Post by Mikado AKA Shoknifeman on Apr 28, 2018 20:48:12 GMT -5
Give us the details of your SK live experience!!
part 1 :
HOW I SUFFERED TO FINALLY SEE SHONEN KNIFE, LIVE!
pic courtesy of "Nightdriver" (You Tube)
[glow=red,2,300]To begin with, let me say that I first heard of Shonen Knife in 1993, but, it wasn't until 4 years later, in 1997, that I bought my first SK CD, Let's Knife (now almost impossible to find); and I was HOOKED! Since that time, 13 years have elapsed &, up until last night, I had never seen them live. (I had the opportunity in the past, but, it always seemed as if I couldn't make it for one reason, or another...including the flu, during their "Genki Shock" tour!) Thus, last night was a long-time dream come true![/glow]
The journey began at about 2pm; after a quick shower and a fast snack, I checked the internet to see where the venue (The Horseshoe tavern, Toronto) was located and I was relieved to see that it was in a familiar area, (Queen W & Spadina, AKA "Chinatown") and, even better, that there was a parking lot only 2 mins walk from the concert! That made my decision, I was finally going to see the Knife!!!! So, I hopped into the car and began what turned out to be a 2 hour drive (Stupid road repair crews, it's no more than 90 mins, usually) to the "Big city" Interestingly enough,for the first time in weeks, I avoided playing my SK "car tapes", wanting to keep from overloading on SK, before the concert! (haha)
Other than the road crews and heavy traffic in town, the ride went well and I soon arrived at the parking lot that I had found earlier on Google Earth ($20 flat fee..WHATTT?) ; it was now just after 4 pm and I had another 5 hours to kill before the doors would be open for ticket sales. I decided on a plan: Eat supper, go to look for anime stuff in Chinatown (As it turned out, I bought $50 worth of anime figureens) , then try to kill as much time as I could in record stores and some such until 9 pm. When that was done, I headed east towards the Yonge st "strip" again, killing as much time as possible...9 pm came much sooner than expected, and I found myself running to get back, not wanting to miss out on the tickets! First though, let me relate a little incident that was taking place downtown, as I wended my way towards the strip:
At about 7:30 pm, I meandered east towards Younge st, and not long after passing the City Hall, where a live outdoor concert was going on, I noticed that the Police had cordonned off part of Queen; at first I took it as normal crowd control for the concert, but, then I noticed a truck from the TORONTO POLICE BOMB DISPOSAL UNIT...That's right, they had found a "suspicious package" about 150 yards from the City's core! (I have no idea what came of that, I suppose I should check the TO news online), to add to the chaos, just down the street, a black man with a portable speaker system attached to his back, was screaming obscenities at anyone who had the misfortune to pass his way! (I know it sounds rediculous, but, it's true!), Needless to say, I moved onto Younge as quickly as I could! After spending some time speaking (And singing) with a man who was playing guitar in a doorway, for change, I started window shopping, until I finally realised that it was 9 pm and I was about 20 mins from the Horseshoe! (I had forgotten how fast i can walk when i really NEED to); once I got back to Queen, I ran the rest of the way; and got my ticket (And a near-heart attack...JK) ; that done, I had about 15-20 mins to kill before the first act. (end of part one)
.
Post by mikado-AKA-Shoknifeman on Oct 3, 2010 at 11:40pm
Part 2: THE CONCERT (First and second acts)
With about 25 mins to go before the opening act, it suddenly hit me: I forgot to bring one of my cameras!!!! So, I trotted down the street looking for a nearby convenience store, where I bought one of those disposable (one use) cameras; unfortunately, the instructions were in Chinese (Well, i WAS in "Chinatown" after all) and so, after ruining a couple pics trying to figure out how to prime the flash, I was all set to record my first ever PAID live concert (Previously, the only concerts I'd ever been to were the kind where you sit in a public park for a free show); I followed that with a trip to the bank machine for even MORE money (After all, CDs and Shonen Knife souvenirs don't come cheap, and I had spent all the money I had originally planned to, on Anime stuff, food and parking!).
