GARI live report

A combination of sound effects and cigarette smoke filled the live house, while on the stage the last minute sound checks of instruments and sound equipment took place. The crowd on the floor were mostly male, many of whom had a beer in one hand and talked to friends around them while swaying to the rhythm in the background.

Bassist Naoki Fujimoto stood on the right, Yuta Dokko had a double neck guitar and stood on the left and Kei Kusakabe on the drums was sat in the center of the stage. When the SE stopped, a guitar sounded quite sharply in blue light, YOW-ROW suddenly appeared on the stage coming out from the floor. He held the microphone with both hands, sang to the rap rhythms with his husky voice and in the chorus other voices were layered digitally upon his. The real instrumental sounds of guitar and bass added to the synchronized electrical sounds givinge sharp live breath into GARI’s profound sound.

Naoki, with his red spiky hair complimented by a red goatie played bass. Yutaka, had a shaved head and wearing a dark suit moved his body and pushed various switches with his feet as he played the guitar. Kei, kept a solid rhythm on the drums. YOW-ROW shook his long brown hair, singing aggressively to the heavy rhythms. His husky voice was very much like an instrument itself, fusing with GARI’s sound perfectly, I could feel myself gradually being swept over by their sound. The audience around me moved wildly to the music, really getting into it.

“We are GARI. It’s nice to see you. Enjoy our music today.” After his short MC, loud drums and the explosion of a guitar sounded. YOW-ROW sang like he was shouting, holding his microphone with both hands and stood leaning against the microphone stand with his eyes closed as he kept his head still. In upbeat songs he walked around on the stage, stood on amps and communicated with the audience who themselves were moving around enegetically.

GARI’s music is a mix of computer generated sound, instruments and human voices, seeming very close to the primitive and instinctive feelings rather than a spiritual world. In the last song, the audience raised their hands, jumped to the heavy rhythm, and YOW-ROW shouted loudly to the sky. While people say music doesn’t need words, in this real world there are language barriers, and GARI overcomes this by turning their words into art for all to appreciate.


Setlist

1. F.A.M E
2. FOOTSTAMP
3. Cuttin’lt Up
4. waterpuzzle
5. BugFilter
6. X-TREAM