Boys (and Girls) and their bikes: Mongoose edition..

I spent some time on BMX bikes back in the day, I even recently bought and tricked out a Durcus One in an effort to reconnect with those days, but after meeting these guys I realized I wasn't even close. Dude-san's bike is an early 80's mongoose, completely decked out with vintage parts (sans the headstem), and he rides it as proudly as a 12 year old in the semi-finals at the Aussie titles. The girl was riding a much more contemporary model, which had been given to her by the bloke. Awesome..

Dachambo..

Their myspace intro comment says "Don't think it, feel it", and that pretty much sums them up..

Dachambo had a whole herd of people dancing and blissing away on the edge of the park post-hanami last Sunday night, and were completely blowing everyone away. Their amazingly super tight twin drummer set up, combined with a pulsating bass and swirling psychedelic tinged guitar lines, somewhat reminicent of Phish, or maybe even a dancey version of the Grateful Dead, provided the perfect soundtrack to the end of what was easily the best hanami weekend I've had the pleasure of enjoying in a long time. These guys are touring about quite a bit in the coming months and would definitely be worth catching if you have the chance..

The Amazing Kippon..

It's not unusual to go to the park and be entertained or amused, but to be completely blown away like I was last weekend is something of a rarity. Kippon plays Beatle songs on acoustic and electric guitars, and way he runs and jumps and gets the audience clapping along with him is nothing short of incredible. Oh yeah, did I mention he's only five years old!

If you are lucky enough to catch a Kippon performance, you would do well to make sure that you: sing the right words (he'll stop and correct you); don't speak while he's singing (he'll stop and tell you to listen); and try not to request something he's already played (he'll know you weren't listening, and let you know he knows)..

Unbelievable..

Shonen Knife live @ Super Deluxe..

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the sublime cuteness that is Shonen Knife opened for The Wedding Present last Saturday night. While I'd known about this band for many years I'd never actually seen them, so to have been able to get up this close and personal was pretty darn cool. While the set consisted mainly of super-safe punk-pop tunes, and the lyrics seemed to be all about sweets (or other eating related experiences, one song was about food poisoning) the girls played super-tight, and their harmonies were glorious..

The Wedding Present live @ Super Deluxe

Indi-rock icons The Wedding Present rocked the hell out of Super Deluxe last night, it was the final show for the Japan leg of their tour, and it was a real treat to see them in such an intimate setting. I must admit to not having listened to them much before yesterday, but it only took me half a song to become a convert. Shonen Knife opened, pictures of them to come..

Yoyogi Park Rave: On...

The yoyogi park rave was alive last night with pumping beats and party people everywhere. This was most certainly the best one I've been to in a long while, and the dude in the suit who's set just kept going and going was so awesome that I'm not even gonna try and describe it in words.

The pictures tell the story..

Honda stunt team..

These guys were awesome! Though slightly cut short by (yet) another rainy afternoon, the Honda stunt team put on a great show for a small crowd of people enjoying the Harajuku/Omotesando summer festival on Sunday at Yoyogi.

Needless to say, they certainly know their way around a bike..

ABCD @ VRP 5

ABCD totally rocked the house at VRP 5 last week. A clever blend of jarring chords and punchy beats, both polished and rock at the same time, brought everyone together for a great final act. Reminiscent of a garage Sonic Youth, these guys are definitely a band to behold as they prepare for world domination..

Come to my Party @ VRP 5

Valentine Records presents vol. 5 was a rockin little shindig to say the least. Lots of people drunk, dancing, picking up, putting down, and the lines of acceptable behavior being blurred a little around the edges, or recreated if you must as all the bands rocked another great Ruby show! Come to my Party opened up the evening with their sweet bass driven electro-pop swirliness.

Christopher McGuire

Former squadcar producer (and Quruli drummer) Christopher McGuire can sure hit dem skins..

The Black Shakes @ VRP 4

At the start of this song Justin was showing me that he had just broken the headstock on his guitar, I was trying to focus in on it as they blasted into the song. The Black Shakes once again rocked the hell outta VRP..

Monitor @ VRP 4

Valentine Records Presents vol. 4 last night was awesome. We managed to stream the show live for the first time and were really happy to see some friends and family from far off places tuning in for the event. There's lots of pics and video of all of the bands to come, but for the moment, here's some Monitor for ya...