Now feeling slightly nervous, I returned to the Horseshoe to scope the place out , and get a "feel" of the place (As a non-drinker, I NEVER go into bars); it had an old "run down" feeling to it and an unfortunate smell of old wood impregnated with cigarette smoke (It has been at least 10 years since smoking in bars was made illegal in Ontario, but, apparently, the smell lingers on for many more years afterwards). Oh well, I came for the music, not the atmosphere. While I wasn't overtly impressed by the venue itself, I must say that the staff were very kind and helpful, and that the glass of cranberry juice I had was not only VERY decently priced at only $2.50; it was so large that it lasted me through the first 2 acts!!!
Once inside, I stood by the steps down to the washroom, trying to adjust my eyes to the darkness; and, standing to my left was Emi, Shonen Knife's new drummer (She is surprisingly curvy and much prettier in person than she is on any of the pics I've seen); and, ahead of her were 3 people who looked like punk cliches, who, I later learned were the members of the 2nd act, the Weirdies! the Roadies were still busy setting things up, so i walked on over to the GOOD CHARAMEL RECORDS booth and perused the Shonen Knife items for sale there... Sadly, the "FunFunFun" CD order hadn't come in, so, once again, I wasn't able to purchase it; however, I did manage to buy "Free Time" and "Super Group"! Manning the booth was the co-owner of the company, the beautiful and gracious Miyoko, who was great fun to chat with...I also bought a wonderful new SK tour T-shirt (More about that later)
About the time I walked off with my new shirt, the first band came onto the stage, so, I found an empty bar stool and took a position, about 20-25 feet from the stage; I was really a bit apprehensive of standing by those big loud speakers; besides, as the opening acts were 2 local bands, rather than well-known acts, I wasnt even sure whether I was going to stay, or, come back later to see the knife.
The opening act was a Toronto-based band who specialised in Pop-punk, similar to Shonen Knife, The Fantasy Defenders (Dawn Mandarino - vocals, guitar Joe Gervasi - bass and Grant Scott - drums). As they began their set, Grant began to pound on the drums, and frankly, he is a fantastic drummer; I decided that I definately would stay for TFDs! Fronting the group was their lead guitar/singer Dawn, a young woman with the looks of a goddess and the voice of an angel (A guy could melt in her eyes) ; this band was FANTASTIC; I stayed for their entire set, and loved EVERY minute of it....if you ever get the Chance to see them, DO it!
(After they came off the stage, I told them about our forum and promised them a good review...well guys, if you are reading this, you CAN see that I kept my promise! ... Sadly, I had totally forgotten about taking any pics of the band, as my camera sat idly in my pocket at this time!... Hey Dawn, if you guys have any good pics, post them here, and promote yourselves a bit! )
Note: About half way through their set, Ritsuko emerged from the greenroom, I was surprised to see how tiny and fragile she looks in person!(Beautiful though!)
www.facebook.com/pages/The-Fantasy-Defender/36901351975
The next band up was more of a novelty punk band, The Weirdies (Bad Weirdie — guitar & vocals Minx (Melinda?) Weirdie — bass & vocals & Space Weirdie — drums & vocals < Another great drummer, btw) ; a band that really doesn't take itself very seriously. Once again this band is fronted by a female singer (I believe her name was Melinda, but, she goes by her stage name "Minx Weirdie") Minx certainly is something to see, with her horn-rimmed glasses, 60s style mini skirt and "**Louise Brooks" hairstyle (Miss Brooks was a silent film star and arguably the hottest "Sex symbol" of the 1920s); actually, her face book pic doesn't do her any justice, Minx is "drop dead CUTE"! Anyway, as they began their set, I can't say that I was terribly impressed; however, about 1/3 of the way, they switched to singing the songs from their newest CD...in fact, the ENTIRE album, switching from a self-mocking punk to something that was on the cusp of "Psychobilly" (a fusion of 50s rockabilly and punk); and from that point on, I really began to enjoy them (By the end of their set, I was near the stage, taking pics and having a great time)! I chatted just a little with Minx after their set was over, she is a very nice girl.
