TSP - 2010/08/10-11 新木場 Studio Coast; Tokyo, JP
(Reposted from HipstersUnited)
Yep, it's time once again for some more reviews from Tokyo (now smiley-free! :P"")!
I won't write all that much about the sets this time, since they're already listed on spfc, and recordings will be coming up soon (Summer Sonic Tokyo is up now), so a little bit of that other stuff.
8/10
Arrived a bit after doors (5pm is quite early for a weekday show in Tokyo- it's almost always doors at 6, show at 7, but then again most shows don't have 2 opening bands), mucked around for a bit, and was slightly late for the first band, MUCC. I must say that a metal band incorporating some electronic/dance-y music wasn't nearly as unexpected as the harmonica that came out (and not in some slow, quiet, folky song, either!). Bizarre. 9mm Parabellum Bullet left as little an impression on me as the last time I saw them open for another band, and I don't really remember much other than their very poofy hair (but I still remember that QotSA lead from when they opened for TSP... gar).
TSP came out around 8, opening with Freak, which I'd missed at Summer Sonic, followed by another Hummer (haha, get it?). First new song since SS came in at Bleeding the Orchid. The new Cure-y Eye had some audience sing-along at the end, doing "lalala"s along with the descending scale lead. I was kinda hoping for some thirds during that dual-lead bit, but oh well.
As soon as Gossamer started, I checked the ol' clock to mark the length- and was quite surprised when, after a solo-y/noodly section, the song ended without going back into the ascending main riff. What's that? Only 17m? Huh. Apparently that's about the length they've been playing it lately. Which meant I didn't end up getting impatient for the song to end, as I did in '07 & '08, but instead felt almost unresolved afterward. Guess that's song evolution. Evolution, evolution. What will it do to you? Tee-hee.
A Stitch In Time was done solo acoustic, with Nicole on backing vocals. 1979 seemed to have a slightly modified bridge (the "lights & sounds below" section), a bit slower & quieter than normal- can't remember offhand if they did it the same way at the other 2 shows or not. After that, he apparently either overheard someone in the audience say "Kuso!" (shit), and decided to repeat it, or just decided to use it on his own after nearly playing the first note from Today again, much to everyone's amusement (he apparently already knew what it meant).
During Tarantula, there was a bit of improv fail- after the soloing, right at the pause before coming back in before the last "we are the real" section, he apparently signaled to Mike to do a 1-beat hit, but instead everyone else resumed the song instead, leading to a bit of "No, no, I wanted to do this!" and laughing. Of which there was more, during the United States encore- after the big spacey Star-Spangled Banner (complete with teeth-playing), back in the main groove, Billy does the big rock star jump, lands wrong, tumbles over onto his back, gets up & starts laughing some more. Who says the guy's a constant grouch?
8/11
Came inside early enough to not miss any of Acid Android, followed by 凛として時雨. And hoo-ly shit. I never thought I'd hear a band whose voice annoyed me more than Neil Young's, but boy, was I ever wrong. "Loud wails and screams" indeed. Try a YouTube search for the sadistically curious.
This show marked the public debut of My Love Is Winter, which sort of reminded me a bit of Don't Let Me Down-style Beatles, although I don't know if that'll stick through multiple listens. After that was a major treat with Tristessa- the second full performance since 1994, and another check on my theoretical "songs I've heard live" list.
Disarm was fairly straightforward, with Jeff playing the cello part with an EBow. After that Billy played a few similar chords and went "oooh, ooh, oooh", then berated the audience with "Rainbow! Doesn't anyone know Rainbow? OK, who knows Richie Blackmore? Deep Purple? Ronnie James Dio?" Jeff teased another 3-note riff, which as of yet remains unidentified.
There must have been some technical difficulties during United States, as I overheard a "before I electrocute myself" somewhere in there. After that, he decided to introduce himself with "My name is Akibono [sic]", and did a couple sumo poses. Once the ukulele came out again, he held it up as if to start playing it with his teeth, prompting much laughter. His verbal announcement of the title, as well as a check on the night's setlist reveals that the song previously known as Baby is (now) called Tallulah Lu.
And then came the big SP joke moment of the evening. After the encore break, he announced a very special guest, Becky! Only he pronounced it weird, like Beck-eh, leading to some confusion until a girl in a red polka-dotted dress came out and waved at everyone, prompting more confusion than surprise or amazement, it seemed. Granted, it wasn't actually the real Becky (a local celebrity who's appeared in numerous commercials & TV shows, sings, etc.), but she looked enough like her that it seemed to fool most of the people there (esp. from farther away).
So "Becky" proceeds to tell everyone (in Japanese) how she's always been a big TSP fan, and she's been feeling a little fat lately, and it's not just summer bloat, so she thought she'd make a special announcement tonight: she's pregnant! And it's Billy's baby! At this point Billy acts surprised and denies it, she fumbles around in her purse and pulls out a home pregnancy test, and he finally says "No, no way. You need to leave." only to call her back once she's reached Nicole, give her a hug, and get the crowd to cheer for her. Once she's gone he asks "OK, now who else wants to have a baby with me? Let's go for two! Three!" Sadly, the Pumpkins Sense Of Humor isn't only lost on Americans, as there was very little reaction to the whole thing (aside from a couple of loud "Really?"s at the beginning). Although I would have to say that it wasn't quite as bad as the Halloween show "joke". Oh, Billy- you and your wacky humor. I wonder if the real Becky has heard of her "appearance"- so far nothing on her blog (google translation)...
Anyway, that about wraps it up! I hope to have these shows up soon. Still getting used to the LMA process... Overall, these were some good shows. The crowd was quite into all the songs, singing along to all the singles, even "WOO!"ing at the beginning of the Teargarden songs, etc. Now, let's hope it doesn't take another 10 years for them to come back!
