I may very will lose my hearing at this show and I am perfectly fine with that…
The last time I saw Atari Teenage Riot live was in 1998 when they opened up for Wu Tang Clan and Rage Against the Machine. I only caught a couple songs from them but loved it. I was a fan already but just could not get into Blossom that quickly. I also missed them when they played with Beck at the J.A.R.
This time I don’t plan on missing them. This show is going to be insane.
Progressive indie rockers Coheed & Cambria return to Cleveland this week with special guests Porcupine Tree and The Dear Hunter. I really didn’t think I was going to make it to this show but a pair of tickets landed in my lap and there is no way I am going to miss seeing them. Having been to multiple Coheed shows over the years I know they never fail to impress. Looking forward to seeing Porcupine Tree finally as well as taking in The Dear Hunter.
Culture was shocked in Akron last night thanks to Tokyo, Japan’s Polysics making a special appearance at Musica. The orange jumpsuit wearing foursome traveled half way around the world to perform their Devo inspired music to a packed club on what normally would have been just another regular Friday evening. Scenesters as well as a couple punk rockers and plenty of proud geeks piled into the quaint club in downtown Akron with perfect knowledge of what would soon progress.
Polysics is best defined as a pop power punk electronica experimental new wave outfit or “technicolor pogo punk” as they dub themselves. Think heavy synthesizers and guitar matched over insane voice altering vocals as well as a very energetic male lead vocalist Hiroyuki Hayashi (Hiro – and yes, he sounds like Hiro from the TV show Heros) who blasts out English, Japanese, and gibberish lyrics. Formed in 1997 out of the pure love for Devo as well as The Tubes the band is an underground sensation thanks to their extremely energetic live shows and of course their orange jumpsuits and straight bar-style sunglasses.
Opening the evening was a band called Stiletto hailing from Kent, OH. The band reminded me of Bedlight For Blue Eyes and Roses Are Red with their slight heavy rock sound. The lead singer had a good voice and when the band had it together they sounded fine. They sadly kept having issues starting their songs and it became apparent that they needed some more practice as it became downright annoying to some of the crowd. Still, they did well and get props from me when the lead signer quoted Tupac but really did not match up to the headliner at all.
Armed with my trusty camera I really thought upon entering Musica that I was going to grab some photos during Polysics’ set but while inside the venue I saw this:
That really was something I did not want to see. I respected the artist though and did not shoot anything until the very end of the show because who am I kidding…I need at least one shot.
Good thing I did not take photos as there was a dual braided memory card deleting bandit who was part of the Polysics crew. I understand the premise of his doings but you should have seen this guy. He stood upon a stool and the moment a flash went off he was bolting over to that non-sign reading schmo and erasing any Polysics related photo from their camera. Seeing what this guy was all about I really did not want him touching my gear so I parked the camera to my side and just enjoyed the show.
Hands were about the entire evening. It was a party.
You know a crowd is excited to see a band when they cheer insanely as the band is setting up their gear on stage. Things just got better when the band actually took the stage and just started hammering out songs. The songs they played ranged from almost industrial heavy pieces to absolute insanity jump-all-over-the-place songs.
Still a novice to this band I just started with amazement throughout their set not having any idea what was going on other than a damn good time. The couple songs I did recognized were “Young OH! OH!”, “Fire Bison”, and just amazing “Shout Aloud!”
As entertaining as Hiro was throughout the night (especially when he screamed “you gruys awre awresoooooome!!!”) I absolutely adored the straight faced Kayo on the synthesizer and vocoder. I could not help but envision the scene in Revenge Of The Nerds II when the nerds played the concert at Hotel Coral Essex.
According the band’s MySpace page Kayo will be parting ways with the band after the tour so I am pretty psyched I was able to the original line-up. The whole night was a party with Polysics controlling it. Fans danced and tossed their hands about to the music. It was indeed a interesting and fun evening. If I had to describe the evening I would have to say just imagine Daft Punk, Devo, and the Teen Titans humanized and in orange jumpsuits and you might have some idea what happened. It was amazing.
I am sitting here trying to think of something clever to say about the experimental pop act Polysics but my mind is blank.
It would be all too easy to say they are the modern day Japanese version of Devo…just look at their outfits. Truth is they are Devo but mixed with some Daft Punk and even some of the more experimental Kraftwerk.
The Japanese new wave, electronic, punk rock act has actually been around since 1997 and started “in the spirit of Devo” according to Hyroyuki Hayashi, the band’s vocalist / guitarist. They even wear Devo-like jump suits with the letter “P” on them. The foursome recently released their tenth album entitled Absolute Polysics on MySpace Records (US Release).
I have only heard a sample of songs but I can tell you that they are a ton of fun and an absolute riot to listen to even if I can not understand all of their lyrics. For you people who like your music weird and of the wall, this is the band for you. To support my statement, both Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips and Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo have raved about Absolute Polysics. That right there proves there is something special about this band.
Next month (Feb 12th) Polysics are making a stop at Musica in Akron, OH and I think it is safe to say that it will be a show not to miss. I myself plan on being there and you should too!
When I see the words “snack” and “truck” the fat kid inside me usually gets excited and is ready to mow down some mobile junk food. This time around though the words have different meaning and refer to a band’s name and not the no-so-good-for-you cuisine. Snacktruck is a truly unique threesome from Richmond, VA consisting of a guitarist/keyboardist and two drummers. Yes, two drummers. (I do believe there is a guest bassist too but can not confirm that)
The band recently released Spacial Findings 1 – 7, an album that is more of a masterpiece of specifically layered sounds resulting in quite an impressive instrumental release. With no pinned down genre the album glides through styles such as progressive, jam, thrash, and even pure rock with no hesitation what so ever in between. The album was dropped on Rorschach Records.
If you asked me what Spacial Findings 1 – 7 sounded like I would first just say “awesome”. Why? Because the moment I put the CD in for a listen I was just fixed on what was hitting my ears and listened to it from start to finish with no interruptions. The moment the CD ended I put it on for a second listen. No joke.
When listening to “Presence Charm” I actually looked at the CD booklet to make sure that only three people formulated this song. Heavily progressive but inclusive throughout there was no wonder why this caught my attention…it was good.
“Blooms (Horrible)” continued on with an experimental interesting piece that hooked around momentarily and ended far too soon. I was digging the almost sci-fi soundtrack and was a little bummed when it smothered out. “Blooms (Sweet)” stifled out just like the previous track right during a sweet guitar manipulation and that is when it hit me… The band very well may take their songs completely into new territory when playing live so why ruin it on a studio release? Now I want to see this band live more than ever. I can only imagine the intensity of a live experience.
“Life Prism” was perhaps the highlight of the album for me until the following song “Blake Jones In Space” intensified the feeling. Imagine insanity compiled into a two and a half minute song with sick drumming and technical goodness. All I could think of is a mutant Mike Patton taking hits of 90’s grunge music heavy acid and painting a picture of the future through music. Yes, I just said that.
“Gravi-Thorn”, the longest song on the disc, starts out ever so soft and gentle and suddenly transforms into a crazy collection of guitar and feedback with faultless drumming. Did I mention the band has two drummers?
Snacktruck surpassed my musical range in every way possible (that is a good thing) but I could not help but reach out and grab their insanity note for note and beat to beat because it was so alluring. It’s without a doubt something that needs to be heard without being too much to take. Technical music lovers and experimental intellectuals are going to love this trio of musicians. Hell, music lovers need to give this band a chance, it’s that good.
