MELT-BANANA DETONATES THE BLACK CAT IN D.C.!!!!

Agata of Melt-Banana at the Black Cat on 11/04/2013.

The Black Cat is a pretty neat venue, connected to a nice little cafe on the side downstairs. Apparently there is both an upstairs, and a downstairs stage- but this show was downstairs- so I have no idea what the atmosphere upstairs was like- downstairs is a decent small stage, perfect for the up close and personal show experience. It has a relaxed vibe, you can do what you like: stage dive, crowd surf, mosh, chill, whatever. The stage is at a sorta sideways angle. I thought that stages placement in the room was a little bit odd- but regardless, a nice setting to see them in.

    They had a fun opening act with Brain Tentacles- a noise project consisting of sax and drums (the one and only Dave Witte of Municipal Waste actually, who has also drummed with Melt Banana in the past!)- I've seen Melt-Banana like 4 or 5 times now- and sometimes the opener may be cool- or may be something I'm (no offense to the opener) simply waiting for to be over so I can see the headliner. With Brain Tentacles, this was not the case- they were a highly interesting fit and one of the best opening acts to have been before Melt-Banana that I've personally witnessed in a while. It was a short set and very experimental and kinda free jam, with some looping rhythmic sax, followed with leads over top and all sorts of time and tempo changes, I hope these guys come out with some recordings- it was a really neat experience.

Yako of Melt-Banana at Black Cat on 11/04/2013.

We might as well go ahead and address the issue that is concerning to their fans and people who have seen the band previously versus now: yes they are a duo now, with computerized drums and bass instead of session musicians; fear not my friends, what seems like a huge change is actually not slowing these two down at all. Its incredible they could still put on the show they do with the exact amount of power and sustain their special vibe with just the two of them, it was nothing short of another incredible adrenalin rush. Not one ounce of energy from  them doing it as a duo was lost. Agata and Yako are the creative core, so you can't go wrong when its just the two of them. Part of what makes Melt-Banana so great is there ability to constantly surprise their audience; new tricks from a seemingly endless bag of their uncompromising originality.

Yako truly knows how to command the room with her presence, as soon as she waves her hand as they kick into the first song of the night the room explodes, people are just crashing into people in the most gloriously fun way possible! Her voice and personality have always been a dominant feature in what makes the group so special, there has never been anyone else quite like her. Agata rips into the first chord, and the sheer volume of the room feels like a musical bomb has just went off, your ears sorta hurt; yet you like the way it feels, you know its going to be a great night ahead. The room has just transitioned from a state of calm anxiousness into the human-monster-truck show; kids are piling onto each other like cars and just gliding on each other to the high voltage mayhem occurring before them. It's pedal to the metal from here on, the band has total control of everyone now, and your going on the most insanely fun ride a concert has put you on in who knows how long. Sure, your knees and shins are going to hurt tomorrow from getting pushed into the stage, but it's totally worth it. Watching Agata up close and personal work his guitar laser-gun scratching magic techniques and foot pedal collage of creative brilliance is one of the most innovative and impressively coordinated moments in punk rock music history. 

MxBx packing em in like sardines....

As far the set-list is concerned, they did some great chunks of Cell Scape: "Shield for Your Eyes, a Beast in the Well on Your Hand", "Lost Parts Stinging Me So Cold", and "Chain-Shot to Have Some Fun" to name a few. Slices of Bambi's Dilemma:"Blank Page of the Blind", "Cat Brain Land", "Cracked Plaster Cast" and some others. I definitely remember they threw in ,"Spastic" from the ,"Charlie" album, plus their usual crammed mini-set of super-short songs. The picture of this room during the series of short songs crammed together is phenomenal. The room continually crammed into a tight lop-sided ball before exploding apart for roughly 20ish seconds or less about ten times in a row to the likes of ,"His Name is Mickey" and, "Stick Out". They did a huge chunk of material of their new album! They did the first two opening tracks, "Candy Gun" and "The Hive" the blaring raging, "Red Data, Red Stage", the undeniably catchy stop-start sensation of, "Schemes of Tails", and the highly danceable and irresistibly catchy closer on the album, "Zero". Some bands stray away from doing a lot of new material live, worrying if the audience hasn't had a chance to hear the new album or hear it enough to the point that they'll not be familiar enough with the it to have a connection, but they did at least half of it if not more. However, Melt-Banana always dares to be bold and original, and instead of shying away from new material they find ways to present it that are fresh and exciting, and simultaneously familiar since its still embodied in their trademark sound.

