Lost Prophets
Feb 8
Namba Hatch, Osaka
Welsh rocking five-piece newcomers.
Formed in the Welsh town of Pontypridd (also the
hometown of Tom Jones) in 1997 the Lost Prophets
got their big break after being spotted and
championed by UK rock magazine Kerrang. In fact
only last year they won Best Band and Best British
Band at the Kerrang awards.
Their original debut album was in fact only
intended as a demo, but was later rerecorded for
general release. This and the following two albums
Start Something in 2004 and Liberation Transmission
in 2006 all received commercial success and
a good mix of reviews.
Mixing a number of genres into their music (punk,
rock, garage, indie, goth) it has appeal to a wide
audience and to look at they hardly strike you as
your average rock band. The lead vocalist would
probably sit more comfortably in a Goth group and
the rest of the band appear quite misfit to the
scene (with some striking resemblance to the Jam).
Appearances can be sometimes deceiving, but
what isn't, is the fact that they have just played a
sold-out UK winter tour and their following seems
to be ever-expanding. A new band on the scene
that are going to be around for a long time to come.
Time: 7pm • Admission: ¥6,500
06-6341-4506 • Genre: Rock
Deftones
Feb 17
Club Quattro, Osaka
Grammy award-winning Californian rock/metal
Californian alternative metal band widely regarded as one of the
most innovative and unique rock acts of recent times as well as being
described in Time magazine as furiously intelligent lyrically. Vocalist
Chris Moreno sights his influences as Morrisey, Robert Smith (The
Cure) and David Gahan (Depeche Mode) among others. An unlikely
bundle of inspirations for a metal band to follow, but all are subtly
evident in Moreno's vocal style.
Starting out at a time when metal and rock fans in the US were
listening to the likes of Motley Crue and Bon Jovi, they had tough
beginnings whilst playing local venues. But as time and fashion moved
on they eventually found their success in the early nineties. In 1994,
after impressing the co-chairman of Maverick Records at a club in
Los Angeles they were offered a deal on their terms (something
almost unheard of for a new band). Their debut album Adrenaline
was released in October 1995 and went gold as did the next three.
The band's latest album Saturday Night Wrist (apparently describing
that feeling of waking up after a heavy night drinking to find yourself
with a numb wrist from sleeping on your arm) was released last year
and on the back of this the band has been touring heavily (with Korn).
On recording the album bassist Chi Cheng said ‘It lived up to every
rock cliché, the singer disappeared, producer and singer clashed,
songs were written at the last minute'. Aside from these mishaps
though Cheng goes on to say that ‘We're in a better place than we
have been in a long time'.
Time: 6.30pm/9.30pm ¥7,000-¥9,000
06-6342-7722 • Genre: Jazz Vocal
Brian
Auger
Feb 9
Big Cat, Osaka
Veteran B3 Hammond
specialist.
Brian Auger,
quite aptly
dubbed ‘The
Godfather of
Acid Jazz', has
been an inspiration
to fellow musicians for four decades; from
Herbie Hancock (‘His technique is awesome and
the amount of energy he generates is unparalleled
and relentless') to The Beastie Boys (‘Those who
remain oblivious to the obvious delights of Brian
Auger's Oblivion Express do so at their own risk').
Brian Auger's great talent in jazz, pop, r&b, soul
and rock has seen him tour with Eric Burden, Led
Zeppelin, Rod Stewart, Jimi Hendrix and Sonny
Boy Williamson. A B3 Hammond specialist Brian
formed the band Steampacket with Judy Driscoll
and Rod Stewart in 1965. In the early seventies he
formed the first incarnation of his Oblivion Express
and through that decade released eight hit albums.
The eighties saw Brian delve in to production and
in the early nineties he went on tour with ex-Animals
vocalist Eric Burden.
Now as he approaches the ripe old age of seventy
Brian has put together a new Oblivion Express, a
line-up comprising bassist Derek Frank as well as
Auger's own siblings, daughter Savannah Auger on
vocals and son Karma Auger on drums.
Whether you're looking for something nostalgic
and reliable or something that sounds and feels
fresh and contemporary Brian Auger's Oblivion
Express easily satisfies both needs.
Time: 7pm • Admission: ¥6,800
06-6233-8888 • Genre: Acid Jazz/Rock
Yo La Tengo
Feb 23
Big Cat, Osaka
US Indie-Rock three-piece with
a devout following.
 Usually a band name tells you a
lot about not just about the
band as a collective but sometimes
the individuals. Yo La
Tengo - what's that all about
then? In 1962 during a New
York Mets baseball game, center
fielder Richie Ashburn ran for a catch whilst shouting to his fellow
fielder, Venezuelan Elio Chacon, ‘I got it, I got it'. Unfortunately Chacon
only spoke Spanish and the heavyweight Venezuelan ran straight in to
Ashburn. From there Ashburn learned to say ‘I got it' in Spanish, which
is ‘yo la tengo'. So what do we learn about the band after an explanation
of where the name came from? Well, not a lot apart from the fact
that vocalist/guitarist Ira Kaplan is a huge New York Mets fan.
