Sep 25, 2009 (15 years ago) Annandale Hotel Annandale, New South Wales, Australia
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Shonen Knife, Annandale Hotel, September 25 2009
It was left to I Heart Hiroshima to warm the crowd immediately before the band of the rising sun.
The bounding Brisbane trio, showcasing songs from their new album The Rip, were an exceptionally endearing entre, with their banter and songs splendidly chipper. This atypical bass-less three piece craft such great buzzing blasts of songs, and with the variety provided by the twin boy-girl vocal fronts are engaging to the end and even urged the crowd to push forward and fill every last space for Shonen Knife.
The Osaka-hailing trio took to the stage proudly displaying their own banners, before taking their positions and launching into a song / welcome mostly comprising “Konnichiwa, we like to rock”. It was probably one of their more complex lyrics.
Shonen Knife are more about the infectiously frothy, purely effusive blasts of music – that borrows equally from The Ramones and The Ronnettes - than any great insightful verse. While the words – delivered in English that could best be described as ‘broken’ – concerned such trivial matters as BBQ parties and wanting to go to a sushi bar; the demeanour in which is was delivered was irresistible.
For the next hour the gals, sporting identical flouro dresses and tights, send cheesy rock-poses, big-grins, sparkling eyes and fringes-a-flying. We get a diversion into a heavy metal chick song – ala Judas Priest or Motorhead - ‘Bubble Hell’, and a Carpenters cover. The band announces “we are having very fun” and so were we all. And as a final treat, the daftly silly confection of their most adored song ‘Banana Chips’. Irrepressibly awesome.
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