First let's view the contrasts between this show and their last New York appearance. Last time was a free outdoor concert in a picturesque setting, staged on 7/7/07 at 7 pm with 77 drummers. It was essentially a sun worship ceremony which took place next to the river in Brooklyn, between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges. The band was also in the center of a circle of mass-audience for that event. This time, four main Boredoms played onstage (attended by a very diligent guitar tuning technician) in a huge indoor venue, vaguely resembling a maximum security prison, on a quite regular, early Spring evening, with tickets priced at $30. Two towering levels of balcony, running 3 of the venues 4 walls, contributed to the prison feel and made the event seem almost futuristic as well. In both situations the Boredoms were completely in control of the vibe from the offset. In both situations the band was able to teleport the audience to other dimensions and tap into the primordial forces of the universe.

The beginning of the show at Terminal 5 had Yamataka Eye, wearing some sort of light bulb mittens and scatting glossolalia towards the roof of the venue while passing his glowing hands through the energy field of some insane modified theremin, which issued forth harsh and beautiful edgy tones. This was followed by some awesomely choppy drum punctuations, more yelling in some alien language, then crescendoed until Eye's special 7 necked guitar instrument, dubbed Sevena was introduced.

This custom instrument was similar to the one used in last summer's "drum orgy", but was actually made of one solid body, like 7 guitars melted together. It was an improvement on an amazing concept, which creates a mammoth and ethereal sound in various odd tunings. This "percussive guitar" is played with thick sticks or else various staffs of different weights and made of different materials. The previously mentioned tuning tech spent the whole night tuning and retuning these guitar necks all night while Eye beat the living hell out of them. It seemed a Sisyphusian task for which this bloke deserved props. By the end of the show, the instrument was in total disarray, after some heavy climaxes, which left many a string broken and flying in every which direction.

Eye's presence throughout the whole night was epic. He truly is channeling some heavy shit. At one point he did the "rock and roll thing" where he encouraged all in the room to do the overhead clap to a steady beat. It felt like one thousand poly-rhythms at once and I saw him smile a very curious smile. He beamed completely and his face morphed into that of the Buddha. I swear I saw him for about 5 seconds in an incarnation which was more than human. I was further impressed, at the end of the spectacle when i noticed him limping off stage in a foot-boot-cast. Hardcore! Eye, along with the rest of his crew, has tapped into some cosmic space. He seems to be a medium, a messenger. They all are. The Boredoms are deeply spiritual and have a particular affinity for Sun Worship. On this particular night, using their drums, voices, triggers, turntables, synths, percussive guitars, samplers, cowbells etc. as vehicles, they tapped into the night energies, exposed the beauty of dark matter, and reflected the natural element of the human, bouncing their sound vibes off the audience.

The drumming was the part which truly floored me. Compared to the drumming of the "77 BOA DRUM" performance, the beats were more ferocious and fleet-of-foot: unencumbered by the extra weight of the 74 mortals who helped them out last time. There was times where the three drum kits in unison where churning out beats which seemed to me impossible. How could three humans interact so precisely and soulfully with such complicated patterns of poly-rhythms. I found myself screaming the "F" word uncontrollably as a reaction to my disbelief, while dancing, twitching and shaking my head like I was possessed. The rhythms were incredibly danceable, certainly tribal, and often had no frame of reference. I would consider some passages of their two hour set to be "alien rhythms". Drummers, Yoshimi, Senju and Yojiro all deserve "superhuman performance awards" as well. In his 2004 article about the Boredoms in the Village Voice Jason Gross, with a scholarly approach, dissected the art and origins of Boredoms drumming, "At times, the result evokes Taiko drumming, marching bands, funk, Latin disco, or gamelan and West African drum ensembles: Many Japanese today embrace the religious idea of syncretism, where many different beliefs are accepted at once..." This statement from 4 years back is still relevant, but I feel that the drumming mastery has come even further since. There are more influences mixed in and greater intensity: more improbable beats which work to lube the mind and open the heart.

