Rough Dogs Have Bumps mp3 Melt Banana from Scratch or Stitch
March of the Half-Babies mp3 Triclops! from Out of Africa 2008, Alternative Tentacles Records, (click the album name to purchase from the label)
On a whim, I scooted off to the Bottom Lounge last night. You know me, after a long weekend with the old folks I needed clear the cobwebs and reinforce the verve by being aurally assaulted with high volume soundwaves while standing in a room of people half my age, at hours way past my bedtime, listening to “music” that nobody in my circle of friends understands. It helps, ok? I did a bit of research (scanned through their MySpace page to make sure there wasn’t too much screamo or goth growling and sent out a twitter feeler to gauge the interest — got back two recommendations, so I figured it would be as interesting as I had suspected.) Melt Banana was a band I had on the fringes of the fringes of my radar. Well, darlin’s after last night’s show, I KNOW why they stuck in my brain all these years! They are both unique and stunning.
What Melt Banana has can only be described as a genius combination of Yasuko Onuki’s (Yako) vocal skill and Ichirou Agata’s mastery of guitar playing and effects. Last night I moved through the crowd, (a quite large crowd for a Monday night, this band which has been around since 1993, has a loyal following), but I had to find a spot where I could watch Agata play. I had to see how he was making that guitar make those sounds. And I even entertained the notion for about a third of the show, that there must be some recorded element of the music that he cued to accompany them. There’s no way he was playing all that live, was there? Honestly, on one or two songs, I’m still not certain. I am guessing that he really does accomplish it all with loop pedals and effects. It’s stunning. Full stop. He not only squeezes incredible combinations of high notes out of his battered guitar, he layers them with riffs lower down the scale. He plays and then plays a counter melody with himself. He cranks out a rock guitar start, pauses the band for dramatic emphasis and then re-enters the song with beautiful fingering only to thrill us with rocket sounds and squeals whereupon the drummer (who seems insignificant in all honesty) counts out and Rika Hamamoto, on bass, takes over, with a feel-it-in-your-gut line that carries Agata over the edge.
Of course, for much of this, Yako is either rapping with incredible speed, spitting out the words and yet not overemphasizing any of them… or, she’s singing. Yes, she sings, and does so in a very controlled, beautiful way. For all the energy that the band produces, and that she herself throws out, Yako never seems, not for a second, to be lost in the moment of it. And that is a strong point, not a criticism. It’s completely unnerving and amazing how she maintains composure, and I am actually shocked when she takes a small break to wipe her face. I can’t believe she’s worked up a sweat, it all seems so effortless and also so on fire. She’s loud, don’t get me wrong. And she’s doing a fair amount of screaming but she never strains her voice and in a second she switches from that screech to a full on song voice. I’m breathless watching her, that is, when I can peel my eyes away from Agata. I also catch a few glimpses of Hamamoto and her bass playing compliments the others. She loses herself in it, of the three of them, she’s the one I feel is most inside her instrument. Yako focuses on the audience quite often; she’s a wonderful performer, and the crowd adores her. Agata is a master of his pedals and interacts with the drummer and with Yako and Hamamoto – he’s all about the band and his guitar. Well, to be fair he’s there for the audience as well, I see him play for them occasionally, when he’s not so busy. But Hamamoto… she’s got the groove and her long hair swings and her back bends out the way that women do with their bass slung low. She’s a sexy beast, that one.
The music? Oh… it’s noisy as fuck. It’s punk, noise, no-wave, post-prog, whatever you want to call it. It’s fast and then it slows to a more human beat as Yako raps then sings and it all incorporates the best of all the genres I’ve mentioned. Agata shreds and picks and slides and I soon believe this guy can do any technique he wants on his guitar, all in the space of one song. It’s loud, even with my earplugs in (yes, I’m wearing them more and more these days) I can feel the bass beat on my chest and throat. It’s THAT loud. People move back when they start. Agata’s rocket sounds scream through the room. There’s a lot of breaks, small silences and then powerful starts, no room for clapping between songs. No real break between songs at all can be discerned for the first 20 minutes. They enter in total darkness (aside from the lights at the outer edges of the room) wearing bright headlamps which they swing toward the crowd, blinding us randomly. The most experimental, innovative, interesting music is played for this first third of the show. I remember thinking how freeing it must be for them to play with no one being able to watch. And I’m pissed off for not being able to see how they do it! You must buy the Melt-Banana Lite Live Ver 0.0
What follows is at least another hour of music from what I gather is the rest of their catalog. The people around me are shouting out the words and pumping their hands in the air and nodding their heads. There’s really all sorts of fans here from mohawked young punks to hip-hop girls to indie/punk boys adoring Agata’s technique. And a smattering of us 40-somethings even out the crowd, all escaping the quiet TV-filled living rooms of our families to revel in the noise.
Opening for Melt Banana was an incredible band, Triclops! I honestly had no idea what the fuck was going on from the moment they took the stage until hours after they left. I shook Johnny’s hand after the show and I’m kicking myself now for not asking him what he calls the thing he does up there. It’s seriously good. It’s also seriously different. Triclops! sounds like a time warped mix of psychedelica prog rock and punk. I was mesmerized by the flashlight/mic Johnny wielded and then by the oddest mosh pit I’ve ever seen. They practically levitated him throughout an entire song; he didn’t miss a word, not one beat. Only towards the end did we have to back up to allow the moshers to actually rough house a bit. With Triclops! trippy, distortion-filled vocals and funky percussion, the crowd barely roused itself beyond a low roar. But the guitarist, Christian Beaulieu, is no slacker. This band is pegged with the genre “acid punk” which I suppose is to mean that some sort of tripped out, mellowed punk (?) however, Beaulieur’s guitar is anything but. I could definitely use another helping of Triclops! You’ll be hearing more about this band on these pages, and please do let me know of your experiences with them, m’dears.
I was happy to walk in and hear a local opener, 97-Shiki. Their punk flavor was a happy medium between what I was soon to hear in Triclops! and Melt Banana. For as much screamo as I heard in this band I can honestly say I enjoyed it much more than anyone who knows me would anticipate. Give them a listen here. After hearing Maps & Atlases a few weeks ago, I was primed for making the easy connection to 97-Shiki, there’s a definite mathy element here. Ryan’s vocals are a nice mix of singing/screamo; his energy further enhanced by Douglas’ backup vocals and bass. Patrick on guitar makes a righteous mess of things with counter timing melodies and dissonant chords. And Kammy on drums just sets the whole thing off kilter enough to make it completely unpredictable and therefore beautifully chaotic. Chicago, don’t miss this band the next time they play at the Beat Kitchen on Dec. 12
Melt Banana Tour Dates
12/02 Madison, WI High Noon
12/03 Iowa City, IA Picadur
12/04 Sioux Falls, SD Nutty’s
12/05 Omaha, NE Waiting Room
12/07 Denver, CO Bluebird
12/08 Salt Lake City, UT Kilby Court
12/10 Missoula, MT Badlanders
12/11 Seattle, WA Chop Suey
12/12 Portland, OR Dante’s
12/14 TBA
12/15 Pomona, CA Glasshouse
12/16 Los Angeles, CA Troubadour
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