Yep, it's time once again for some more reviews from Tokyo (now smiley-free! :P"")!
I won't write all that much about the sets this time, since they're already listed on spfc, and recordings will be coming up soon (Summer Sonic Tokyo is up now), so a little bit of that other stuff.
8/10
Arrived a bit after doors (5pm is quite early for a weekday show in Tokyo- it's almost always doors at 6, show at 7, but then again most shows don't have 2 opening bands), mucked around for a bit, and was slightly late for the first band, MUCC. I must say that a metal band incorporating some electronic/dance-y music wasn't nearly as unexpected as the harmonica that came out (and not in some slow, quiet, folky song, either!). Bizarre. 9mm Parabellum Bullet left as little an impression on me as the last time I saw them open for another band, and I don't really remember much other than their very poofy hair (but I still remember that QotSA lead from when they opened for TSP... gar).
TSP came out around 8, opening with Freak, which I'd missed at Summer Sonic, followed by another Hummer (haha, get it?). First new song since SS came in at Bleeding the Orchid. The new Cure-y Eye had some audience sing-along at the end, doing "lalala"s along with the descending scale lead. I was kinda hoping for some thirds during that dual-lead bit, but oh well.
As soon as Gossamer started, I checked the ol' clock to mark the length- and was quite surprised when, after a solo-y/noodly section, the song ended without going back into the ascending main riff. What's that? Only 17m? Huh. Apparently that's about the length they've been playing it lately. Which meant I didn't end up getting impatient for the song to end, as I did in '07 & '08, but instead felt almost unresolved afterward. Guess that's song evolution. Evolution, evolution. What will it do to you? Tee-hee.
A Stitch In Time was done solo acoustic, with Nicole on backing vocals. 1979 seemed to have a slightly modified bridge (the "lights & sounds below" section), a bit slower & quieter than normal- can't remember offhand if they did it the same way at the other 2 shows or not. After that, he apparently either overheard someone in the audience say "Kuso!" (shit), and decided to repeat it, or just decided to use it on his own after nearly playing the first note from Today again, much to everyone's amusement (he apparently already knew what it meant).
During Tarantula, there was a bit of improv fail- after the soloing, right at the pause before coming back in before the last "we are the real" section, he apparently signaled to Mike to do a 1-beat hit, but instead everyone else resumed the song instead, leading to a bit of "No, no, I wanted to do this!" and laughing. Of which there was more, during the United States encore- after the big spacey Star-Spangled Banner (complete with teeth-playing), back in the main groove, Billy does the big rock star jump, lands wrong, tumbles over onto his back, gets up & starts laughing some more. Who says the guy's a constant grouch?
8/11
Came inside early enough to not miss any of Acid Android, followed by 凛として時雨. And hoo-ly shit. I never thought I'd hear a band whose voice annoyed me more than Neil Young's, but boy, was I ever wrong. "Loud wails and screams" indeed. Try a YouTube search for the sadistically curious.
This show marked the public debut of My Love Is Winter, which sort of reminded me a bit of Don't Let Me Down-style Beatles, although I don't know if that'll stick through multiple listens. After that was a major treat with Tristessa- the second full performance since 1994, and another check on my theoretical "songs I've heard live" list.
Disarm was fairly straightforward, with Jeff playing the cello part with an EBow. After that Billy played a few similar chords and went "oooh, ooh, oooh", then berated the audience with "Rainbow! Doesn't anyone know Rainbow? OK, who knows Richie Blackmore? Deep Purple? Ronnie James Dio?" Jeff teased another 3-note riff, which as of yet remains unidentified.
There must have been some technical difficulties during United States, as I overheard a "before I electrocute myself" somewhere in there. After that, he decided to introduce himself with "My name is Akibono [sic]", and did a couple sumo poses. Once the ukulele came out again, he held it up as if to start playing it with his teeth, prompting much laughter. His verbal announcement of the title, as well as a check on the night's setlist reveals that the song previously known as Baby is (now) called Tallulah Lu.
And then came the big SP joke moment of the evening. After the encore break, he announced a very special guest, Becky! Only he pronounced it weird, like Beck-eh, leading to some confusion until a girl in a red polka-dotted dress came out and waved at everyone, prompting more confusion than surprise or amazement, it seemed. Granted, it wasn't actually the real Becky (a local celebrity who's appeared in numerous commercials & TV shows, sings, etc.), but she looked enough like her that it seemed to fool most of the people there (esp. from farther away).
So "Becky" proceeds to tell everyone (in Japanese) how she's always been a big TSP fan, and she's been feeling a little fat lately, and it's not just summer bloat, so she thought she'd make a special announcement tonight: she's pregnant! And it's Billy's baby! At this point Billy acts surprised and denies it, she fumbles around in her purse and pulls out a home pregnancy test, and he finally says "No, no way. You need to leave." only to call her back once she's reached Nicole, give her a hug, and get the crowd to cheer for her. Once she's gone he asks "OK, now who else wants to have a baby with me? Let's go for two! Three!" Sadly, the Pumpkins Sense Of Humor isn't only lost on Americans, as there was very little reaction to the whole thing (aside from a couple of loud "Really?"s at the beginning). Although I would have to say that it wasn't quite as bad as the Halloween show "joke". Oh, Billy- you and your wacky humor. I wonder if the real Becky has heard of her "appearance"- so far nothing on her blog (google translation)...
Anyway, that about wraps it up! I hope to have these shows up soon. Still getting used to the LMA process... Overall, these were some good shows. The crowd was quite into all the songs, singing along to all the singles, even "WOO!"ing at the beginning of the Teargarden songs, etc. Now, let's hope it doesn't take another 10 years for them to come back!