In this era of war and ecological crisis, it is important for shamanistic groups like the Boredoms to exist. Most people are thoroughly disillusioned with institutions. In this scenario, sacred musical events can and should act as bridges between the people and the higher powers. Meaningful ceremony in our culture has been replaced by the ceremony at the end of the reality TV show when one unfortunate contestant is sadly sent home. Artists and musicians are magicians and provide portals for the imagination. The Boredoms are the most adept at bridging this gap. They are now and have been considered hip. The fact that they are channeling spiritual potency legitimizes feelings which are often dismissed. Something is brewing in the Zeitgeist. I recently attended an underground music event in Brooklyn, with hundreds of folks in attendance, mostly college aged. The bands were of the metal, dance punk and avant garde ilks. Before the first band kicked off, we enjoyed a solid hour of Grateful Dead hits. In between each band that night was heavy dub reggae. Before the Boredoms was 30 minutes of Mbira (African Thumb Piano) music through the house PA. I feel something going on. I remember when the Grateful Dead was the kiss of death for cool kids. Ha ha ha ha!

words by Matthew Clark

thanks to Trent Wolbe for the photos...check out his Flickr and homepage for more....

for the nerds...
Boredoms U.S.A. • Spring 2008

* 15/Mar/2008 (Sat) : SAN DIEGO, CA Cane's
* 16/Mar/2008 (Sun) : LOS ANGELES, CA Henry Fonda
* 18/Mar/2008 (Tue) : SAN FRANCISCO, CA Fillmore - in the round
* 20/Mar/2008 (Thu) : PORTLAND, OR Crystal Ballroom
* 21/Mar/2008 (Fri) : SEATTLE, WA Neumos
* 25/Mar/2008 (Tue) : MINNEAPOLIS, MN First Avenue - in the round
* 26/Mar/2008 (Wed) : CHICAGO, IL Logan Square - in the round
* 29/Mar/2008 (Sat) : BOSTON, MA Paradise
* 30/Mar/2008 (Sun) : NEW YORK, NY Terminal 5 - in the round
* 02/Apr/2008 (Wed) : PHILADELPHIA, PA Starlight
* 03/Apr/2008 (Thu) : WASHINGTON, DC 9:30 Club

The event took place in Empire-Fulton Ferry Park, at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge. A panoramic view of Manhattan with the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges towering above and framing the park, between the swift river flowing, and the ruins of a crumbling tobacco warehouse, the bright sun and puffy clouds made the spiraling configuration of drum kits and central stage feel dreamlike cast against the green grass. The stage was set with three drumkits, microphones, tone generators, samplers and most importantly a series of brightly spray painted "percussive guitars" which Eye would sometimes strike violently with a large blue staff, or create quieter, playful melodies with drum sticks. The guitars were apparently homemade creations and were mounted vertically, facing Eye on a tall stand. They transmitted huge walls of sound, especially in combination with 154 cymbals smashed in unison as Eye conducted his wild symphony. At times he smashed his staff over and over onto the guitar necks, as 77 drummers obediently took his cue to bash both cymbals on their stripped down kits perfectly in time. Some of the guitar smashes were epic not unlike a monster slam dunk. Honestly, Eye reminded me of Michael Jordan in his prime as he jumped and flung his whole body into the strike.

Eye took on the role of sorcerer. From the moment he first wielded his Shiva Trident to grab the drummers attention, after a controlled chaos where all drummers let loose a barrage of percussion (77 simultaneous drum solos), it was clear that he was master Wizard, mountain Rasta, and cosmic Japanese shaman. Small in frame but huge in vision and stature, he seemed to be not only guiding the 77 drummers but also the clouds and sun, the buses and trains crossing the bridges, and the boats floating by. The spiral became the center of the universe from 7:07 pm until about two hours later when the piece concluded, leaving most present speechless or disoriented. Besides the "percussive guitar" Eye coaxed the boa-drum along with echo laden vocalizations, and by triggering samples and tones. At one point the spiral of 77 drummers washing on their cymbals was brought to crescendo after crescendo with the massive sound of a tsunami crashing slowly, issued forth from a sampler or synth.

