The legendary Japanese bubblegum punk trio Shonen Knife released their first cassette tape in 1982, opened for Nirvana, and were given love by Lemmy Kilmister himself. If you haven’t heard of them…well then sadly you were like me a few weeks ago.
Invited to their show at The Roxy last Thursday (which they last played in 1993), I dove into some of their music. To say the band carried the spirit of The Ramones would be an understatement, considering they even released an entire tribute album to the band. And as a big Ramones fan, and knowing how difficult it is for any band to tour the United States these days from outside of the country, I knew I had to check them out.
Opening the night was another band I was unfamiliar with – The Pack A.D.. The Canadian guitar and drums duo barreled in like a heavier Black Keys, with a nice 90’s alt rock influence that conjured The Breeders. Every song packed a punch, with vocalist/guitarist Becky Black churning out thunderous riffs and belting songs with force, while drummer Maya Miller grounded the songs in dirty blues rock rhythms. Their playing was incredibly tight and polished, and were a great reminder that all you need is two people to create some mighty rock and roll.
With this round of shows dubbed the “Everyone Happy U.S. Tour”, I had a feeling that Shonen Knife would be fun, but the amount of joy they brought on stage and to the audience was something special. Wearing brightly colored outfits like something out of an Austin Powers movie, and front woman Naoko Yamano carrying a sparkly guitar, I felt like I had been transported back into a 60’s-style animated show. And as they launched into songs like “Buttercup” and “Twist Barbie”, this feeling was reinforced. The group bring such bouncy rhythms and buzzy harmonies to their songs, I found myself bobbing back and forth like a cheery bobblehead.
And much like The Ramones often wrote songs that were very simple and silly, Shonen Knife‘s songs seemed to focus on subjects that could easily co-exist with their bright and poppy image. Food and drinks were the focus of many tracks (new ones like “Vamos Taquitos” and “Afternoon Tea” joined classics like the sprightly “Cookie Day” and addictive “Banana Chips”. And from the culture that brought the world Hello Kitty, the song “Like a Cat”, with its “meow”-filled chorus could have come from a children’s television show.
The band’s main reason for touring was to support their 2023 album Our Best Place, and they played a set of tracks from it, including the excellent “MUJINTO Rock”, which hit with classic punk energy. And while the band showed they could get by with their English while introducing songs and chatting with the audience, they didn’t need much to get the audience to join them in shouting along to the sugary “Sweet Candy Power”.
For the encore, the band came back wearing some of their own merch to show-off, before leaving the audience with “Burning Farm” and their hit Carpenters‘ cover “Top of the World”. And much like their tour said, everyone was happy. The trio brings joyous energy to the stage, with the kind of bubbly music that can make you forget the craziness of the world outside and let you be silly for a while.
Catch them at one of their upcoming tour dates, and listen to their latest album here.
The Indy Review 