(and she confirmed to me that, indeed, her hair style WAS inspired by the silent film great, Louise Brooks)
However, it was time for the MAIN EVENT....SHONEN KNIFE...My stomach began to knot up in nervous anticipation; good thing I had prepared for it (I brought a small bottle of Rolaids , just in case, and gulped one down as the roadies began to set the stage for the headliners)!
www.facebook.com/theweirdies
END OF PART 2
Part 3, THE CONCERT, SHONEN KNIFE!!!!!!!!!!!
I can only think of a handful of occasions in my life where i was feeling more nervous, the Knife was about to come onstage and I was litterally holding back the urge to vomit (TY to the fine people who make Rolaids for helping my avoid that social faux-pas at the feet of my favorite band). Not long before, I made my way to the bathroom and changed from the white t-shirt I had been wearing all day, to the brand new black SK tour t-shirt i had just purchased...I wrapped the white shirt around my neck and pulled up the collar of my black jacket to hide it; as it turned out, the white shirt made a pretty good "sweat rag"
My mind raced as I squeezed my way to the very centre/front of the stage (I wanted to get close up pics of the girls)...I planned to leave that position soon after; cause, I hate loud sounds! Soon the 3 girls showed up on the stage, holding up towels with Shonen Knife written on them in Japanese! Without any intro, they got right down to business, Naoko and Ritsuko picking up their new matching guitars (More on that later), and the familiar "Konnichiwa" began to ring in my ears, to say that they play loudly is an understatement! (I have read some critisism online about how their instruments often drown out the singing when they play live; I have to say that I'd have to agree, however, I was standing between 2 HUGE amps, so, I probably was in the very worst place to make that call.)
On the positive side, I couldnt have been any closer to Ritsuko or Naoko without them tripping over me (Ritsuko in particular was looming over me so closely that she missed hitting me in the eye with the head stock of her bass by only 2 inches....twice!)! Ritsuko is truly quite beautiful close up, with her delicate features and large black eyes; she is however, much more fragile looking in person, than you would have thought; Naoko, on the other hand looks EXACTLY the way she does in all her pics, her skin flawless, she looks much younger than most women in their 50th year; not a serious wrinkle to be seen! (Naoko Yamano is one of those amazing women who seems to become more beautiful with each passing year, reversing the usual aging pattern!) Next up, we have the newest member of the band, Emi Morimoto, who,when seen up close has a very full figure for a Japanese girl (I'm talking shapely here, not fat) and is much prettier in person, than any of the pics of her that I've seen; Emi has that hyper-cute "Your buddy's sporty-tomboyish-little sister" look that is so appealing, not to mention a KILLER smile, when she plays.
New for this year, Naoko and Ritsuko have matching guitars, Ritsuko's painted a candy-apple glitter red and Naoko's, a matching glitter aquamarine:
(Strangely, Naoko only played 2 songs with her signature pink guitar,the other 15 were played on the new blue one!)
all three girls were wearing the clothing from the "Perfect Freedom" video (Pink & white tank tops with the black trim and black pants, both decorated with overlarge buttons); seeing them in such familiar clothes made it almost seem unreal that they could actually be here, so close to me that I could LITTERALLY feel a breeze coming off their hair, when they did the head banging thing!(Conversely, i also got an eyefull of Naoko's nostrils, a few times) Ritsuko wore her hair straight down, without the familiar braids and wore much less glitter in her eyelashes than she had in recent concert pics I've seen, wheras Naoko had glitter stuck to both cheeks, if Emi had any kind of decoration, it wasn't apparent, from where i stood. The band played their sets in a very straightfoward way, with only the odd introduction; all the better to get in more songs, i suppose. In all they played a total of 17 songs, 12 of which came out of the Michie era; with only 5 post-Michie tunes (Fine with me, those are the songs I came to hear!)