Percussive figures began on stage simply and spread one drummer at a time throughout the rhythm-beast until it reached the tail, and then a new pattern would begin from the center. Amazingly the piece never sounded disjointed or off-track. A core of 17 "drum captains" had practiced with the group for two days preceding the event, whereas the rest of the drummers learned the piece in segments during soundcheck. Nobody had ever heard the piece in it's entirety until it happened for real. It was trance music, of the ilk found in tribal cultures by anthropologists. It was a primal vehicle for transport. The audience circled around the performers, the four Boredoms on a low square stage with 8 speakers pointing out from the corners. Folks were asked to sit, for the ease of all present to see. As the trance took hold, groups of folks gravitated towards the river in a dance frenzy. One fellow on acid was rubbing dirt and gravel into his skin while dancing with his shoes on his hands. God bless him. Let's hope he made it back OK.

It was a feel good event that left many speechless. My one friend told me he almost cried twice. And he's a tough dude. The only bummer of the day was the disproportionate capacity of the event to public interest. A wonky RSVP system didn't quite cut it, as many thousands were turned away from this free show and forced to either watch from the bridge or listen from the river bank next to the park. Plenty of videos have surfaced on YouTube and other sites, as well as photo sets on Flickr, despite requests that all image capturing was done in the first 7 minutes of the event. All the videos I have seen make the thing sound disjointed and chaotic which it wasn't. A DVD and CD of the event are rumored to be in the works, as the next official Boredoms release. Hopefully that can convey the amazing surge of energy that took place on that auspicious day.

Cool Video Online

Jason Bergman's Photos on Flickr

photos by Jason Bergman (visit his blog here)

text by Matthew Clark

Acid Mothers Temple audio

The Acid Mothers Temple is one of the most epic bands in this "Japanese Psyche" history and are incredibly prolific in creating recordings as well as in creating permutations of themselves. Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O, Acid Mothers Temple & The Cosmic Inferno, Acid Mothers Temple & The Pink Ladies Blues, Acid Mothers Gong (featuring members of psyche supergroup Gong), and Acid Guru's Temple (with Mani Neumeier from Guru Guru) are some of the many incarnations of the Acid Mothers Temple soul-collective. When asked if the band lived as a commune in Japan, which I had heard previously, AMT guitarist Kawabata Makoto replied thusly (which can be found in the FAQ section of their website)...

"Over a decade ago I became involved with a commune of Japanese beatniks and
hippies, but the whole left-wing ethos didn't really sit right with me. The members of
Acid Mothers Temple have several houses all over Japan, and each of us is free to come
and go between these houses. So we're not a commune in the sense that all of us live
together in the same place. There are some members who like to travel, others who stay at home. Everyone is free to live in whatever way they like. Our slogan is "Do Whatever You Want, Don't Do Whatever You Don't Want!!". As a result of this philosophy, we have lost money and the trust of society as a whole, but we've gained time and freedom..."

Anticipation was high for the bands first ever visit to Charlottesville at the Satellite Ballroom on April 22, 2007. A friend had told me she saw the AMT play for six hours in Japan until the sun rose, in 2006. For this tour Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. were Kitagawa Hao (voice, thermin, hot spice & alcohol) Tsuyama Atsushi (bass, voice, cosmic joker) Higashi Hiroshi (synthesizer, guitar, dancin'king) Shimura Koji (drums, latino cool) and Kawabata Makoto (guitar, speed guru). Upon my arrival to record the show I was told by the house sound engineer that the band would be incredibly loud. Nice one!

The opening act (and suppliers of a gorgeous backline as well) were Mammatus from Santa Cruz, California.
Mammatus is a heavy-stoner-psychedelic band that bring West Coast vibes and killer riffs. The band exhibited Spinal Tap-esque stage moves and sported goofy mumus, communicating with the audience only through their music and echo laden talk-back mic. This is evidence that they don't take themselves too seriously, which is refreshing. They do however take their music seriously and it is seriously heavy music. Check out their newest release, "The Coast Explodes" on the esteemed Holy Mountain label.

The Acid Mothers Temple took the stage with total command over the moment, the crowd, and their own weirdness, which is completely natural to them. There was no trying in anything they did. It was all simply doing. The set ranged from full-on grooves with guitar leads soaring above to spacey noise to a cappella Japanese folk chants to vocalizations hinting upon throat singing. The band was simultaneously tight and laid back. As was forecast earlier, the stage volume was loud-as-hell, but not to the detriment of the overall sound. The full sonic delivery was enveloping and brilliant.

