Introduction The Benten Japan Girls Nite Tour took place at the King King in Los Angeles on March 25, 2005. the pillows, The Emeralds, Pink Mochi, puppypet, Titan Go-Kings, Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re, noodles, and Petty Booka packed an evening full of girls (and boys) bands. Here's a live report, complete with images, set lists for most of the bands, and other surprises. All photos by Sherwin Abesamis and are not to be used without permission. back to features		Japan Girls Nite Tour @ the King King, March 25, 2005 Hollywood. To many who don't live in Los Angeles it is the epicenter of tourist activity, arousing visions of movie stars and attractions such as Ripley's Believe it or Not museum and Mann's Chinese Theater. But to us Los Angelinos it's just another place, sometimes dirty, other times sleezy, but never as glamorous as it's made out to be. This year's Benten Japan Girls Nite Tour was at the King King, which lies not too far from the touristy area of Hollywood, inconspicuously portraying itself as an abandoned store if seen from the facade. You have to go around the back to actually access the club, where inside it's revealed to be a spacious room with bars, tables, a modest stage, and plenty of room for a medium to large standing audience. Much more room than the Silverlake Lounge, where the 2004 Japan Girls Nite Tour took place. Arriving a little early to join my friends at the front of the line, I waited with great anticipation to get in. Like a posse of cowboys riding into town, it was a funny sight to see many of the bands all walk together as they arrived at the entrance. I couldn't help but think how great a deal this was: eight bands for eight bucks. Though with such a deal it is difficult to accomodate so many bands in the span of only a few hours. I was expecting the building line waiting to see the pillows to be a little disappointed when their favorite band ends up playing not only a thirty minute set, but also first on the bill. Once we were searched and told not to bring any video equipment, they let us in to be greeting by the usual merchandise tables near the entrance. My friends and I scrambled to pick up a few items, for me stuff that I promised to buy that I didn't get when I saw the bands in Austin. Unfortunately, puppypet's albums were already sold out from other tour dates. They must not have anticipated the power of Americans with money. Going to the Benten bands area I bought all of Titan Go-Kings' albums, noodles' 6 colors, and Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re's new one, Love & Peace & Bou, easily spending over 50 dollars on albums alone. Needless to say, I really surprised Lintsu and Yonyon of Titan Go-Kings, who were at the table to see me scoop up all that Go-Kings music. With my friends and I merched out and happily out of cash, we all decided to take a place in front of the stage and wait for the show to begin. Smack dab in the center, it was the perfect place for both listening and photographic opportunities. In came the pillows, with instruments set up and ready. the pillows Set List 1. I Think I Can 2. Ride on Shooting Star 3. INSTANT MUSIC 4. Little Busters 5. Hybrid Rainbow 6. Advice It was a little disappointing to see the adherance to songs played in the anime series FLCL, but at the same time a safe necessity. It's hard to judge an audience, so all the better to stick with the songs your audience is going to know, especially when limited to under 30 minutes of play time. The significantly shorter set didn't have the impact that their headlining show in Austin did, but the pillows did rock the audience, sounding better than in their SXSW appearance. Sawao Yamanaka has the charm to get an audience moving. People definitely listen when he says, "Dance. I like crazy DANCE. So I want much your CRAZY DANCE." It was actually a pretty smart ploy, putting the most well known band in the front, though I'm fairly sure being added last minute to GIRLS Nite helped. The first act always has the toughest shoes to fill, so who better to fill that position than a band whose music was in an anime series that's been on TV? People come early to see the pillows, ensuring a sizable audience for the rest of the bands. So in actuality the hardest position to fill for this night had to have been after the pillows, which was taken up by another all male group that was added to the roster: The Emeralds. The Emeralds Set List 1. Surfing Baby 2. Love Fire 3. Hey Everybody Let's Dance Tonight 4. Talk About Love The Emeralds play rock and roll. Note the roll. Comparisons to bands like BLANKEY JET CITY or JUDE seem all too fair, which is not a bad thing at all. They also wear leather jackets, leather pants, and leather boots for an all leather combo that has to be hot under stage lights. In fact, vocalist and guitarist Kazuya always