DEVOlution Live!

Friday night, July 30th, 2010 was the night that DEVO brought their comeback tour to The National in Richmond, Virginia for a night of eye-opening music and an audio/visual lesson in devolution. DEVO's been a band I've always wanted to see live, and I knew I couldn't miss it. The night was absolutely amazing!

With a huge digital display behind them, the show was every bit as visual an experience as it was a rock concert. The screen flashed stunning animated sequences, classic DEVO footage, and entrancing abstract images that assaulted your eyes and brain with images of a world gone mad....

Song wise, the audience got a great mix of songs consisting of new material (Fresh & What We Do) and classic, (Jocko Homo, Uncontrollable Urge, and my favorite DEVO song, Gates Of Steel) all delivered with DEVO's well known sarcastic wit and commentary....

There's a ton of amateur video from the show, but YouTube user gungabee has some especially good footage....

For the encore, Mark Mothersbaugh decided to grab a ladder along with his microphone during Freedom Of Choice ...

And closing the night, the mysterious man-child Booji Boy joined the band for an amazing rendition of Beautiful World....

"It's a Beautiful World we live in, a sweet romantic place..."

It was a great show that left everyone more than satisfied, After the concert, a crowd hung out outside, talking and laughing about the great night they had. Meanwhile, around the corner, the band crew loaded up the equipment into a rented semi heading for the next town to spread the important message of Devolution....

Linda Linda Linda Is My Favorite Film...

With each viewing of Nobuhiro Yamashita's brilliant 2005 film, Linda Linda Linda, the more I have to conclude that it's gradually become my absolute favorite film...

The movie is a breezy slice-of-life story about a hastedly assembled student rock band that finds itself only three days to perfect their set of music for their schools annual cultural festival. The camera follows around these four young ladies as they practice, deal with school, practice, experience awkward relationships, practice, overcome their shyness, and practice some more. It really is that simple a film, and the results are delightful.

The musical crux of the film is the legendary Japanese punk band The Blue Hearts. Their signature song, Linda Linda, is considered a classic and something of a karaoke staple in Japan. In the film, the band has decided to cover three songs by The Blue Hearts, but don't have a singer....

...until they meet Son. Son's a painfully shy exchange student from Korea with a limited Japanese vocabulary, but she loves the music of The Blue Hearts so much that she can't turn down the offer to sing in the band.

Son is played by Korean actress Bae Doona (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, The Host, & Air Doll to name a few films) and she wins you over instantly. She has several great scenes in this movie where she barely even speaks, relying solely on facial expressions and body language that make Son a very real person.

As Son becomes more comfortable in her unexpected role as a singer in a punk band, she makes a subtle transition from an introverted wallflower to a young woman who's finally found where she wants to be. It's powerful and inspiring to hear her belt out rock n' roll anthems while holding on to the microphone for dear life.

Much like real life, this film moves along at it's own quiet and deliberate pace. The characters are all wonderfully likable people. You really want the best for the band as they struggle to achieve perfection in the form of a three minute punk rock song. Their journey becomes yours, and the payoff is as thunderous as it is uplifting.

As I mentioned earlier, I've watched this movie more than once. It's become a movie that I return to again and again. Sometimes I start to watch a favorite scene, and wind up watching the whole thing again anyway. I guess you could call it cinematic comfort food. With this in mind, I must declare Linda Linda Linda as my favorite movie.

An interesting aside: for the making of Linda Linda Linda, the cast learned the music themselves (Bass player Shiori Sekine is a real-life member of the terrific band Baseball Bear) and played live shows as a bonafide rock band! Here's a video for their cover of the classic Blue Hearts song...

Poly Poly Poly Polysics @ The Rock & Roll Hotel: Feb. 16, 2010!

When the tour dates for POLYSICS' North American tour were announced, I instantly fell into a transfixed state of excitement over making a mini-pilgrimage up to DC to see one of my favorite bands.


