Shonen Knife’s index: Knife; Minna Tanoshiku; CDs; Live shows; Other Projects; Tribute
--No longer amateurs, they remain joyful, and no other band makes music like Shonen Knife--
SHONEN KNIFE
Naoko Yamano--guitar & vocal
Ritsuko Taneda--bass & vocal (Ritsuko has played with Shonen Knife since
2006)
Emi Morimoto--drums & vocal (Emi replaced Etsuko in 2010)
Etsuko Nakanishi--drums & vocal (Etsuko played with Shonen Knife from
2005 to 2010)
Atsuko Yamano--bass & vocal (originally played drums, switched
to bass when Michie Nakatani left, and left Shonen Knife after her marriage
and move to L.A. in 2006)
Michie Nakatani--bass & vocal (Michie left the band after Happy Hour)
Thanks
to Takaaki Ono
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Yama No Attchan -- (28:35) -- (1984) -- MCA Victor Inc. -- MVCD-18002
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| This CD was released in ‘95 with the last two songs as bonus tracks. Otherwise, this is their second 8". (Their first three were originally released in Japan as 8" records.) This one was named after Atsuko, their drummer, “-chan” being a familiar. It’s a charming recording. Basically, they were still learning how to play their instruments, and these early songs are some of the most creative of their career. They didn’t know the rules, so they did what felt right. The songs express a pure joy. ‘Flying Saucer Attack’ is a song originally by THE REZILLOS. | |
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Pretty Little Baka Guy & Live In Japan -- (41:32) -- (1986) -- Gasatanka -- ROCK-6053-2 -- (US release) | |
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| The first ten tracks are the original Pretty Little Baka Guy 8''. The remaining eight were recorded live in Osaka Japan, 11-15 in 1990 (when this disc was released), and 16-18 in 1982. Pretty Little Baka Guy (on Subversive Records) was my first purchase of SHONEN KNIFE’s music, so it’s probably my favorite of all their releases. They continue to play several of these songs live, and it’s no wonder. Every one of these songs is inventive and some are perfect gems. The live collections are a nice addition, as they give a peek at SHONEN KNIFE’s earliest days and their current (then) development. | ||
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712 -- (40:31) -- (1991) -- Nippon Crown -- CRCR-6017 -- (released in US) | |
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| 712 was recorded over a three-year period and includes assists from many of their new friends. This was SHONEN KNIFE’s first release after their discovery by the rest of the world. The SHONEN KNIFE tribute, Every Band Has A Shonen Knife Who Loves Them, had brought them some much deserved attention. Included are paybacks to REDD KROSS, WHITE FLAG, and BIG DIPPER, and two songs previously released on TATER TOTZ’s Mono Stereo. An alarm clock and, “Good morning Shonen Knife freaks!” opens this enriched production with a quasi hip-hop statement of purpose. | ||
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Space Christmas -- (9:53) -- (1991) -- Seminal Twang -- TWANG 9 -- (US release)
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| ‘Space Christmas’ is a wonderful song with a slick production, beautiful vocal harmonies (at one point a cappella), and a nice guitar solo. Obviously they hoped for some holiday airplay. ‘Christmas Message ‘91’ is SHONEN KNIFE wishing you a Merry Christmas in the same way THE BEATLES used to do once a year on flexi-discs to their fan club. SHONEN KNIFE had recently signed with MCA in Japan and Virgin Records elsewhere. I heard later that the play on THE BEATLES’ messages was directed by their new, major-label assigned, manager and not appreciated by the band, but it is fun. | |
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We Are Very Happy You Came -- (17:41) -- (1991) -- August Records
-- rust 004cd
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| These cuts were chosen from two nights in England. They were opening up for NIRVANA at the time. It succeeds in conveying the joy and artistry of this band, and shows that live--they rock! Though not the most technically adept band around, they know their job is to rock and make people feel good, and they do that well. There is not an ounce of pretentiousness here, and they keep getting better. How many bands can you say that about? ‘Boys’, ‘Suzy Is A Headbanger’, and ‘Goose Step Mama’ (their contribution to THE RUTLES tribute) had not yet appeared on a SHONEN KNIFE recording | |
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Let’s Knife -- (53:08) -- (1992) -- Virgin Records America, Inc. -- V2-86638 -- (US release) | |