After the concert, a guy standing beside me picked up Ritsuko's "Setlist" and handed it to me; amazingly, it was in ENGLISH!:
The girls played hard, all of them playing full speed, and in perfect key (As usual, a smiling Ritsuko sang along with every song, including those that Naoko sang solo << During these songs, Ritsuko sings to herself, away from her mic) ; and, while Emi seemed totally out of place in the UK tour, this spring (having been given the job to replace Etsuko on drums, practically at the last minute); she has since improved by leaps and bounds, in only a very short time! Granted, while she still isn't quite at Etsuko or Atsuko's level; she has certainly become a very competent and enthusiatic drummer, and the fans just seem to love her to death! The only disappointments for me, personally, were that the band didn't play "Barnacle" (A song with audience participation...mind you, I sang at the top of my lungs with nearly every song they played anyway) or "Watchin' Girl", my fave SK song; nonetheless, I had one of the best times of my life...ps, I never moved from that NOISYYYY spot,at center stage (At one point I even touched Naoko's guitar....with the TIP of my index finger, but very softly)
In what seemed like no time at all, the set was over and the girls were led to the Good Charamel booth for an autograph session; during which time I told Emi and Ritsuko how much I enjoyed their performances; for Naoko I had a special little speech: "Naoko san, I just wanted to say that Shonen Knife has been my favorite band since 1997, and, I am so happy that I finally got to see you live!" Naoko gave me a little smile and both Emi and Ritsuko commented with "Wow, a very long time!" I handed them my copy of "Free Time" for autographs and the setlist, which I handed to Ritsuko (She was closest to me) with the comment "You don't need to sign this one, 'cause you already have!" (She laughed and said "yes")
I also got another souvenir, Naoko's guitar pick; I already had one from the Genki Shock tour (I had the flu and couldn't go, but, my friend Elaine, who did go, got it for me); only this time, Naoko handed it to me HERSELF!!! (I felt a little guilty for taking it, and briefly thought about handing it over to someone else, but, seeing as it was a totally different design than the first one, I decided to keep it!)
Genki Shock tour pick, signed on other side (white) and Free Time tour pick (pink)
All in all, while I spent a small fortune, and found myself not getting home until 4 am (it's a long drive both ways); I can safely say IT WAS WELL WORTH IT!!!
ARIGATOU SHONEN KNIFE, FOR ALMOST 30 YEARS OF GREAT MUSIC, AND FOR A GREAT CONCERT!!!
part 1 :
HOW I SUFFERED TO FINALLY SEE SHONEN KNIFE, LIVE!
pic courtesy of "Nightdriver" (You Tube)
[glow=red,2,300]To begin with, let me say that I first heard of Shonen Knife in 1993, but, it wasn't until 4 years later, in 1997, that I bought my first SK CD, Let's Knife (now almost impossible to find); and I was HOOKED! Since that time, 13 years have elapsed &, up until last night, I had never seen them live. (I had the opportunity in the past, but, it always seemed as if I couldn't make it for one reason, or another...including the flu, during their "Genki Shock" tour!) Thus, last night was a long-time dream come true![/glow]
The journey began at about 2pm; after a quick shower and a fast snack, I checked the internet to see where the venue (The Horseshoe tavern, Toronto) was located and I was relieved to see that it was in a familiar area, (Queen W & Spadina, AKA "Chinatown") and, even better, that there was a parking lot only 2 mins walk from the concert! That made my decision, I was finally going to see the Knife!!!! So, I hopped into the car and began what turned out to be a 2 hour drive (Stupid road repair crews, it's no more than 90 mins, usually) to the "Big city" Interestingly enough,for the first time in weeks, I avoided playing my SK "car tapes", wanting to keep from overloading on SK, before the concert! (haha)
Other than the road crews and heavy traffic in town, the ride went well and I soon arrived at the parking lot that I had found earlier on Google Earth ($20 flat fee..WHATTT?) ; it was now just after 4 pm and I had another 5 hours to kill before the doors would be open for ticket sales. I decided on a plan: Eat supper, go to look for anime stuff in Chinatown (As it turned out, I bought $50 worth of anime figureens) , then try to kill as much time as I could in record stores and some such until 9 pm. When that was done, I headed east towards the Yonge st "strip" again, killing as much time as possible...9 pm came much sooner than expected, and I found myself running to get back, not wanting to miss out on the tickets! First though, let me relate a little incident that was taking place downtown, as I wended my way towards the strip:
At about 7:30 pm, I meandered east towards Younge st, and not long after passing the City Hall, where a live outdoor concert was going on, I noticed that the Police had cordonned off part of Queen; at first I took it as normal crowd control for the concert, but, then I noticed a truck from the TORONTO POLICE BOMB DISPOSAL UNIT...That's right, they had found a "suspicious package" about 150 yards from the City's core! (I have no idea what came of that, I suppose I should check the TO news online), to add to the chaos, just down the street, a black man with a portable speaker system attached to his back, was screaming obscenities at anyone who had the misfortune to pass his way! (I know it sounds rediculous, but, it's true!), Needless to say, I moved onto Younge as quickly as I could! After spending some time speaking (And singing) with a man who was playing guitar in a doorway, for change, I started window shopping, until I finally realised that it was 9 pm and I was about 20 mins from the Horseshoe! (I had forgotten how fast i can walk when i really NEED to); once I got back to Queen, I ran the rest of the way; and got my ticket (And a near-heart attack...JK) ; that done, I had about 15-20 mins to kill before the first act. (end of part one)
.