But the anticipation took a somewhat bittersweet turn when a major announcement was made on their official website. Keyboardist and vocalist Kayo had decided it was time to pursue a normal life and follow her own dreams outside of Polysics. After this tour and their upcoming sold-out show at Budokan, she would no longer be in the band. With this news, it became clear that going to this show was no longer a whim, but a priority. Plans were made and tickets were bought, and earlier this week, the day finally came…


Okay, first of all, The Rock & Roll Hotel is not a hotel, they just thought it was a cool name for a club. It's a small place, with the show capacity listed as only 400 people. It's fascinating to think that back in Japan, Polysics packs huge halls and plays to giant crowds, but over here, their shows are smaller and more intimate affairs. On one hand, I wish the USA would get with it and embrace this band on a bigger level, but on the other, more selfish hand, I got to enjoy the band with only a few other dedicated fans.

After the opening band finished, the members of Polysics started rolling out their own equipment. They had a couple of helpers, including their tour manager, but this was not an entourage you'd associate with a band that's headlining Budokan in a few days. They had their famous straight-bar glasses off, and were all business as they set up. As frontman Hiroyuki Hayashi set up his microphone, he was singing along with A-Ha's hit "Take On Me" playing on the sound system. Then they left the stage and got themselves mentally ready to rock. The tour manager stepped up to Kayo's mic, introduced the band, and the four of them sprang back up on stage in full POLYSICS mode! The show was on!


If you're familiar with Polysics' legendary stage show, then you have some idea of how it went. The songs came at the audience fast, loud, and full of impossible to resist energy. It wasn't long at all before Kayo pulled out her famous golden pom-poms and was jumping on one foot to "Peach Pie On The Beach". And before anyone knew what hit them, Hiro was practically right up in the audience with with guitar, and at one point stuck his butt out and shook it in the crowd and encouraged us all to give it a spank. Who can pass up that offer? I managed to give his skinny ass a firm pat before he darted over to the other side of the stage…

The band ripped through a virtual greatest hits collection of songs that the crowd around me seemed to love as much as I did. The set also scattered around much of the newer stuff from "We Ate The Machine" and the most recent album "Absolute Polysics". (Here's the awesome setlist) Audience participation was pretty much required, be it spinning around for "I Me Mine" or jumping jacks for "Baby Bias", and everyone did their best to keep up. The band was both tight with musical precision and yet completely all over the place at the same time.


Fumi rocked the bass and kept the timing with master-drummer Yano flawless and pounding. Hiro was the maniac we all love. I can't figure out how he manages to handle his guitar while jumping up and down like he does. He even took a few moments to make amazing swipes at a theremin nearby! And then there was Kayo, adding wonderful layers of synth to the whole thing, and delivering her trademark vocals with robotic flair. One thing I realized during the show, when Kayo has those glasses on and looks out at the audience, you feel like she's staring right through you!

After the show was over, we went upstairs because we heard that they would most likely join us later. A small group of us hung out and made new acquaintances. There was a fellow named Mark, with a perfect homemade Polysics uniform and his gang of friendly folks. He had flown all the way from England to see them in Akron, Ohio as well as the DC show. He's blogging about his experience over here!


There was also a crew of people who flew over from Japan for this show! These were the truest Polysics fans you could hope for. They drew Polysics logos in the condensation on the windows as we waited for the band to come out, and at last, they did!



When I got home, I realized that I didn't get a decent photo of Yano on my card! #$@#!, sorry Yano!

The members of Polysics are just some of the nicest people you could be lucky enough to meet. All of them signed autographs, posed for photos and took time to talk a moment to everyone there. One special moment I got to observe was when the Japanese fans greeted Kayo. There was this wonderful quiet moment when they bowed to each other, and you could really see the pure joy in the fan's faces when they were taking photos with her. I enjoyed that as much as I enjoyed the show. It really made the trip worthwhile.



As for myself, I wanted to create something to give to Kayo since she's leaving the band, and made a little 4.5" square drawing of her. After I made that, I thought, "why not make one for the whole band?" and there you have it. I threw these together at the last second, and with no time to scan them, I shot this quick photo.

I gave each member their own mini-portrait in a sealed envelope and encouraged them to open it later. I'd like to imagine that perhaps they forgot about them for a second, and maybe came across the envelope when they got home and opened it…



Anyway, it was a great night. I'm just completely honored that I got to see one of their last shows with Kayo. The other members of Polysics intend to stay together and continue as a three-piece, and I look forward to hearing what they'll do next. I also hope that maybe we'll get an occasional glimpse into what Kayo's up to.