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| This CD was designed to introduce SHONEN KNIFE to the masses. The sticker proclaimed, “Shonen Knife’s first all-English full-length album.” Craig Leon (famous for producing THE RAMONES’ first) does a fine job on the mix. The changes in the songs themselves, though, lead me to believe that the vocal tracks are not the only things that’ve been rerecorded. It’s good, though. It’s a slick introduction to the new SHONEN KNIFE. The four new songs stand up well, in a good collection of their classic songs rerecorded with some money. The new sound is big and beautiful. | ||
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Knife Collectors -- (10:53) -- (1993) -- The Official Shonen
Knife Fan Club: Knife Collectors -- (US release)
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| OK, you’re a SHONEN KNIFE fan, but you don’t like the big new SHONEN KNIFE studio sound? This collection may be for you. It’s put out by their Hoboken fan club, and is SHONEN KNIFE having fun with some home demos. It’s interesting, in that it does give you a look into how they construct their songs. The first two have never been released in any other form and are both cute and fun. The finished ‘Strawberry Cream Puff’ made it onto the Japanese version of Rock Animals, and ‘Hokey Pokey’ is them joking about with that traditional children’s song. None of this is really must-have, though. | |
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Brown Mushrooms And Other Delights -- (14:47) -- (1993) -- Virgin
Records -- V25H-38414 -- (US release)
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| Here’s a chance to pick up ‘Strawberry Cream Puff’, a nice song about Naoko’s obsession with the things, without having to dig up the Japanese version of Rock Animals. Plus, you get SHONEN KNIFE’s take on a classic KINKS’ song. Those are the highlights of this EP, which preceded the release of Rock Animals. I do like this version of ‘Brown Mushrooms’ slightly better than the one on Rock Animals, but though ‘Butterfly Boy’ is one of my favorite songs on Rock Animals, this mix is not an improvement. The added keyboard break is an interesting novelty. | |
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Rock Animals -- (48:05) -- (1993) -- Virgin Records America,
Inc. -- 7243 8 39063 2 1 -- (US release)
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| ‘Strawberry Cream Puff’ replaces ‘Quavers’ on the Japanese version, which also featured most of the songs sung partially in Japanese. I’m told, though, that the songs were translated from English to Japanese and not the reverse. Though they continue to write songs with a childlike viewpoint, there is a growing maturity. The range in styles continues to be wide, and some of these songs are as good as they’ve ever written. Their technique and ability in the studio is continuing to grow. Dare I say it? They’ve become professional Rock Animals! | |
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Tomato Head -- (16:45) -- (1994) -- Virgin Records America,
Inc. -- v25h-38433 -- (US release)
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| Though I usually feel remixes are a waste, ‘Tomato Head’ is a really good song, and these remixes are all good fun. They are done by David Z, THE DUST BROTHERS, and Howard Benson, in that order. They get longer as they go on, closing with the nearly six minute, heavy-rock version, featuring Lemmy of MOTORHEAD, (he laughs and says, “Arigato!”) Though I’m sure he likes SHONEN KNIFE, it could be that he also enjoys a good Bloody Mary and appreciated the song from that perspective. On top of which, you can’t argue with SHONEN KNIFE doing ‘Heat Wave’. They do it with feeling. | |
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The Birds & The B-sides -- (52:35) -- (1996) --Virgin Records -- 7243-8-41414-2-4 -- (U.S. release) | |
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| I was not excited about this, and it was over ten years before I got it, but it’s a nice collection of some of SHONEN KNIFE’s odd cover songs, b-sides, out-takes, live tracks, and other obscurities. I thought I had SHONEN KNIFE versions of all of these songs, but a wondrously lush take on THE SHANGRI-LAS’ ‘Paradise’, had until now escaped me. This is not a necessary addition to your SHONEN KNIFE collection, but it is a charming collection, with a surprisingly wide sampling of SHONEN KNIFE’s musical reach, and more importantly, proof of their amazing ability to bring impossible dreams to sparkling life. | ||
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Brand New Knife -- (70:55) -- (1997) -- Big Deal -- 9035-2 -- (US release) | |
