If there’s ever a time to do the Vulcan Salute outside a Star Trek convention, it’s at a SUGIZO concert. The guitarist, violinist, and songwriter started doing the Salute during LUNA SEA shows back in the day. And for some reason fans have adopted it as the most logical way of greeting him. Perhaps it’s because, between his unbelievable finesse with the guitar and brilliant arrangements, SUGIZO is some kind otherworldly genius. But unlike the characteristically emotionless humanoid alien, his show on December 22 was a whirlwind of spirituality and wonder.
Much of the set was a cross between a pseudo-religious trance and a good old-fashioned jam session. From the conga drum to the electric violin to Russian vocalist Origa’s haunting siren call, the songs and performance was more world music than straight rock, but unlike anything I’d heard before. One of SUGIZO’s more subtle tinges of genius is his ability to make simplicity so complex. He takes a rather straight-forward guitar riff and carefully places an African-style drum beat over it. When the mood hits, maybe he’ll put a single vocal line extended for eight bars. Wait a few minutes and he’ll start sawing away at his fiddle, creating notes in perfect succession of each other. This is minimalism, but minimalism layered 500 times over itself.
All of it was undoubtedly thought over with painstaking precision, as there was no room for any instrument to be misrepresented or misused. Yet at the same time, each song flowed so naturally, it was as if the music just spontaneously emerged from SUGIZO’s mind, permeated through the air, and danced around in the audience’s brains.
The visuals mimicked the music’s mantra with Rorschach tests, a vortex that may have shown me the path to enlightenment, footage of protests and Martin Luther King Jr., and (the icing on the cake) the exquisitely elegant belly dancers. This optical package created a narrative. Besides Origa’s occasional vocal lines, there were almost no lyrics throughout the nearly three-hour show. As some of the numbers were about ten minutes long, the music was in danger of wandering, and without something to look at, the audience’s attention may have strayed away from the stage and on to how cold Zepp Tokyo was that night.
On that thought, genius comes with a price. The music is not something you will get stuck in your head. It’s not easily digestible. It’s not going to appeal to everyone and not everyone will “get” it. But going in to a SUGIZO show with an open mind, you could find yourself in awe of how wordlessly and effortlessly the man can create a concert. By the end, you’ll be throwing up your hands in the Vulcan Salute and in your best monotone saying, “Live long and prosper.”
Some bands have the skills. Some bands have the attitude. Some bands have the drive. Other bands are just plain nice to look at.
Pop quiz: What are YELLOW FRIED CHICKENZ?
While I was more than ecstatic when I heard I would be covering LUNA SEA’s charity live on October 22, something made me feel a little bit awkward. As my live report of their two shows from December 2010 can attest, I am a big, sappy fan of this band. No other artist can create such an awe-inspiring aura of pure emotion while making it seem so effortless and natural. LUNA SEA’s recorded albums alone are excellent tear fuel. Combine that with the fact that the October show was dedicated to raising money for victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake, and I was prepared to shamelessly weep like my tears could solve all the world’s problems.
What followed was the usual set of “Desire,” “Rosier,” and the like. Not that anyone was complaining. The concert soon turned into a giant LUNA SEA sing-along. I didn’t expect any dusty old, rarely played numbers from yesteryear, but it would have been interesting to hear something they rarely play live, if only to shake it up a bit.
I’m a very moody person. Make a lame joke and I’ll be giggling in an instant. Say one off-color comment and I’ll explode in your face. Mention dead puppies and I’ll start bawling. Maybe that’s why a band like Creature Creature, that changes emotions on a dime, is just right for me.
There was a time when a man’s worth was measured by the overall space his hair occupied in the universe. They called it the ’80s, for some reason or another. The music was loud, the women kicked ass, and Aqua Net became the singular cause for global warming.
Almost three years after they first performed at Onicon in Texas, BORN is back in North America for Virginia’s Nekocon. With a new single, “Psycho Diva,” BORN continues to mix up pop choruses with thrashy metal riffs and growling counter vocals. Nekocon 2011 will take place on November 4th-6th at the Hampton Roads Convention Center in Hampton, Virginia.