So to the band and all the great fans I met, TOISU!

Five Days of Shonen Knife: Day Five - Live Knife!

November 13th, 2009 was the day that Shonen Knife, one of my favorite bands of all time, came to my town and delivered a night of blistering rock n' roll that left me an even bigger fan than I already was. What an awesome night!


Answering the call to rawk....


As you can see, the little point & shoot camera I brought along wasn't really up to the task of taking pics of the action. Oh well, I guess you could argue that my blurry photography fit the spirit of the moment anyway...


Naoko may always be a humble music fan in her heart, but years of touring and recording have made her a true rock star. She really engages the crowd and clearly loves to play music. She was terrific to watch.



Bass player Ritsko and drummer Etskuo really do carry the Shonen Knife torch proudly. They absolutely fit into the band perfectly and really captivated the crowd with an infectious enthusiasm! Plus, they're top-notch musicians.


For us old-school fans, there was a very special treat. Atsuko, Naoko's sister, and Shonen Knife's original drummer (later bassist) was there! She joined the band on the last leg of the tour, and came up on stage for the encore!


The show went by so fast! It was a great night of good vibes, positive energy, and rock n' roll!


My friend Chip had the foresight to take a photo of the set-list. Thanks Chip!


It was a good feeling to see the band signing the posters I made! The posters were a big hit it seems. I had several people approach me and tell me they liked them, and that was very gratifying. Just before the show, Shonen Knife's super-cool tour manager, (and a multi-media whiz in her own right), invited me behind the scenes and the band thanked me too!

I gave the band members some candy, including Jujuy Fruits, Whoppers & Swedish Fish, and then proceeded to forget everything I intended to say to them. I mostly just smiled and nodded. :)

The band, Atsuko, and their tour manger were wonderfully nice and friendly people. Truly the most sincerely kind rock stars I've ever met.


My loot from the night, including a broken drumstick and an official Shonen Knife workout towel! (Everybody needs one) I also brought along the CD insert from one of Shonen Knife's early USA releases specifically for Atsuko to sign.


All in all, an amazing night that I'll never forget. I spent the evening with some true icons, and it was a gloriously satisfying experience I have to say. I don't know when they'll tour North America again, but I can tell you that I will definitely go wherever they play next time around.

Thank you Shonen Knife, for renewing my faith in rock n' roll.

How Do I Choose The Films That I Watch?

So awhile back a movie-loving friend of mine was making small talk and asked me "So have you seen those Bourne Movies, what did you think of them?"

I just shrugged and replied "Naw, I've never seen any of em', actually."

"Really?" he said with sincere surprise, "I figured you would have seen those by now, they're pretty good"

And so I explained the way watching films works in my world...

"Look man, it's like this, I can only see but so many movies in my lifetime. I have to make choices, and if I have to choose between Matt Damon jumping around rooftops and a 1970's Japanese nunspoiltation pinky-violence flick, the movie with the crazy nuns is going to win."

With only a limited amount of time in my life, it's become clear that I have no time to waste on movies that don't mean anything to me. I have to be picky and seek out films that will deliver what I want. So what movies do I want to see?


I want to see films that challenge me and the way the world looks to me. I want to see films that take me to places far away, from small towns in America, to small towns in China. I enjoy movies that take me back into a time before I was born and give me a peek into a context I've never understood, and I enjoy movies that are happening right now in the moment.

I look for movies that are overlooked and neglected, that barely saw the inside of a theater and wound up being passed around on badly dubbed videotapes.


I want to see movies that are funny, sometimes laughing at the subtleties of life, and sometimes finding humor in low-brow places. I want to see movies that were made by the seat of the pants, and movies that were works of self-indulgent love.

I want to see films that are heralded as classics. Some of these classics are wonderful examples of what the medium can do, but some are classics because they do everything wrong. I love films that are beautiful and uplifting, and yet feel drawn to pathos and sadness.


Seeing a film is somewhat like going on a trip, seeing things you've always wanted to see, and discovering things that never occurred to you. Often this takes you to far away places, and sometimes right next door. All that matters to is that I go somewhere.