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| Tracks 14-20 are the Japanese versions of these songs. The word I heard is that SHONEN KNIFE decided they had had enough of Page Porrazzo, who had co-produced, with them, almost all their material from Space Christmas on. As a result, they left Virgin, but they keep on rockin’. Their first full-length recorded in the U.S. sounds fine. Unfortunately, with the exception of ‘E.S.P.’ and one or two others, the material, previously their strong-point, is weak. Technically they continue to improve and some of the song-structures are artful, but where’s the joy of life? Oops, I think they’ve matured. | ||
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Happy Hour -- (40:56) -- (1998) --Big Deal -- 9055-2 -- (US release) | |
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| ‘Shonen Knife Planet’ opens up in toy-store hip-hop mode, “Wake up everybody! It’s now Happy Hour!” much like ‘Shonen Knife’ opens 712. That’s followed by feedback and ‘Konnichiwa’, their statement of purpose, “Let’s have a good time tonight.” Happily, they’ve remembered their mission was to bring joy to the planet, and they do a good job of it here. This is a cookie-cutter release for SHONEN KNIFE. There are five food songs. ‘His Pet’ is Naoko’s guitar pounder. ‘Fish Eyes’ is Michie at her most wonderfully surreal. Throw in a ‘60s cover and you’ve got a good SHONEN KNIFE release. | ||
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Strawberry Sound -- (46:13) -- (2000) -- Universal Victor, Inc. -- MVCH-29043 | |
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| This is a surprising release. Michie’s exit has caused SHONEN KNIFE to reevaluate itself. Embracing a re-born amateurism, Naoko and Atsuko are now joyfully reconsidering their options. When they rock, it’s still SHONEN KNIFE, but often, these songs sound like wacky home-demos fleshed out on computer-keyboards. That’s fun too, and that kind of experimentation has been missing of late. Technical standards have dropped a bit, but the result is a pleasingly-wide range of sounds. It’s good to see so many new paths being considered, my fave being the psychedelic ‘Mayonnaise Addiction’. | ||
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Millennium Edition -- (41:00) -- (2000) -- Universal Music -- UUCH-1029 | |
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| This material was released between ‘96 and ‘99, except for three “unreleased versions” of songs from Strawberry Sound. Considering Michie was still in the band throughout most of that time, she is under-represented here. She’s credited with co-writing ‘Mysterious Drugstore’ from It’s A New Find, and it’s one of the most interesting things here, perhaps because it’s one of three I hadn’t heard before. Even if you don’t already have most of this material, this is not an especially good sampling of SHONEN KNIFE from this period. If you do have most of it, you’d be better off picking up the rest. | ||
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Orange No Taiyou (Orange Sun) -- (10:19) -- (2001) -- Burning Farm -- BF-3 CD
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| Three bouncy pop songs, featuring SHONEN KNIFE’s version of THE CARPENTERS’ ‘Top Of The World’, used in a Microsoft commercial that no doubt made them some real money. Bless them! It couldn’t have happened to a cooler Japanese pop band! At this point SHONEN KNIFE was the Yamano sisters. Mana “China” Nishiura played the drums on ‘Top Of The World’. Tetsuya Kotani gets credit for recording, mixing, and mastering, but SHONEN KNIFE get the production credit. It’s a shiny, joyful, pop production, and joyful pop was what SHONEN KNIFE was always best at, even when it was joyful punk/pop! | |
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Heavy Songs -- (42:32) -- (2002) -- Warner Indies Network -- WINN-82101
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| The production is improved on this more traditional SHONEN KNIFE release. A variety of sounds shows that they’re trying, and yet there’s a sameness that’s kind of sad. The highlight here is an Atsuko song. Hurray, another voice heard from! The rest are all Naoko’s, and though she is continuing to expand her range of sounds, her point of view seems a bit stagnant. There are some good songs, some clever approaches, and some friends helping in the studio, but where’s the joy? In ‘Heavy Song’ she fears becoming overweight like Elvis. A bigger problem though, was that he stopped trying. | |
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Candy Rock -- (30:25) -- (2003) -- Warner Indies Network -- WINN-82129
