Gig review: Shonen Knife

Published on Tuesday 11 May 2010 19:06

SHONEN KNIFE **** KING TUT'S, GLASGOW

THERE'S a certain novelty in hearing a petite Japanese girl state her admiration for British 1970s heavy metallers Richie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio, and then watching her demure band grind through a loud, sludgy pastiche of that genre. J-Pop trio Shonen Knife aren't some kind of novelty act though, they're a first-rate pop group in their own right.

For nearly 30 years, this band (the name means Boy Knife) have been mashing Western rock, punk and girl group styles together with their own Osakan aesthetic. Introduced to a transatlantic audience by the patronage of hipster outfits like Nirvana and Sonic Youth, the Knife's approach has remained fresh over the band's career – as has their last remaining founder member, singer and guitarist Naoko Yamano, who will be 50 this year but could easily pass for half that.

Showcasing songs from their last but one album Super Group (the last, Free Time, hasn't yet been released in the UK) and wearing the colourful tunic-and-trousers uniforms from its cover, the band played a set characterised by manic, gleeful energy. Bassist Ritsuko Taneda grinningly devil-horned every other song, recently-drafted drummer Emi Morimoto leaped on to her seat to top off a human pyramid shape during the rumbling Pyramid Power, and Yamano introduced an encore cover of Wings' Jet as being "by one of my favourite artists". It was both loveable and glorious, much like her band.