generates a healthy sweat which forces him to not only take off his jacket, but look cool with a soaking wet shirt. We weren't graced with the constant, "Do you like my shirt!?" reminders that Kazuya exclaimed to the SXSW crowd. However, the audience was given a band introduction by Akio, the "Hottest Japanese Drummer," after "Love Fire." Using the now worn down sign that they've carried throughout the tour, he let out a "WE...ARE...THE EMERALDS" complete with loud drum roll. Unfortunately, Kazuya's amp was turned way too low. Osuke's bass dominated the songs way too much, often drowning out the guitar. Sure the bands and club workers are stressed for time setting up and preparing for eight bands to take the stage in one night, but a little bit of cabinet positioning and rudimentary sound checks really could have made the Emeralds' songs come out more. However, it didn't sway their stage energy one bit, as they got the audience participating in their not-yet-recorded song that I've titled "Hey Everybody Let's Dance Tonight." Of course they had to cap off with Kazuya's self-proclaimed "greatest song in the world," the speedily sung "Talk About Love." Every set should end with a greatest song in the world, afterall. Originally the opening act for the rest of the female fronted groups, local band Pink Mochi really was the odd man out. Though possessing a peculiar and interesting set of instruments, including theremin, mini tuba, and bass synthesizer, the quartet's Bjorkesque ambience didn't seem to go anywhere with the audience. The band definitely has some talented members and a couple songs did have their moments, but the audience wanted to move and jump, not sway and look at their shoes. The group was easily forgotten once pop ska punk meets enka band Puppypet took the stage. Puppypet (パピーペット) Set List 1. MUSASHI (ムサシ) 2. Kamikaze (カミカゼ) 3. Dokorudan (髑髏団) 4. Harutubame (春つばめ) 5. GO!GO!MONKEY Puppypet at the same time feels all too familiar, yet strangely unique. Male band members Yanagi (drums), Aramaking (guitar), and Ryo-ta (bass) provide a common ska punk sound, which serves as a foundation the band. Things get stirred up when main vocalist Sachi sings with a Japanese folk music flair that you wouldn't think would work at all, yet somehow does. Add to that the babyfaced Tomo, second vocalist and pianica (!) player, and you have a sound that has yet to be heard from any other punk band. The closest thing that comes to mind are punk renditions of giant robot anime show opening songs. Not only the audience, but the band was also getting pretty pumped up, with Sachi raising her fist in the air constantly, and Ryo-ta moving close to the crowd and hopping back and forth as he laid down his slap riffs. More than one audience member expressed their admiration for the pianica, thereby cementing its status as the ultimate instrument for the night. Ending with the audience interaction filled number "GO!GO!MONKEY," puppypet set the stage for the first all girl group, Benten's own Titan Go-Kings. Titan Go-Kings (チタン合金ズ) Set List Marching intro 1. High Tension Girl (高血圧ガール) 2. A volume of Titan Go King's (チタン合金ズの巻) 3. Celebrity (有☆名☆人) 4. McDonalds Song 5. YONEDA (米田) a.k.a. Mr. YONEDA:Who hit me by car 6. Go! Go! Idol (ゴゴー!ゴー!アイドル) 7. Forever Idol (永遠のアイドル) It's hard to not like this trio of tiny Japanese girls who scream, hop around, and sing about McDonalds. Titan Go-Kings' brand of pop punk isn't all that original with regards to sound, but presentation is where they shine. The band just knows how to have fun. Starting off their set with a little marching intro where drummer Lintsu would enter doing percussion rolls on a toy drum, you can tell that this band is all about humor. From the boogy-woogy "A volume of Titan Go King's" to the speedy metallic "YONEDA" they kept the audience moving and never bored. Musicwise they were better sounding than their appearance at SXSW's "Japan Nite," where they opened up the show. In both appearances they ended with the over 7 minute "Forever Idol," resulting in resounding cheers from the crowd. One of the members even proclaimed, "My friend Jimmy is in love with you!" Love them or not, they are definitely the representatives of the Benten sound, staying true to keeping silly and having fun. This also holds true for fellow Benten band Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re, who played next, but Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re has a unique style all their own. Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re Set List 1. Ebihara Shinji (海老原眞治) 2. CHANDAN DANCING 3. Na-mellow 4. Ume Umai Tane Dekai (うめうまいﾀﾈﾃﾞｶｲ) a.k.a. Umeboshi Plums-Big Seeds 5. Ocha Ska (おちゃっすか) a.k.a. Tea Time Ska Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re's Soozou Ninshin a.k.a. Pregnant Fantasy, was one of my favorite albums of last year. The masterful mix of various music styles found not only between, but during tracks, was quite a surprise considering it was their first full length album. Needless to say, the band got even better, maturing in their stage performance and presentation. Vocalist and guitarist Mari still possesses that unique range that can go from childlike innocence to orgasmic undulation to deep growls, while bassist Yayoi still lays down that fat groove while moving all over the place. Many a comment came from the audience about Yayoi's bass skill, which I'd have to agree with. She just makes it look so easy, especially when she gets in that mindset and starts dancing around. Despite a failed attempt at audience interaction to get them to do rowing motions to "Na-mellow," which was introduced as a "Japanese fisherman song," there's no question that Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re floored the crowd. I often wonder why Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re has yet to play at SXSW in Austin even though they tour with the rest of the bands that play there. They would definitely move the audiences there, as well as wherever they go. Sadly, I couldn't say the same for the following band noodles, though it was no fault of their own. noodles Set List 1. Ivy 2. Blush Timpani 3. Fuzz hill 4. Lemon Grass (cross out) She, her 5. She, her (cross out) Hush bell 6. Bound lily I wonder if the two guys behind me having a conversation regarding gleeful anticipation for the noodles set prior to the band setting up cursed the performance. I, too, had a lot of hope for them after seeing how well they did at this year's SXSW, even pulling off a cover of the Buzzcocks' "Ever Fall in Love." All hopes were dashed due to many problems, none of them having to do with the band itself. noodles isn't in any way an energetic type of band. They don't jump around or even move much for that matter. And they really don't work hard to get the crowd moving, instead opting to play their songs with all their heart. But that's their style, and I wouldn't have it any other way. However, technical problems continued to persist throughout their set, inhibiting their performance greatly. First of all, singer and guitarist Yoko of the now three-piece had her mic way too low in volume. She could not be heard at all. It took the sound engineer until the third song to get her the least bit audible. Again, this could have been resolved with a minor sound check. Second, the drum set that Ayumi was using had several problems that I couldn't quite fathom, but it was problematic enough that they had to stop in the middle of the set to fix it. One of the worst things that can happen to a band while performing live is to stop in the middle of the set. Not only does it slacken audience energy, it offsets the pacing of the band. Finally, one of Yoko's guitar pedals began to act up, distorting her amp, making a lot of songs sound horrible. She had to finally pull it out and play without it near the end, causing her guitar to lose a lot of the overdrive that gives their songs impact. This has been my third time seeing the band, but I can honestly say it was their worst performance I've ever heard. Considering how great their Austin performance was, I know they're capable of much better. Maybe next year there won't be as many technical problems. It really pained me to see them have to go through that. I didn't have much chance to hear all of ukelele duo Petty Booka's set since I had to leave the audience to worry about interviews, fatigue, and wait while friends went to go buy merchandise again. However, their rendition of the Ramones' "Rockaway Beach" did stand out. During their set I spied quite a few amusing observations from other bands' members. Sawao Yamanaka was chilling in the back booths with a Japanese girl in each arm, his glass of red wine on the table. I guess being the vocalist in a rock band still has its perks. Mizue, drummer of Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re, was hugging tiny Titan Go-Kings drummer Lintsu and dancing with her, looking like a mother cradling a child. Meanwhile the male members of Puppypet were all enjoying their beers and talking with one another. Apparently the less "refined" brands like Budweiser seem to be the most common beers ordered among Japanese bands. noodles members Ayumi and Yoko sure do love their Bud. One day I'll have to introduce them to better beers. Despite the setbacks, I'm sure it was a good night for all the bands involved. Yes, even Pink Mochi, who must have gained a fan or two. Sure the sets could have been longer, but that would have required more time, which was just not possible. At a dollar per band, though, it was well worth the price and more. - Chris McDougall, photos by Sherwin Abesamis
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