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| The production’s nice. The songs, all in Japanese, are played well, and little surprises are scattered throughout. There’s a strange guitar effect here, whistling there, charming touches that keep things spinning. The vocals seem a bit flat, which isn’t new, but as the production gets tighter, the playing improves, and the songs conform more to standard formats, the vocals ought to follow suit. That does not keep this from being a dandy release. It’s a happy return to their rocking form, and a bouncing step into a future of ever more well-crafted pop and rock gems that wiill keep us all smiling. | |
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Genki Shock! (Spirit Shock!) -- (48:23) -- (2005) -- P-Vine Records -- PCD-25029 -- (U.S. version released) | |
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| Amongst the particulars is the statement, “No Synthesizers”. Other than a few tapes of natural sounds, they stick to guitar, bass, drums, and vocals, yet manage to get a good range of sounds. The musicianship continues to improve. The songwriting takes big steps forward, and some of Naoko’s melody lines here are wonderful. Occasionally, a verse/refrain structure lacks a good break, but any SHONEN KNIFE fan will be more than pleased with this new expansion of their sound, which both conforms to traditional rock/pop, and further defines the magic world of SHONEN KNIFE. | ||
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Live In Osaka -- (74:18) -- (2006) -- P-Vine Records -- PCD-25044 | |
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| A SHONEN KNIFE concert is a wonderful thing! Listening to one is pretty good, too. This is over an hour of SHONEN KNIFE playing in their hometown, and favorite city, Osaka. SHONEN KNIFE no longer muster the frenetic joy and excitement they once did at live shows. It was more than contagious. It was a powerful wave that washed over you, allowing everyone in that audience to appreciate the world as gleefully as SHONEN KNIFE did. SHONEN KNIFE have matured, but there is still some of that joy in their music, and in the shouts of their hometown fans. There are a couple of new songs, too. Enjoy! | ||
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Fun! Fun! Fun! -- (42:41) -- (2007) -- P-Vine Records -- PCD-25056
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| Fun! fun! fun! is the first CD with Etsuko as the second SHONEN KNIFE. The songs are split evenly between English and Japanese. There are some classic Naoko-style songs, ‘Barnacle’ and ‘Ramones Forever’ being my favorites. ‘Cookie Tabetai’ is the guitar cruncher for this outing. In some of the songs, though, Naoko is truly stretching her songwriting wings in more sure and graceful ways than she’s allowed herself before. There are a number of examples on fun! fun! fun! where she has achieved real beauty, both musically and emotionally, and it’s a wonderful step for her to be taking! | |
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Free Time -- (38:39) -- (2010) -- P-Vine Records -- PCD-25106
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| Drummer, Etsuko, and bassist, Ritsuko, are a good strong back-up for Naoko, and support her not only with their chops, but with their back-up vocals, too, when they get the chance. Free Time occasionally rocks harder than we’re used to hearing from SHONEN KNIFE, but with that rhythm section, Naoko can now rock just about as hard as she wants to. It’s still Naoko, and it’s still SHONEN KNIFE, so a cuteness factor remains, along with a certain joy of life. SHONEN KNIFE continues doing what it’s done before, often better, as well as working on some new strengths. It’s a nice production, too! | |
---LIVE---
Shonen Knife/Splitsville--Mondo Kim's--5/3/97
They’re also playing
at Irving Plaza tonight, but when I saw that they were playing at Kim’s
for free, well, it’s not like I haven’t seen SHONEN KNIFE enough.
SHONEN KNIFE did ‘Explosion!’,
‘Loop Di Loop’, and ‘E.S.P.’ on the same instruments as
SPLITSVILLE. They were cute. Naoko was selling the new CD and the show, but
in a sweet way. They played well, though I expect with their own set-up and
equipment they’ll sound even better tonight. They were in street-clothes,
but I’ll bet they’ll be back in costume tonight.
Shonen Knife/Michael Shelley--Bowery Ballroom--8/25/98
SHONEN KNIFE came out after
a long wait and were lots of fun. They preserve a wonderful amateurishness,
in spite of their growing professionalism. They played a fair number of songs
from their new CD, but did not neglect to play a bunch of their classics.