Agata blows minds for a living....

    At the end of the show, I stayed parked at the stage with the other fans, all anxious to talk to the band. Their guitarist Agata remembers me from Chapel Hill NC (he seemes to recall the homemade sweater I have) and he smiles and goes, "Hey! Chapel Hill right!?" I asked them to sign posters I had made from pictures I took of them at a previous show last time they toured the U.S. Yako and Agata were totally surprised, I don't think they'd had this particular request before; it was a really neat moment, there reaction was truly priceless. They aren't just an amazing band, they always treat the fans with respect. They never turn people away who want to talk to them or ask for an autograph at the end of the night. Melt Banana puts on a killer high-energy show every time, they are always ahead of the curve, and have the the most unique take on punk that anyone could ever have to offer with a sound that is truly and completely their own. Jello Biafra has a spoken world album called, "I Blow Minds for a Living"..... Melt-Banana could easily lay claim to such a statement as this themselves.

Melt-Banana blow the roof off Shaka's in Virginia Beach!!!!

Agata of Melt-Banana @ Shakas.

I recently saw recently Melt-Banana (a noise-punk/rock band from Tokyo, Japan) for the third time at Shaka's in Virginia Beach. Not to mention what could be better than some neat local bands opened up for them? That's right- Geneva, Pan Galactic Straw Boss, and Primitive Impulses all opened the show, which made for a nice a variety of openers all pulling from different styles. Though all the opening acts were great, I feel Geneva stole the show when it came to the three local opening bands!

Geneva @ Shakas.

Melt-Banana are incredible live, the energy is always a dominant force in their performance and along with their originality and totally unique sound. With Agata's unique laser-gun-like guitar effects, and Yako's yelping spitfire vocal attack, the band is kind've like punk rock from Mars. Agata's guitar effects frenzy and slide techniques galore in all his punk rock power chord fury combined with Rika's rocking bass as the backbone of the rhythm section and Yako's incredible commanding bark of a voice is both highly entertaining and strong and they have never failed to make my blood pump and speed my heart up while witnessing what they do.

Yako of Melt-Banana @ Shaka's.

Watching Agata play is amazing. He is so precise and also chaotic. His performance contains seemingly limitless energy, but it's not just random outbursts of energy; it's controlled energy! Melt-Banana controls the energy, just when you think it can't get any more intense; they make it blow up even more in the most inexplicably awesome way!

They did a lot of material from Cell Scape & Bambi's Dilemma, while not excluding highlight moments like: "Free the Bee, and "Lost In Mirror" from Teeny Shiny and some killer tracks from Charlie: "Circle-Jack (Chase The Magic Words, Lego Lego)", "Spathic!", and "Stimulus For Revolting Virus". Though I knew what to expect seeing them again, every time I see them they manage to blow the audience away every time. It is no wonder they've been a band for 19 years! I can't wait for their new full-length album to kick off sometime in I believe early to mid-2012; of course they've made no official announcements as to when just yet, this is a rough estimation).

Getting my copy of Cell Scape autographed.

I was lucky enough to meet them yet again; got autographs and the pleasure of their guitarist recognizing me and my homemade Melt-Banana hoodie from the last two times I've seen them in Chapel Hill. To have a band you truly admire remember you as a person and not simply another countless fan approaching them is truly an honor. He Said, "Hey! From Chapel Hill, right? I'm like, "Yeah!!!!"

Meeting Yako after the show.

I'm so glad they played close to home in Virginia Beach and they didn't have to drive to Chapel Hill again to see them, though I would have! They put on an amazing show at Shaka's and had everybody in their excited on their feet and jumping around; as always it was a really memorable show. If you ever have the chance to see them, do it! It doesn't get any more intense than getting to watch them up close.