As I said, I have to get a little picky about what movies I watch, I have so many to see and so little time to see them. This doesn't mean that somebody else's choices are below mine, if Transformers does that for you, that's okay. We all need to decide what's right for us.

So what you look for in a film, and what do you want it to do for you?

Rob Ullman Gets Lurid In An Atom-Bomb Bikini....

So I'm counting myself among the incredibly fortunate people to get their mitts on an early copy of illustrator Robert Ullman's first hardback collection of pin-up art, Atom-Bomb Bikini!


Rob does the sexy pin-up thing in a style all it's own, and cooks up some delicious cheesecake that's bound to get any red-blooded male's (or girl, it's all cool with us) temperature up. You're pretty much guaranteed a eye-popping, sweaty good time as you lust over the pages of good and bad-girl hotness!

Rob's got a cool style that's his own, but gives a nod of respect to other masters of the craft. My favorite images in here are a couple of terrific Jack Kirby tributes with a babealicious twist. Oh, and Rob's a big hockey fan, so if that's your bag, you're gonna love this book. My other personal faves in here are the rough sketches he shares with us, giving you a window into his creative process. The whole package is a groovy 64 page tome of babe-worshiping art in lurid full color!


So what do you have to do to get a copy of this book? Well, the most immediate thing you can do is hop on over to Rob's blog and you'll see the details there. Another option is to get your ass to San Diego's ComiCon and meet the artist in person! (Table P-10, in the small press section where the cool people hang out). And if you live in Richmond, Va., drop by his book signing on August 1st!


Atom-Bomb Bikini Blog

Robert Ullman's Twitter

Girls Meet Jazz in SWING GIRLS!

Shinobu Yaguchi's terrific 2004 film スウィングガールズ, aka Swing Girls (That's the Korean poster above) instantly became one of my favorite movies before I was even quarter way through watching it. It's a simple little film that wins you over with it's upbeat tone, physical comedy, and the absolutely charming cast headed up by the delightful actress Juri Ueno.




Swing Girls is the story about a high school student named Tomoko and her summer school classmates. Tomoko lacks direction and the motivation to complete anything she begins. Her friends are pretty much the same, with minds set on materialism and karaoke.

None of them want to spend their summer trapped in math class, and through chance, (and largely due their slack efforts) the girls happen into being pressed to form a band by fellow male student Takuo. Takuo is tired of being in a marching band, and wants to play some swingin' jazz...



Along the way an epiphany comes to Tomoko and the girls. They realize they love jazz music, and when their services are no longer required, the void left behind becomes something to motivate them. And so the Swing Girls are born...




From here on it's pretty familiar movie territory. Our underdog girls struggle to polish their craft and hone their group into a tight jazz unit. An unlikely mentor tenatively approaches them, and helps instill the heart and soul that the band needs to finally break through to their potential. Naturally the girls set their eyes on a major concert event, and work hard to get on the bill...




I'm not exactly giving away anything revelatory here. Yaguchi's film doesn't have any interest in breaking new ground and you can pretty much guess how this story plays out. What you do have is a movie that is so wonderfully endearing and good-hearted that you can't help but be taken in and captivated. The cast is completely likable and has you cheering them on to succeed and come out on top.

The film is beautifully shot and the details on the screen are rich and colorful. The other thing that makes this film work so well is the comedy, mostly physical and often visually hilarious. Swing Girls is a winner all around, and it's a nice break from much of the considerably darker material that's out there in Japanese cinema.



Of course if you're going to have a movie with a band, you need music, and that's where the film really gets impressive. Director Shinobu Yaguchi is well-known for his commitment to realism and accuracy in his films. All of his movies are preceded with through research and training where needed.

Every single girl in this film actually learned to play the instruments they used in the film, and by time the movie was finished, they were a true swing band in every sense of the word. When the Swing Girls perform in this film, every note you hear came from them.


This film was a such a huge hit in Japan, that the Swing Girls (and boy) were brought together to perform a few live concerts, which they delivered with the same joy and enthusiasm you see it the film. C'mon, how cool it that?



Trailer for Swing Girls here.
A news story about the film here.
More concert footage here!