They also charmingly plugged their merchandise, Michie pointing out that the
books were very heavy to bring over from Japan and they didn’t want to
have to bring them back. The highlight of the show for them was when Marky
Ramone, who also introduced the set, came out and played drums for them on
‘I Wanna Be Sedated’. The crowd loosely filled the small room. It
was quite comfortable, not crowded, but the audience was very enthusiastic
and called them out for two encores. They closed with ‘Kappa Ex.’,
which I like to believe they played for me. Dan and I both enjoyed the show
very much. Having seen them play many times, it’s no longer the amazingly
wonderful experience it once was, but it’s SHONEN KNIFE and they are
fabulously unique.
Shonen Knife/The Paybacks/The Gore Gore Girls/The Hentchmen--Southpaw--10/25/03
It took a while for SHONEN
KNIFE to come out. Finally the curtain opened, but SHONEN KNIFE werenÕt on
the stage. Their instruments were all set up, but otherwise the stage was
empty, and the curtains began to close again. That was when Naoko and Atsuko
finally emerged, and the curtains opened up again. Naoko and Atsuko (now on
bass guitar) took their positions to much applause, and after a pause, the
drummer, Mana, came out, and they launched into a few of their classic songs.
With Mana as support drummer, the band sounds better than ever. She is a true
professional and plays wonderfully. I always thought Atsuko did a fine job
on drums, but now she’s doing a fine job on bass, and Mana is a definite
improvement to their sound, also helping out substantially on back-up vocals.
Naoko continues to improve on guitar. In ‘Riding On The Rocket’
she had a wonderful effect on the guitar where she would raise her hand up
over her head and seemed to manipulate the sound from there, like some strange
theremin thing, but sounding more like a slide down a moog keyboard. They
plugged their new release, here in the States, of Heavy Songs, and
did a number of songs from that. Then they played through a number of choice
songs from throughout their career, which showed off well the diversity of
their material over the years. Atsuko got to sing two songs during the set.
Regularly she and Naoko would step out onto the part of the stage that came
out into the audience, raising their guitars, and then bowing them like heavy
metal bands of yore. The highlight of the show for me was their rendition
of ‘I Wanna Eat Choco-Bars’. Mana’s syncopation, and Naoko’s
guitar were smoother than I believed possible. It brought a new slickness
and depth to that song. Unfortunately, the band didn’t seem to have the
wonderful exuberance and joy of rocking like they were having the time of
their lives that was always the best part of a SHONEN KNIFE show. In spite
of this, the audience warmly received them, and though the set was short,
and the encore of ‘Top Of The World’ and ‘Banana Chips’
was wonderful, it still seemed to be over much too quickly.
Shonen Knife/Modey Lemon/Hang On The Box/Secret Weapon--Knitting
Factory--10/26/03
Again SHONEN KNIFE‘s roadies
took their time setting up their stage, and again when their entrance music
began they didn’t come out right away. When they did, they were warmly
received. They waved, readjusted the tuning on their just tuned guitars, and
launched into ‘Flying Jelly Attack’. This crowd was quite a bit
more excited than the crowd last night, who were not slouches. After the long
night it was good to see SHONEN KNIFE again. The set was very similar to last
night’s, but for New York they had added at least one song to the set,
and somehow that was all that was needed to make it feel like a good solid
set. I was surprised how much of the stage antics were choreographed, and
noted that, though Atsuko and Naoko bounced around quite a bit and smiled
often, it still wasn’t with the excited joy of the old days. Perhaps
it’s just been a very long tour, or maybe they’ve just done it so
many times now it’s just another performance, and no longer an amazing
event. The audience didn’t seem to notice, though, and clapped, and yelled,
and raised their forefinger and little finger salute whenever the band did.
What really made me happy, though, was when I noticed Mana, doing a wonderful
job back there on the drums. Every once in a while she would look out at the
audience and just beam, the way the whole band used to. The final kick of
the evening was when, after playing the encore from last night, SHONEN KNIFE
capped the night off with ‘Antonio Baka Guy’. It was a wonderful
show that made the long night well worthwhile!