Post by mikado-AKA-Shoknifeman on Oct 3, 2010 at 11:40pm
Part 2: THE CONCERT (First and second acts)
With about 25 mins to go before the opening act, it suddenly hit me: I forgot to bring one of my cameras!!!! So, I trotted down the street looking for a nearby convenience store, where I bought one of those disposable (one use) cameras; unfortunately, the instructions were in Chinese (Well, i WAS in "Chinatown" after all) and so, after ruining a couple pics trying to figure out how to prime the flash, I was all set to record my first ever PAID live concert (Previously, the only concerts I'd ever been to were the kind where you sit in a public park for a free show); I followed that with a trip to the bank machine for even MORE money (After all, CDs and Shonen Knife souvenirs don't come cheap, and I had spent all the money I had originally planned to, on Anime stuff, food and parking!).
Now feeling slightly nervous, I returned to the Horseshoe to scope the place out , and get a "feel" of the place (As a non-drinker, I NEVER go into bars); it had an old "run down" feeling to it and an unfortunate smell of old wood impregnated with cigarette smoke (It has been at least 10 years since smoking in bars was made illegal in Ontario, but, apparently, the smell lingers on for many more years afterwards). Oh well, I came for the music, not the atmosphere. While I wasn't overtly impressed by the venue itself, I must say that the staff were very kind and helpful, and that the glass of cranberry juice I had was not only VERY decently priced at only $2.50; it was so large that it lasted me through the first 2 acts!!!
Once inside, I stood by the steps down to the washroom, trying to adjust my eyes to the darkness; and, standing to my left was Emi, Shonen Knife's new drummer (She is surprisingly curvy and much prettier in person than she is on any of the pics I've seen); and, ahead of her were 3 people who looked like punk cliches, who, I later learned were the members of the 2nd act, the Weirdies! the Roadies were still busy setting things up, so i walked on over to the GOOD CHARAMEL RECORDS booth and perused the Shonen Knife items for sale there... Sadly, the "FunFunFun" CD order hadn't come in, so, once again, I wasn't able to purchase it; however, I did manage to buy "Free Time" and "Super Group"! Manning the booth was the co-owner of the company, the beautiful and gracious Miyoko, who was great fun to chat with...I also bought a wonderful new SK tour T-shirt (More about that later)
About the time I walked off with my new shirt, the first band came onto the stage, so, I found an empty bar stool and took a position, about 20-25 feet from the stage; I was really a bit apprehensive of standing by those big loud speakers; besides, as the opening acts were 2 local bands, rather than well-known acts, I wasnt even sure whether I was going to stay, or, come back later to see the knife.
The opening act was a Toronto-based band who specialised in Pop-punk, similar to Shonen Knife, The Fantasy Defenders (Dawn Mandarino - vocals, guitar Joe Gervasi - bass and Grant Scott - drums). As they began their set, Grant began to pound on the drums, and frankly, he is a fantastic drummer; I decided that I definately would stay for TFDs! Fronting the group was their lead guitar/singer Dawn, a young woman with the looks of a goddess and the voice of an angel (A guy could melt in her eyes) ; this band was FANTASTIC; I stayed for their entire set, and loved EVERY minute of it....if you ever get the Chance to see them, DO it!