The band was formed in the early eighties by Kaplan who is married
to the band's drummer Georgia Hubley (daughter of renowned Disney
animators, John Hubley and Faith Elliott Hubley).
Since their debut album in 1986 Ride the Tiger, the band has had
fantastic reviews but mediocre sales. But this hasn't put them off, and
famed for their huge repertoire of covers every year the band play live
on a New Jersey radio station as part of an annual charity fundraiser.
In 2006 the band put out a double album of takes from these radio
shows spanning eight years.
Their latest album released in September of last year I Am Not Afraid
of You and I Will Beat Your Ass was described in Entertainment Weekly
as ‘shaggy, dreamy, cuddly, and explosive' and to be honest this is a
pretty good description of their music. The album contains some gems
including the ten-minute jaunt of ‘Pass The Hatchet, I Think I'm Godkind'
with its hypnotic rhythm, guitar feedback and vocals that are
almost lost in the overall sound; it's a real dreamy head-nodder.
If you're out looking for something a little different then Yo La Tengo
is the band for you.
Time: 7pm • Admission: ¥6,000
06-6535-5569 • Genre: Rock
Live Listings February
Kenny Garrett Quartet
2/1 @ Blue Note, Osaka
6:30pm/9:30pm • ¥5,500-¥7,500
06-6342-7722 • Jazz Sax
Corinne Bailey Rae
2/1 @ Club Quattro, Osaka
7pm • ¥6,000-¥6,500
06-6281-8181 • Female Vocal
Panta
2/3 @ Taku Taku, Kyoto
5.30pm • ¥5,500-¥6,000
075-351-1321 • J-Rock
Shigeko Suzuki
2/2-3 @ Blue Note, Osaka
6:30pm/9:30pm • ¥6,400-¥8,400
06-6342-7722 • Jazz, Female Vocal
Angra
2/4 @ Namba Hatch, Osaka
7pm • ¥8,000 06-6233-8888 • Metal
Teddy Geiger
2/5 @ Big Cat, Osaka
7pm • ¥5,800-¥6,300
06-6341-3525 • Singer-songwriter
Snow Patrol
2/5 @ Club Quattro, Osaka
7pm ¥5,800 06-6535-5569 • Indie
McCoy Tyner Trio
2/7 @ Blue Note, Osaka
6:30pm/9:30pm • ¥6,400-¥8,400
06-6342-7722 • Jazz Piano
Loudness
2/7 @ Club Quattro, Osaka
7:30pm • ¥5,500-¥6,000
06-6281-8181 • Metal
Lost Prophets
2/8 @ Namba Hatch, Osaka
7pm • ¥6,500 06-6341-4506 • Rock
Tool
2/8 @ Zepp, Osaka
7pm • ¥7,000 06-6233-8888 • Rock/Metal
Original Love
2/9 @ Namba Hatch, Osaka
7pm • ¥5,250-¥5,775
06-6233-8888 • Shibuya-kei
Brian Auger
2/9 @ Big Cat, Osaka
7pm • ¥6,800 06-6233-8888 • Acid Jazz, Rock, B3 Hammond
Donavon Frankenreiter
2/13 @ Big Cat, Osaka
7pm • ¥6,000 06-6535-5569 • Singer-songwriter, US Roots Music
Jet
2/14 @ Zepp, Osaka
7pm • ¥6,500 06-6535-5569 • Rock
A Hundred Birds Orchestra
2/15 @ Namba Hatch, Osaka
7pm ¥4,000 06-6233-8888 • 15-piece orchestra
Deftones
2/17 @ Club Quattro, Osaka
6pm • ¥6,500-¥7,000
06-6281-8181 • Rock
Tropical Jazz Big Band
2/19 @ Blue Note, Osaka
6:30pm/9:30pm • ¥5,400-¥7,400
06-6342-7722 • Jazz, Big Band and Latin
Hiromi Iwasaki
2/20-21 @ Blue Note, Osaka
6:30pm/9:30pm • ¥6,400-¥8,400
06-6342-7722 • J-Pop Vocal
Albert Hammond Jnr.
2/21 @ Club Quattro, Osaka
7pm • ¥5,500-¥6,000
06-6281-8181 • Rock
Jurassic 5
2/22 @ Club Quattro, Osaka
7pm • ¥6,500-¥7,000 06-6281-8181 • Hip-Hop
Yo La Tengo
2/23 @ Big Cat, Osaka
7pm ¥6,000 06-6535-5569 • Indie Rock
Fallout Boy
2/26 @ Namba Hatch, Osaka
7pm • ¥6,200 06-6535-5569 • Rock
Helen Merrill
2/26-27 @ Blue Note, Osaka
6:30pm/9:30pm • ¥7,000-¥9,000
06-6342-7722 • Jazz, Female Vocal
Richard Bona
2/28 @ Blue Note, Osaka
6:30pm/9:30pm • ¥6,000-¥8,000
06-6342-7722 • Jazz Fusion, Bass
Phoenix
2/28 @ Club Quattro, Osaka
7pm • ¥5,500-¥6,000
06-6281-8181 • French Indietronic-pop
Compiled by Phillip Jackson |