After the show, Atsuko and Naoko happily
talked with, gave autographs, and posed for pictures with anyone who wanted
a little one on one with the stars.
Shonen Knife/Visqueen/Tra La La--Maxwell’s--3/4/05
SHONEN KNIFE were up next. They
came out to warm applause. This tour, their support drummer is named Etsuko.
She doesn’t have the technical finesse of Mana, last year’s support
drummer who’s now playing with DMBQ, but she’s a pounder, and did
a find job. SHONEN KNIFE didn’t play one slow song all night, until the
very end, when they played a couple of Naoko’s guitar pounders, where
the slow parts are only rests between the frantic paced, guitar churning,
work-outs. Etsuko pounded away throughout the set, and it’s been quite
a while since I’ve heard SHONEN KNIFE rock as hard as they did tonight.
They came out for the sold out crowd in their classic Mondrian outfits, and
Naoko did most of the talking in a very polite manner. She introduced the
songs, thanked everyone for coming, and encouraged everyone to come and see
them tomorrow at Knitting Factory. It was interesting that the sold out crowd
was still quite comfortable. I remember a good number of years ago, the last
time I saw SHONEN KNIFE at Maxwell’s, the place was packed. I wasn’t
able to get anywhere near the stage, and with the small stage, from where
I was, I could only rarely see one of their heads between the heads of the
crowd before me. I very much appreciate Maxwell’s new (though probably
not that new) policy. The set was strong, and included songs from throughout
their career. Naoko and Atsuko took turns singing, and occasionally did little
rockin’ routines during the musical breaks in songs. One of the nicest
things was when Naoko stepped out front and center for some of her guitar
solos. Her guitar playing continues to improve. These days her rhythm playing
is quite good, and most of her leads tonight were both strong and edgy. Meanwhile,
Etsuko would be pounding away back on her drums, and her head would be bobbing
back and forth, as she sat in the pocket and slammed away at the beat. Atsuko
kept the bass lines pumping, now and again dropping in a sweet turn of phrase.
They played a good variety of songs, including some of my favorites, and when
the end finally came, and the audience failed to sufficiently call for an
encore, SHONEN KNIFE came back anyway, and treated us to a Ramones song. Yep,
there were THE OSAKA RAMONES blasting out ‘I Wanna Be Sedated’.
This crowd didn’t deserve it, but it was a nice way to finish off the
night.
Shonen Knife/The Juliet Dagger/Verona Grove--Blender Theatre--11/19/07
SHONEN KNIFE appeared with
matching pink guitars and a big Genki Shock flag behind them. As Naoko explained,
Genki Shock is the title of their latest U.S. release. They played some songs
from it, but they’ve actually got a newer CD released in July in Japan
called fun! fun! fun!, and the song they chose to play from it, ‘Ramones
Forever’, was perfect for this New York audience. There were a wide range
of ages at this show, to the point that I fit right in, which doesn’t
happen that often lately. It was great to see Atsuko with the band again on
this, the first night of their first U.S. tour since she left the band. She
sang two songs tonight. I actually expected to see her joyfully reliving her
SHONEN KNIFE days, but she approached it in a very workwomanlike manner. I
don’t think I saw her smile the entire night. When they started up, I
was standing next to a man about my age who hadn’t seen them before,
and as they started into their first song, he leaned over to me, obviously
impressed, and said, “They rock!”, and it’s true. They always
have! Live, SHONEN KNIFE have always rocked, and that’s pretty much the
point. Naoko led her band through a wide selection of their material, and
by now they have a good deal of material to choose from. I was surprised,
though, that tonight, to a large extent, they stayed away from their oldest
material, which, for me, defines who SHONEN KNIFE are. Except for three songs,
they stuck to more recent, and mid-career material. Their second song was
‘Flying Jelly Attack’. They didn’t play another until well
into the set when they revved things up with ‘Riding On The Rocket’,
and then to finish off their encore they closed with ‘Antonio Baka Guy’.