(After they came off the stage, I told them about our forum and promised them a good review...well guys, if you are reading this, you CAN see that I kept my promise! ... Sadly, I had totally forgotten about taking any pics of the band, as my camera sat idly in my pocket at this time!... Hey Dawn, if you guys have any good pics, post them here, and promote yourselves a bit! )
Note: About half way through their set, Ritsuko emerged from the greenroom, I was surprised to see how tiny and fragile she looks in person!(Beautiful though!)
www.facebook.com/pages/The-Fantasy-Defender/36901351975
The next band up was more of a novelty punk band, The Weirdies (Bad Weirdie — guitar & vocals Minx (Melinda?) Weirdie — bass & vocals & Space Weirdie — drums & vocals < Another great drummer, btw) ; a band that really doesn't take itself very seriously. Once again this band is fronted by a female singer (I believe her name was Melinda, but, she goes by her stage name "Minx Weirdie") Minx certainly is something to see, with her horn-rimmed glasses, 60s style mini skirt and "**Louise Brooks" hairstyle (Miss Brooks was a silent film star and arguably the hottest "Sex symbol" of the 1920s); actually, her face book pic doesn't do her any justice, Minx is "drop dead CUTE"! Anyway, as they began their set, I can't say that I was terribly impressed; however, about 1/3 of the way, they switched to singing the songs from their newest CD...in fact, the ENTIRE album, switching from a self-mocking punk to something that was on the cusp of "Psychobilly" (a fusion of 50s rockabilly and punk); and from that point on, I really began to enjoy them (By the end of their set, I was near the stage, taking pics and having a great time)! I chatted just a little with Minx after their set was over, she is a very nice girl.
(and she confirmed to me that, indeed, her hair style WAS inspired by the silent film great, Louise Brooks)
However, it was time for the MAIN EVENT....SHONEN KNIFE...My stomach began to knot up in nervous anticipation; good thing I had prepared for it (I brought a small bottle of Rolaids , just in case, and gulped one down as the roadies began to set the stage for the headliners)!
www.facebook.com/theweirdies
END OF PART 2
Part 3, THE CONCERT, SHONEN KNIFE!!!!!!!!!!!
I can only think of a handful of occasions in my life where i was feeling more nervous, the Knife was about to come onstage and I was litterally holding back the urge to vomit (TY to the fine people who make Rolaids for helping my avoid that social faux-pas at the feet of my favorite band). Not long before, I made my way to the bathroom and changed from the white t-shirt I had been wearing all day, to the brand new black SK tour t-shirt i had just purchased...I wrapped the white shirt around my neck and pulled up the collar of my black jacket to hide it; as it turned out, the white shirt made a pretty good "sweat rag"
My mind raced as I squeezed my way to the very centre/front of the stage (I wanted to get close up pics of the girls)...I planned to leave that position soon after; cause, I hate loud sounds! Soon the 3 girls showed up on the stage, holding up towels with Shonen Knife written on them in Japanese! Without any intro, they got right down to business, Naoko and Ritsuko picking up their new matching guitars (More on that later), and the familiar "Konnichiwa" began to ring in my ears, to say that they play loudly is an understatement! (I have read some critisism online about how their instruments often drown out the singing when they play live; I have to say that I'd have to agree, however, I was standing between 2 HUGE amps, so, I probably was in the very worst place to make that call.)
On the positive side, I couldnt have been any closer to Ritsuko or Naoko without them tripping over me (Ritsuko in particular was looming over me so closely that she missed hitting me in the eye with the head stock of her bass by only 2 inches....twice!)! Ritsuko is truly quite beautiful close up, with her delicate features and large black eyes; she is however, much more fragile looking in person, than you would have thought; Naoko, on the other hand looks EXACTLY the way she does in all her pics, her skin flawless, she looks much younger than most women in their 50th year; not a serious wrinkle to be seen! (Naoko Yamano is one of those amazing women who seems to become more beautiful with each passing year, reversing the usual aging pattern!) Next up, we have the newest member of the band, Emi Morimoto, who,when seen up close has a very full figure for a Japanese girl (I'm talking shapely here, not fat) and is much prettier in person, than any of the pics of her that I've seen; Emi has that hyper-cute "Your buddy's sporty-tomboyish-little sister" look that is so appealing, not to mention a KILLER smile, when she plays.
