 |
| Shonen Knife at Sub89 Reading - Photo Copyright Retro Man Blog |
I first saw
Shonen Knife at the Reading Festival in 1992 where they appeared as part of an excellent line-up as special guests of Nirvana. Although BBC DJ John Peel had picked up on them a few years earlier, it was probably Kurt Cobain who introduced Shonen Knife to a much wider audience in the UK. At the time the kitsch Lo-Fi trio from Osaka in Japan were the unlikely darlings of the American underground Grunge scene, even boasting their own tribute album called “Every Band Has A Shonen Knife Who Loves Them” which featured acts such as Sonic Youth, L7, Babes In Toyland and Redd Kross covering a song each. So, 26 years later and I’m back in Reading at the Sub89 to see the band again and it’s good to see that singer and guitarist Naoko’s sister and co-founding member Atsuko has re-joined the band. She was drumming when I saw them at the Reading Festival in ’92 but now she’s moved onto bass. In another line-up change, Risa has replaced Emi on the drums and if I’m honest I was a bit apprehensive in the build up to the show as the last line-up was so fantastic, I wasn’t sure how they were going to follow it. I need not have worried.
 |
| Shonen Knife at Sub89 Reading - Photo Copyright Retro Man Blog |
 |
| Shonen Knife at Sub89 Reading - Photo Copyright Retro Man Blog |
Risa in particular is a revelation, she’s a quite remarkable drummer, a blur of flailing arms and hair, and she is so powerful and exciting to watch. Atsuko too has taken on the visual aspect of previous bassist Ritsuko with her long hair swinging all over the place and huge smile that proves she is having as much fun as we are. Naoko has hardly changed, she looks amazing and has that wonderful grin and glint in her eyes as she announces that the band are happy to be back in “Reading Rock City”. They kick off with a superfast “Pop Tune” and then it’s straight into “Banana Chips” one of the catchiest songs the Ramones should have written. As The Undertones sang about chocolate and girls,
Shonen Knife specialise in food and cuddly animals. For example, tonight’s set-list includes such subject matter as “All You Can Eat” buffet restaurants and looking forward to a Friday night out at the “Sushi Bar”, where Naoko lists various types of this “famous Japanese meal”. Risa takes over the leads vocals to sing about “Green Tangerines” and then it's Atsuko's turn for the Oriental harmonies of “Wasabi” and I wonder if many bands could sing about the pungent taste of the eye-wateringly hot mustard and get away with it. “You’ve had the starter and main course and now it is time for dessert” Naoko grins before slamming into the heavy “Ramen Rock” from the “Overdrive” LP. I was going to shout out that noodles are hardly a dessert but they might have thrown a load of jellybeans at me so I just decided to keep quiet and enjoy the menu...errr...sorry, music!
 |
| Shonen Knife at Sub89 Reading - Photo Copyright Retro Man Blog |
 |
| Shonen Knife at Sub89 Reading - Photo Copyright Retro Man Blog |
One highlight of the night is “I Am A Cat” which shows that
Shonen Knife have elevated the Japanese obsession with ‘kawaii’ or cuteness to another level, making it kitsch, humorous yet cool at the same time. The set is a satisfying pick ‘n’ mix of songs from throughout their career with “Jump Into The New World” from their current LP “Adventure” and the single “Buttercup” standing out as particular highlights for me. Their mash-up of Ramones, Shangri-La’s harmonies and the catchy 70’s Rock of Cheap Trick and the Runaways is infectious and they play a nice cover of Nick Lowe’s “Cruel To Be Kind” too. The old classics such as “Twist Barbie” and “Riding On The Rocket” still sound as fresh and exciting today as they did when I first heard them. For the encore, they return wearing Shonen Knife T-Shirts and launch into the song handily titled “Rock & Roll T-Shirt” a nifty and fun way to advertise the merchandise! The Hardcore Punk blast of “Antonio Baka Guy” nearly blows the roof off the venue and then it’s over, the three of them stand there holding their Shonen Knife scarves aloft, lapping up the well-deserved applause. What a great night out! It’s life-affirming good time Rock ‘n’ Roll and I would defy even the most hardened cynic not to crack a huge ear-to-ear grin throughout the duration of a Shonen Knife gig.
 |
| Shonen Knife at Sub89 Reading - Photo Copyright Retro Man Blog |
 |
| Shonen Knife at Sub89 Reading - Photo Copyright Retro Man Blog |
For more photos of the gig please check out the album at the Retro Man Blog Facebook page
here and there are videos at our YouTube channel
here. You can also see our previous features including exclusive Paul Slattery photographs from London's Cargo in 2012
here and their
Osaka Ramones show at the same venue in the Blog archive
here. For more info on their current tour dates you can visit the official Shonen Knife web-site
here or their Facebook page
here.
 |
| Shonen Knife at Sub89 Reading - Photo Copyright Retro Man Blog |
No comments:
Post a Comment