Osaka, Japan's Boredoms are one of the most celebrated experimental bands of the last 20 years. Their music has shifted from strikingly original noise to something of an amalgamation of kraut-rock, electronics and throat-singing. However, percussion has always anchored them. This was certainly the case Thursday night on a rare live appearance at the 9:30 club.
The first opener, Black Pus (ex-Lighting Bolt), was able to get a lot out of just drums and distorted vocals. If he'd been on for more than 30 minutes, he would have overstayed his welcome, but it was impressive to hear Lightning Bolt's core streamlined even further beyond drum and bass.
Second opener Soft Circle was a bit of a disappointment. Former Black Dice member Hisham Bharoocha made some disappointing choices for his live show, despite an excellent debut album "Full Bloom." His songs were based around looped beats he drummed over and occasionally added vocals.
Despite some excellent drumming and a few great samples, many of the beats turned into cheesy Caribbean duds. It's great to see a talented musician experimenting with new directions, but hopefully Bharoocha can find a more successful way to go.
By the time Boredoms began their set, all memories of the openers disappeared and for close to two hours, Yamatsuka Eye and company showed why they are a complete singularity in the world of rock music. The arrangement consisted of three drummers in a circle, with Eye wandering about the stage exploring his vocal cords, electronics, glowing orbs and beating on a seven-necked guitar tower.
Eye began the set in the middle of the drum circle, chanting and swinging two orbs that created a noise akin to a plane swooping overhead. After a few minutes, the other band members joined in and the drums began to propel the music in all sorts of directions as Eye took the role of ring leader.
The first track, which extended to 55 minutes and was mostly based around the tribal sounds of 1998's "Super Ae" and 2000's "Vision Creation Newsun." However, there were both new and old elements that showed the vitality of Boredoms, a band that has never stuck with the same sound for more than a year or two.
The band didn't hesitate to embrace the noise which suited them so well, not only early on as Boredoms, but in various side projects, including one of the harshest bands of all time: Hanatarash. Eye erupted into violent and painful screams unexpectedly, while finding unlimited ways to alter them, never making the same sound twice.
At the same time, there were novel elements to the sound that showed promise for a proper follow up to "Vision Creation Newsun." Most notably, the seven-necked guitar contraption created a wonderful effect, which allowed Eye to modulate the wall of sound coming from the drums and create transient overtones.
After the monstrous first track, the final two tracks were slightly more subdued and different enough to warrant each being another 30 minutes. The drums found a more groove-based approach that made the music danceable and a little bit more reminiscent of Boredoms offshoot OOIOO.
Yoshimi P-We, one of the founding members of both Boredoms and OOIOO, took a more prominent role in the last two tracks. Switching between her drum kit and keyboards and even trading vocals with Eye, she showed that this is certainly not a band driven by just one creative force.
While the Boredoms are not a band for everyone, they have garnered an impressively wide range of fans for music that is so challenging and abstract. This was certainly displayed at the 9:30 club, where they were able to captivate a city generally content with derivative garage rock bands and jazz retreads.