New for this year, Naoko and Ritsuko have matching guitars, Ritsuko's painted a candy-apple glitter red and Naoko's, a matching glitter aquamarine:
(Strangely, Naoko only played 2 songs with her signature pink guitar,the other 15 were played on the new blue one!)
all three girls were wearing the clothing from the "Perfect Freedom" video (Pink & white tank tops with the black trim and black pants, both decorated with overlarge buttons); seeing them in such familiar clothes made it almost seem unreal that they could actually be here, so close to me that I could LITTERALLY feel a breeze coming off their hair, when they did the head banging thing!(Conversely, i also got an eyefull of Naoko's nostrils, a few times) Ritsuko wore her hair straight down, without the familiar braids and wore much less glitter in her eyelashes than she had in recent concert pics I've seen, wheras Naoko had glitter stuck to both cheeks, if Emi had any kind of decoration, it wasn't apparent, from where i stood. The band played their sets in a very straightfoward way, with only the odd introduction; all the better to get in more songs, i suppose. In all they played a total of 17 songs, 12 of which came out of the Michie era; with only 5 post-Michie tunes (Fine with me, those are the songs I came to hear!)
After the concert, a guy standing beside me picked up Ritsuko's "Setlist" and handed it to me; amazingly, it was in ENGLISH!:
The girls played hard, all of them playing full speed, and in perfect key (As usual, a smiling Ritsuko sang along with every song, including those that Naoko sang solo << During these songs, Ritsuko sings to herself, away from her mic) ; and, while Emi seemed totally out of place in the UK tour, this spring (having been given the job to replace Etsuko on drums, practically at the last minute); she has since improved by leaps and bounds, in only a very short time! Granted, while she still isn't quite at Etsuko or Atsuko's level; she has certainly become a very competent and enthusiatic drummer, and the fans just seem to love her to death! The only disappointments for me, personally, were that the band didn't play "Barnacle" (A song with audience participation...mind you, I sang at the top of my lungs with nearly every song they played anyway) or "Watchin' Girl", my fave SK song; nonetheless, I had one of the best times of my life...ps, I never moved from that NOISYYYY spot,at center stage (At one point I even touched Naoko's guitar....with the TIP of my index finger, but very softly)
In what seemed like no time at all, the set was over and the girls were led to the Good Charamel booth for an autograph session; during which time I told Emi and Ritsuko how much I enjoyed their performances; for Naoko I had a special little speech: "Naoko san, I just wanted to say that Shonen Knife has been my favorite band since 1997, and, I am so happy that I finally got to see you live!" Naoko gave me a little smile and both Emi and Ritsuko commented with "Wow, a very long time!" I handed them my copy of "Free Time" for autographs and the setlist, which I handed to Ritsuko (She was closest to me) with the comment "You don't need to sign this one, 'cause you already have!" (She laughed and said "yes")
I also got another souvenir, Naoko's guitar pick; I already had one from the Genki Shock tour (I had the flu and couldn't go, but, my friend Elaine, who did go, got it for me); only this time, Naoko handed it to me HERSELF!!! (I felt a little guilty for taking it, and briefly thought about handing it over to someone else, but, seeing as it was a totally different design than the first one, I decided to keep it!)
Genki Shock tour pick, signed on other side (white) and Free Time tour pick (pink)
All in all, while I spent a small fortune, and found myself not getting home until 4 am (it's a long drive both ways); I can safely say IT WAS WELL WORTH IT!!!
ARIGATOU SHONEN KNIFE, FOR ALMOST 30 YEARS OF GREAT MUSIC, AND FOR A GREAT CONCERT!!!