Each band member conveyed their own individual brilliance without straying from the communal vibe of the music. Bass player, Tsuyama Atsushi who celebrating his birthday during the show, supplied much lightheartedness and pleased the crowd with his sporadic vocalizations of gibberish and rock solid bass foundations. Kitagawa Hao's theremin often came in sounding, at first like vocal feedback, then morphed into a cosmic sonic shimmer. Her vocals and feminine presence balanced all the raging cosmic dude energy on stage. Band leader Kawabata Makoto gave the most outlandish performance, sometimes swinging his guitar wildly in circular orbits by the strap and sometimes holding it by the neck and bending it with the resistance of the ceiling or hanging PA speaker. His solos and wails were expertly accompanied with flying hair and awesome rock moves.

The most curious aspect of the show was the audience's reactions to the music. The scene was bizarre. One guy was tweaking and pinching his nipples, eyes closed in ecstasy. Another guy was constantly hugging himself tightly, as if in a straight jacket, shoulders dancing wildly like waves, once again eyes closed in ecstasy. Someone else was in a kilt. Two dudes in the back of the room stomped about wildly and ran circles throughout the whole room. One of these guys was wearing a little sailors cap and seemed ready to fight a bull. There was plenty of typical head-bobbing and swaying, fists in the air, and even head-banging but the weird reactions of the few fused with the music to make for a wholly entertaining spectacle.

Finally, a visit to the AMT merch table capped the night off with more fun and laughter. Kawabata was selling one of his broken guitars signed and decorated with cosmic symbols (missing a neck...perhaps from some on stage guitar spinning) along with a t-shirt for $400 dollars. A signed pair of drum sticks were on sale for $10 dollars. About 50 different CD's were available for purchase, including dozens of AMT member's solo albums and side projects, a few different LP's, and a trippy t-shirt. In all ways the band comes across as cosmic jokers and masters of paradox. They are as heavy as they are light, as serious as they are funny, and as cosmic as they are human.

Please enjoy this exclusive Monkeyclaus recording of Acid Mothers Temple and Mammatus direct off the board (and with an ambient room mic) at the Satellite Ballroom.

"I have seen UFOs on many occasions, but I don't like to draw any links between UFOs and aliens or spacemen or any of that shit. I only see them as mysterious and impossible to understand phenomena." Kawabata Makoto

words and recording by Matthew Clark

live photos by Chris Makarsky

photo of Kawabata Makoto and child in a field from AMT website

Japanese eclectic rockers z0o0o0m describe their live show as "super happy excited." They taunt audiences with outlandish photos. A woman singing, nearly swallowing a microphone and arched into a full back bend. A man jumping awesomely with a guitar. A ridiculously configured drum kit. In following up tours of Japan with acts such as Lightning Bolt and USAisaMonster, z0o0o0m brought the party to American soil. Their live show, recently in Charlottesville , Virginia manifested as something beyond expectations. It was a veritable orgy of manic goodness. Shirtless dudes, pounding fists on the floor and writhing in bliss with zombie face paint. Frenzied fashionable ladies with zombie face paint. It was a crystalline lysergic utopia distilled in the moment, which lasted only so long as the Kyoto trio raged on.

z0o0om is comprised of Nakasima (standing drums, vocals, harmonica) I.K.D. (drumkit) and Tokuhiro (guitars and vocals). They release from their exploding heart chakras the unified sound of oblivion. Nakasima unleashes a fury of frenzied vocal chants in Japanese, distilled thru some odd effect pedal I've never seen the likes of before. Her rhythms from the standing drum kit mesh perfectly with the uber intense drumming of Mr. I.K.D. Tokuhiro is a master of ethereal tonality, brandishing a vast arsenal of pedals, while still surging the vast forward impetus into their driving sound. z0o0o0m is completely captivating.

If it requires a plane ticket to Japan you must see z0o0o0m before you leave the planet. Perhaps patience and hope are all you need. They will return. In the meantime I can highly recommend their new CD "Eight my Heart". Recommend for lovers of rainbows and herbal remedies. According to Mr. Brian Chippendale of Lightning Bolt, "zOoOoOm build a dreamlike world populated by howling banshees, gleeful child fairies, guitarists who weave soundflags to fill its sky and a pulsing beat making creature who propels you always forward." Believe!

z0o0o0m's radical website