On April 26th, Shonen Knife reminded fans that everyone was only as young as they had always been in their heads.
Although Shonen Knife have been creating their unique Osakan sound for quite some time now, it’s not often you get the chance to see them play live. But for the lucky people of West Yorkshire, their chance was to be at the famous Brudenell Social Club in Leeds. It’s a comfy, retro kind of place, not too big but not too small either. The residue of other bands who had been here previously is left all over the walls in poster format and the names were impressive! You would almost expect the crowd to be young and student-like in a venue like this … on this occasion, you would be wrong! Of the men in the room, most were sporting either grey or no hair, but when you consider Shonen Knife have been around since 1981 (that’s 35 years!) and the fact that Naoko is now in her fifties … of course the fans would be a similar age too!
Somewhere around 7pm the lights went dark and the support acts began. Leggy, two girls from the USA, kicked things off, but it seemed the support band sound-check had not been quite balanced and unfortunately the vocals were drowned out by the instruments. Next, a three-piece band from Barnsley, Bruja shifted the sounds up a gear and a couple of songs were surprisingly catchy. Anticipation was now rising and the 100+ strong crowd were becoming animated. The stage was bathed in colour and three girls arrived holding towels aloft. The space-age silvery outfits that Atsuko had designed reflected the stage lights and Naoko's youthful smile warmed the crowd.. This was the 13th show in almost as many venues on the 2016 tour, but the excitement on their faces made it look like the first.
Konnichiwa began and the crowd loved it. Twist Barbie was followed by Bear Up Bison and ESP. The chemistry of the band was visually strong as they played Jump Into The New World and Rock and Roll T-shirt stood back-to back, rocking in unison. This was great! Jump into the New World was heartwarmingly catchy and surprisingly already had the crowd singing along this early in the gig. The performances were as confident, polished and perfect as you'd expect from a band of this calibre (and with their impressive history).
Green Tangerine came next with new girl Risa on lead vocals. Risa is possibly one of the most smiley musicians currently around and she looked like she was having the time of her life at the back of the stage. Her enthusiasm was infectious and her beats kept the crowd buoyant all night. Atsuko then took over the microphone with hot, hot Wasabi and Capybara. Next up were Whatever, Ghost Train and Loop Di Loop. Shonen Knife definitely weren't showing any signs of slowing down as crowd favourite BBQ Party fired out and made the fans bounce.
After a small break for the girls to wave their towels around again, the gig took off again with Like A Cat. Concrete Animals and Riding On The Rocket steered the gig towards its crescendo with Giant Kitty being the last blast. Once again the crowd was ecstatic as the girls held up their towels. After several minutes of cheering, heartfelt praise and shouts of "more", the peak of an amazing night was the happy Banana Chips. Just as the crowd joined with the band in singing "Banana chips for you! Banana chips for me! In the afternoon, banana chips and tea", the band then joined the fans at the merchandise stall signing autographs and spent some time sharing their smiles. This was proof positive, that a small, unconventional punk band from the heart of Japan had in their timeless fashion, affected possibly millions of people all over the globe, infecting them with a joyous feeling of life you just don't get with many other bands.
And so it was time to go. On a final glance around the room, it was clear that all the grey haired fans were not old at all. Everyone was only as young as they had always been in their heads. All that was needed was three creative, energetic and enthusiastic girls from the other side of the world to help remind them.
And maybe everyone also needed to buy a towel.
Set list
01. Konnichiwa
02. Twist Barbie
03. Bear Up Bison
04. ESP
05. Jump Into The New World
06. Rock and Roll T-shirt
07. Green Tangerine
08. Wasabi
09. Capybara
10. Whatever
11. Ghost Train
12. Loop Di Loop
13. Like A Cat
14. Concrete Animals
15. Riding On The Rocket
16. Giant Kitty
Encore:
17. Banana Chips
