's Twitter
• John-Flor Sisante's Twitter
• Warhol Soup's Twitter
• Warhol Soup's Facebook Fan Page
• Warhol Soup's YouTube Account

Happyfunsmile Afro Halloween Party

NEW YORK, October 30 – On the eve of Halloween, Happyfunsmile rocked the tight confines of the Forbidden City Bar and Lounge with an eclectic mix of Rock, Pop, Jazz, and traditional Okinawan music. The patrons were packed from wall to wall in the tiny bar, and they rocked out to joyous songs like the “Omatsuri Mambo”.

The band and quite a few patrons were cosplaying for Halloween. There were a lot of neko kitty ears and colorful hair pieces.

In the second set, the singers donned huge afro wigs of varying colors. Akiko Hiroshima had a bright electric pink afro wig that looked like a huge ball of cotton candy. It looked almost good enough to eat. Brian Nishii and Josh Rutner sported more traditional black afros. As they danced, the large fluffy wigs bounced around like a cheerleader’s pom poms. It was very festive.


Kossan rocking hard
The band also played a surprise cover of Yoko Kanno’s “Tank!” (Theme song to Cowboy Bebop) which really got the bar rocking.

Related Links:

• Happyfunsmile (Myspace)

A Night with Shonen Knife Fanatics

NEW YORK, October 16 –Shonen Knife, a veteran Japanese punk band, launched their US tour at the Santos Party House (96 Lafayette Street). They drew a sizable fanatical audience in the small venue and proceeded to deliver their special brand of punk rock music. It was great.

The band is a stripped down three member punk ensemble. There is nothing complicated. It’s just loud garage punk music with sensible pop hooks. I describe their sound as 70s New York punk with a sweet pop candy coating.

Shonen Knife started with a couple of hard punk anthems which immediately got the audience hopping around like bunnies rabbits on speed. The crowd was electrified and frenetic. They were also familiar with the band’s music and started screaming out song titles. This led Naoko Yamano, the lead singer, to remark that the New York crowd really knew their stuff.

The highlights of the performance were “Super Group”, “Riding on the Rocket”, and “Banana Chips”. At one point, the band performed “Ramones Forever” as a dedication to the Ramones. It was totally cool.


Shonen Knife meeting with fans
After their performance, Shonen Knife met with their fans. They spent nearly an hour signing merchandise, taking pictures, and talking to fans. It's no mystery that their fan friendly interactions have led to a very devoted and loyal fan base.

For more information on tour dates, you can check their MySpace page.

Related Links:

• Shonen Knife - Wikipedia
• 少年ナイフ (Japanese Official Website)
• J-Pop World - Shonen Knife Interview
• allmusic ((( Shonen Knife > Overview )))

Alfa, a Supergirl Rockstar

NEW YORK, August 4 – Alfa Garcia joined other singer/songwriters at the Bitter End (147 Bleecker Street) for a mellow evening of unplugged tunes. The event was called the Songwriter's Circle, and its purpose is the promotion of local indie musicians in the vein of James Taylor and Norah Jones. The format of the event was basically a round-robin. Each performer played a song and passed the spot light to the next performer. Alfa managed to perform three songs including “Supergirl" and "Isabelle".

The striped down nature of the event played to Alfa's strengths as a performer and a songwriter. Despite some of her modest comments about her own music, Alfa masterfully performed everything from a sweet candy pop tune to a rustic familial love song. Her engaging musical stylings revealed an honest emotional vulnerability which was very refreshing. In addition, Alfa's vocals are amazingly understated. They gently demand your attention and proceed to slowly envelop your senses. She was pretty awesome.

Alfa recently released her debut independent LP, "Second Skin". It is now available on iTunes and Amazon.

Check alfa-music.com for more information and performance dates. She is playing several dates in New York and a single date at the Kollaboration's Acoustic 3 Concert in Los Angeles.

Related Links:

• Alfa: Second Skin « Born In Chinese (Album Review)
• Alfa's MySpace Page
• Alfa's Facebook Fan Page
• Alfa's Twitter

All Points West Festival 2009

JERSEY CITY, August 2 – I came for the Echo and the Bunny Men and staid for the Coldplay and MGMT.


Outdoor Music Festivals = Mud


Echo and The Bunnymen performing "The Killing Moon"


Coldplay performing "Yellow" (with large yellow balloons filled with confetti)

Related Links:

• All Points West Music & Arts Festival