SHONEN KNIFE + THE KUT – THE CON CLUB, LEWES 16.4.23
We were all set to head on out to The Con Club in Lewes on Sunday 3rd October 2021 as local promoters Love Thy Neighbour had secured a booking with the famed Japanese pop-punk band Shonen Knife but sadly the pandemic had other ideas. Thus the date was rolled over to Sunday 17th April 2022 and we were all geared up for the new concert date, but no covid was still rife and travel from Japan was obviously limited. We patiently waited for a new date…..It arrived Sunday 16th April 2023 and all systems were go!
Thus 560 days later than planned the Brighton & Hove News Team made our way to the excellent venue located just south (ie up the hill) from Lewes Castle. Not surprising, tonight’s concert was a sell-out and the punters were drawn from all walks of life and the variation of those young and old gathered here tonight was I guess an indicator of Shonen Knife’s general appeal.
The all-girl trio was formed in Osaka in Japan way back in December 1981 by sisters Naoko Yamano (vocals and guitar) and Atsuko Yamano (drums) along with their friend Michie Nakatani (bass).
When Shonen Knife initially started, the band was something of an anomaly as they were coming in at a time when all-female bands were scarce. They totally ignored the then-rising, early J-Pop movement and instead began crafting their own blend of energetic rock songs rooted in rough instrumentation and do-it-yourself ethos.
The trio emphasize positivity using catchy, upbeat melodies and frivolous, carefree lyrics that often are about the things that they like such as food and tennis. The group describe their music as “oo-oo-ultra-eccentric-super-cult-punk-pop-band-shonen-knife!”
It was in 1991 that Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain famously stated after seeing Shonen Knife live that “When I finally got to see them live, I was transformed into a hysterical nine-year-old girl at a Beatles concert.”
Shonen Knife’s positivity and bouncy demeanour means that they win fans wherever they play. If they could bottle their feel-good factor they would all be immensely rich. You can’t help smiling all the way through a Shonen Knife set, especially when the ladies try to converse with us in English, it’s so endearing. They speak and folks’ hearts are warmed by them and tonight is no exception.
Their 68 minute commenced at the allotted 8:30pm slot and they left us all feeling much better for wear at 9:38pm and in plenty of time to grab our transport back home.
I found myself absorbed into their sugar candy coated world so much so that I kept forgetting to make some notes. Not all of the songs were introduced and although we have a photograph of their setlist, it is actually in Japanese, so anyone that can assist with the correct setlist for this evening would be greatly appreciated.
They took to the stage to an instrumental track and then they were off. All three of them share vocal harmonies, with lead vocals switching between the two sisters, but they do let drummer Risa have the spotlight on one of the numbers. Tonight, we are told is a celebration of their 40 years as a band and the songs that they selected are a reflection of this.
The band currently still consists of:
59 year old Atsuko Yamano is on our left (stage right) and she proudly informs us that she created the band’s red, yellow and blue outfits this evening and hoped that we liked them. Everyone approved, but that’s not surprising as Atsuko is also a fashion designer. Interestingly, when the band first started, she was their drummer, but made the switch to bass when the third founding member Michie Nakatani departed back in 1999. Michie has now retired from music. Atsuko’s birthday is on 22nd February and she likes The Beatles, Kiss and the Ramones and also plays tennis and enjoys drawing and shopping and eating spicy food.
62 year old Naoko Yamano is on the opposite side of the stage (our right) and she, like her sister, both look much younger than they actually are, it’s incredible really. Surely it can’t be their diet of all the food that they write songs about? Naoko is the primary songwriter and is the only member of the band to have remained throughout its entire history. Her sister had been on drums from 1981 to 2005 and then bass from 1999 to 2006, and then again from2016 to the present, as well as the occasional touring bassist between 2007 and 2016.
Naoko informed us that the ladies had a swift walk around the town during the support’s soundcheck and that they loved the castle and would love to return to Lewes and see the castle and no doubt play for us all again. Naoko’s birthday is on 18th December and she likes 70s hard rock and plays tennis and enjoys drawing and shopping and eating sweets.
Completing the trio at the back of the stage is Risa Kawano who has been on drums since 2015. Her birthday is on 22nd March and she likes the Ramones and System Of A Down and enjoys reading and playing games and eating sweets.
The Lewes crowd were treated to a career spanning set made up of mainly fast toe-tapping numbers that lasted around three minutes each. The band had a vast amount of options when choosing songs to play as they have released more than twenty albums. It seemed that these ladies just really love to play to their adoring fans as they were continually smiling virtually all the way through their set, especially the younger drummer Risa. If I had smiled that much, my cheek bones would have been aching by the end of the night.
