Shonen Knife is an all girl pop-punk band formed in Osaka, Japan, and they brought their infectious melodies across the world to Buffalo, New York, on Saturday, October 2, 2010. Shonen Knife took the stage at Mohawk Place at 10:25 PM. The band played for a solid hour. It was the last show of the tour and it’s where the band recorded “Shonen Knife Live at the Mohawk” released on Good Charamel DVD earlier this year. In fact, Saturday night’s concert was deemed the DVD release party. Good Charamel Records in Buffalo, New York, is the home of their U.S. Label. The trio has an underground sound with simple, catchy lyrics sung in both Japanese and English. The band consists of Naoko Yamano (vocals, guitar), Ritsuko Taneda (bass, vocals) and Emi Morimoto (drums, background vocals) and these girls know how to rock.
They took the stage in matching outfits with glittering guitars and opened up with “Konnichiwa.” It was a fast paced tune that got the crowd bouncin’ from the get go. Ritsuko was headbanging and bass banging throughout the show. This band incorporates the punk riffs of The Ramones with the fun and energy of the Beach Boys. It’s really quite a mix that should be pleasing to any rock fan. Unlike traditionally rebellious punk rockers, the trio used poppy, upbeat melodies and carefree lyrics often referring to animals as in “Capybara” or sweet treats like “Bannana Chips” and “Fruit Loop Dreams.” The audience was receptive to Naoko’s melodic vocals as she introduced “Move On,” and told the crowd that it has not yet been released on CD, but is available for download at Shonenknife.com. Many fans were proudly displaying their Shonen Knife T-Shirts as the band played on.
Naoko introduced the band before Ritsuko took over on vocals for “Catnip Dreams” with a playful “Meow, Meow, Meow” lyric over a solid rock beat. The crowd moshed it up during the final number “Cobra vs Mongoose” as Emi stood on her drums and waved good night to the cult following at the end of the song. They returned to the stage for an encore as the crowd chanted “Shonen Knife, Shonen Knife, Shonen Knife.” The band came back wearing “Shonen Knife” tour shirts and played two more songs. Fans were shouting out requests and the trio finished up with a crowd favorite called “Sushi Bar Song.”
This performance was full of energy, fun to watch and fun to listen to. Although it was the last stop on the tour, you can still pick up “Shonen Knife — Live at the Mohawk” on DVD to get you primed up for their next tour.
Set List:
Konnichiwa
Twist Barbie
Banana Chips
Boys
Bear Up Bison
Perfect Freedom
Capybara
Move on
Catnip Dream
Fruit Loop Dreams
Gyoza
BBQ Party
Super Group
Riding on the Rocket
Explosion!
Cobra versus Mongoose
Encore:
Sushi Bar Song
We would like to thank Robby Takac from Good Charamel Records and Mike Cubillos from Earshot Media for allowing BackstageAxxess to review the show.