Naoko seemed perfectly at home fronting her band. She regularly gave short
introductions to her songs, and though she may never be that hot a guitar
player, she played her leads note for note, often stepping out front, and
never missing a note. In fact, they brought their set to a climax with a few
of Naoko’s biggest guitar crunchers one after the other. It caused the
biggest flurry of activity in the audience, which was bubbling with the bison
horns all night long. Etsuko, on drums, kept the beat pumping strong throughout
the set, and every now and then, when she was on top of the beat and could
relax a bit, she’d look out at the audience and smile. Then it was right
back to pounding those skins. There are only two official members of SHONEN
KNIFE now, and they’re Naoko and Etsuko. Atsuko used to be an official
member, though, so it was great to see her back up on stage with her sister.
SHONEN KNIFE keeps rocking, and it’s always fun to see them again!
Shonen Knife/Miho Hatori’s New Optimism/Shellshag--Santos Party House-10/16/09
SHONEN KNIFE are SHONEN KNIFE. There’s really no other band quite like them. Even as a veteran rocker, Naoko is able to present the songs with a certain amount of innocence and simple joy. Etsuko, on drums, has been with her for several years now, but Ritsuko, on bass, was added recently, and this is her very first U.S. tour. In fact, as was explained to us, this was the very first show of the tour, and this was Ritsuko’s first time in the U.S.A. Her evident happiness and broad smiles said it all. Plus, when she wasn’t singing back-up, or twice she got to sing lead, she would often lean forward and shake her long hair vigorously while she played her bass. Etsuko sang some back-up, but mostly contented herself pounding away on the drums. They started off the set with ‘Konnichiwa’ and ‘Banana Chips’, and followed those up with songs from some of their more recent records, especially their latest, Super Group, which Naoko announced has just been released here. At this point there’s a certain workmanlike attitude to a SHONEN KNIFE performance, and yet, with Ritsuko’s exuberance and big smiles, and Naoko’s pleasantness, and obvious happiness at the crowd’s spirited reception of the latest version of SHONEN KNIFE, everyone, on and off the stage, seemed to be having a fun time, and that’s really what SHONEN KNIFE has always been about. Maybe halfway through the set they played us ‘I Wanna Eat Chocobars’ and later on they played us a few more from what Naoko called the “classic SHONEN KNIFE” repertoire, which, as an old fan, still makes me the happiest. Those included ‘Devil House’ and ‘Twist Barbie’. At one point near the end, Ritsuko’s volume went off, which gave everyone a chance to shout out the titles they wanted to hear most. The problem was fixed quickly, but Naoko smiled as she listened to all the song requests from the fans, I believe that was her biggest smile of the night. As the set continued, the mosh pit got bigger and more active, but the moshers mostly had big smiles on their faces, like everyone else. SHONEN KNIFE closed the set with a rousing ‘Riding On The Rocket’, and though when they came back out for the encore, they only played one song, ‘Giant Kitty’, they happily came out to their merchandise table afterwards, and were still talking with and signing autographs for a line of people when I left the club.
Shonen Knife/Jeff The Brotherhood/Golden Triangle--Brooklyn Bowl--11/17/09
Things get busy in a few days, but they’re not busy now, so I decided I’d enjoy seeing SHONEN KNIFE again and seeing if the tour had changed things at all. Also, I was interested in seeing what the Brooklyn Bowl was like, as I had read some nice things about it, and I occasionally like to go bowling with friends. It’s a nice space, a big stage, and the sound was pretty good, as well. Plus the show started late enough that I got to watch NCIS and didn’t miss much of the first band.
