OOIOO
Empty Bottle 3/21/07
It’s not every day that one is privileged enough to see a band like OOIOO, a five piece Japanese experimental rock band headed by the famous Yoshimi P-We (birth name Yoshimi Yotoa). Yoshimi has made many great contributions to music; playing a historical part in the development of modern Japanese rock music, which ranges from projects like Yamatsuka Eye and UFO or Die to Boredoms. (It’s no wonder she inspired the Flaming Lips album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, which is now being made into a musical.)
Though she sings and plays drums in Boredoms, Yoshimi takes more of a lead role in the all female band OOIOO. At the forefront of the stage, she sang, played guitar, and trumpet with a quality that matched a tight Deerhoof set. This was also a much different experience than seeing her play with Boredoms at last summer’s Intonation Music Festival in Chicago. That memorable performance involved a transcendent but fairly lucid sense of floating music enhanced by the outdoor setting. The Empty Bottle’s smaller setting contained the songs more but the style of music is also a bit different. Though heavier on the drums than a typical contemporary rock band (there were two drummers following Yoshimi’s lead), the drums were still much less of a relative presence than Boredoms. The main focus for the majority of the Boredoms’ set had been precisely the drumming supplemented at times with Yoshimi’s ethereal voice creating a sound bordering on an ethereal cry and a screech to suggest she was channelling some world beyond the one beneath our feet.
In contrast, the other instrumentation in OOIOO helped create a balanced but different sort of set. Singing with OOIOO, she also didn’t draw out her vocals to the same degree as with Boredoms but there was still almost a duality between pleasure and pain in the way her expressive voice interacted with the audience. In the same way when you can’t tell whether a facial expression is more indicative of laughter or tears, her voice called out to us in different degrees. When her voice transmitted through the sound waves to reach us in full intensity, it was the equivalent of feeling an actual spark as if noise and music in and of itself could start a fire. Though the music at time transformed the space into the aural equivalent of a chaotic jungle, overall it held a more structured and accessible rock sense to it. It definitely felt unique and special. Being bombarded with the energy, it was difficult not to feel a real impact and become an active listener.
There was also a strong visual presence with not just Yoshimi but the other band members who dressed in matching white dresses. Yoshimi carried herself with the grace that matched the sheer delicate fabric she wore. She also interacted well with the audience, talking a little in Japanese with several fans. One sensed she was really in her element and the bass, drums, guitar and backing vocals of the other members made for an entirely full sound saturating the air. After playing a long and captivating set, they returned to the receptive audience and stage to play a two song encore at the request of adoring fans.
April 6th, 2007 at 6:03 pm
Much appreciation for both your pictures from the OOIOO show, as well as for your concert report. I’m disappointed I missed them live (again!), but their albums are really truly sublime. I might be a blasphemer, but I think I listen to OOIOO more than I do Boredoms! I did get into OOIOO thorugh Boredoms, but OOIOO have a different feel and take different risks with their music that it grabs me more often. I was glad that the ‘Lips gave her so much props and “airtime” with their album, because she deserves it and a lot more. Uh, this was a total geek-out, but I get excited when I find another OOIOO fan!
Best,
Wendell.