Recently I’ve been checking out the underground live music scene in Tokyo, and it’s decidely more extreme and entertaining than the rinky-dink J-Poop you see on TV.
Yesterday I witnessed punk band The Jet Boys (presumbably named after Elton Motello’s twisted punk classic, “Jet Boy Jet Girl”), who screamed and bounded around the stage like amphetamine junkies. Their encore featured their deranged acid-blond carnival geek of a singer stripping nude, pouring a carton of milk over his head, playing the guitar with a large radish (and grating it with the guitar strings), before pissing into a hat and putting it on his head.
Now there’s a performance I’d like to see Ayumi Hamasaki emulate on TV.
These kind of outrageous antics have been performed in the past by the likes of G.G. Allin of the Murder Junkies, but curiously enough, unlike the maniacal G.G. Allin, the Jet Boy’s singer was actually extremely shy and polite when I spoke to him after the show.
Similarly incendiary are The Ed Woods, named after the legendarily inept transvestite director of the classic “so-bad-its-good” movies “Glen or Glenda” and “Plan 9 From Outer Space”. These guys are horror-movie afficianados and their flyers and backdrops feature images from trashy films films like “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and “The Burning.” They dress up in blood-splattered overalls and straw hats, like inbred redneck zombies, and play music not unlike The Cramps.
(They’d be good for a Halloween party).
When I last saw them perform live, the double-bass playing singer stripped off, poured a bottle of shampoo all over his hair, jumped off the stage and slid across the floor on his head, then slid back again until his head smashed into the stage. Talk about showmanship!
And yet, that guy is very friendly and courteous in person, too.
I just feel sorry for the poor bastards who have to clean up after these shows.
“Ed Woods homepage”
“Jet Boys Homepage “
(pics from their websites)
No comments:
Post a Comment