After the opening acts I was really wondering if I had made the right decision to come out and see SHONEN KNIFE again, but I certainly had. They started out with ‘Konnichiwa’ again, and followed that up with ‘Twist Barbie’. About half of the set was made up of the same songs they had played on the first leg of the tour, old and new songs alike, but they threw in enough songs that they hadn’t played at Santos Party House, that it made it very much a worthwhile experience to see them again. Naoko even loosened up a bit more with her pleasant introductions of the songs. She introduced one song as being about a useful thing. She was introducing ‘Rubber Band’, and explained, “Rubber bands are useful because you can wrap up a bag of potato chips, or you can stretch it and shoot it at something across the room--pwing!” Tonight, Ritsuko, on bass, had a ponytail up on the top of her head, like a topnotch, which she seemed to enjoy using to whirl her hair around her head. She obviously enjoys performing, and does a great job of moving around the stage and keeping the show exciting. I wondered if Naoko was jealous of this woman dominating the stage, but she really seems more relieved. After all, she’s generally busy singing and concentrating on her leads. I did see her get excited and take some jumps into the air tonight, which was nice to see. She was obviously having a good time, and partially because of that, and the good time Ritsuko was having, the audience was having a good time, too. It was good to hear ‘Making Plans For Bison’ again, which they didn’t play when I saw them before, but my favorite song tonight was ‘Muddy Bubbles Hell’, a song off their latest record, Super Group, which is surprising, because I’ve never liked that song much, but live, with Etsuko pounding away on her tom-toms, Ritsuko keeping up a dark bass line while twirling her hair, and Naoko using some of her effects pedals, they sounded damn good, and it was probably the heaviest I’ve ever heard SHONEN KNIFE sound. Toward the end of the set they played a number of Naoko’s more metal numbers, like that one, and it was a good way to get the audience revved up. When they finished the set and left the stage, showing off and using their SHONEN KNIFE towels, the audience definitely wanted to hear some more, and demanded it. SHONEN KNIFE returned to the stage quickly, and Naoko announced a special surprise. Atsuko, the original SHONEN KNIFE drummer and later the bassist, was there, and she came out and sang ‘Fruits And Vegetables’ for us. She obviously enjoyed getting back out on the stage, and it was nice to see SHONEN KNIFE, her old band, backing her up. They closed the night with THE MONKEES’ ‘Daydream Believer’. Naoko said they’d enjoyed their tour, and that they’d be back again soon, but, just the same, I’m glad I saw them again! They must have run straight from the stage to the merchandise table, because they were back there when I got there. Interestingly, along with the usual, they had an autographed SHONEN KNIFE bass drum head for sale for $100!
--OTHER PROJECTS--
| TOMOE SHINOHARA | |
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Dream & Machine -- (43:08) -- (1999) -- Warner Artists Inc. -- HDCA-10002
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| This is quirky pop music, but not as energetic as I had expected from reports of Tomoe Shinohara’s earlier recordings. Different artists wrote and recorded the music for each track, resulting in a surprisingly wide-ranging collection. I find most of this too happy poppy, but it sounds like everyone had a good time, and Tomoe did a fine job stretching to fit the various styles. My favorite track is Yuka Honda’s, but ‘Alligator’ has SHONEN KNIFE written all over it! | |
--TRIBUTES--
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Every Band Has A Shonen Knife Who Loves Them -- (69:11) -- (1989) -- Gasatanka/Giant Records -- GRI6036-2 | ||
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| This was a great concept--a tribute to a band that most people hadn’t heard of. Unfortunately, with a few wonderful exceptions, it isn’t fun to listen to. Many of the artists just don’t seem to take the project seriously. Its existence, however, did put the buzz out on SHONEN KNIFE, and helped to break them in the U.S. That was certainly a worthy accomplishment. The double-LP release (GRI6036-1) contains an extra nine songs (22:28 minutes). The CD claims exclusive material, too. If so, it’s negligible. A classic touch is the very cool cover of SHONEN KNIFE as rampaging transformer robots. | |||
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Fork And Spoon (A Tribute To Shonen Knife) -- (38:08) -- (2006) -- P-Vine Records -- PCD-25043
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| Japanese bands celebrate SHONEN KNIFE! Early on, the lukewarm arrangements don’t add up to much. Then, around EASTERN YOUTH’s version of ‘Concrete Animals’, it starts to get interesting. ZUBONS have fun with ‘Burning Farm’, and Kazumi Nikaido takes ‘Tortoise Brand Pot Scrubbing Cleaner’s Theme’ to a wonderful place. From there things drop back down to energetically enthusiastic, with a very sweet ‘Insect Collector’ by Seiichi Yamamoto to wrap things up in style. Overall, a good showing, and evidence that SHONEN KNIFE is getting some deserved respect in their homeland. | |
