Isis
The hypnotic Pink-Floyd enthusiasts defeat the pigeonholers
According to guitarist/vocalist Aaron Turner, California-based Isis came about “as a result of the dissatisfaction with past bands of the founding members.” He goes on to explain that “None of us were happy with what we were doing musically… we had similar tastes and similar record collections.” Isis formed in the late ‘90s, and by 2000 debut album Celestial was released through Escape Artist Records, its avant-garde drone-heavy sound winning acclaim in the US underground. Subsequent tours alongside the likes of alt-rockers Cave In, and pioneering post-metalers Neurosis gave them national exposure–something Turner has said the band is not overly comfortable with: “[Fans] taking a deeply personal interest in who I am, it fucking freaks me out.”
Isis’ latest album, 2009’s seven-track Wavering Radiant, is dense and hypnotic rock, but defining its sound has thrown the world’s critics. “Pin a single label, style, adjective on Isis and it slips right off” was the response from the typically authoritative online magazine Pitchfork. Find out what all the fuss is about, as the band arrives in Japan at the tail end of a tour that has seen them play concerts as far flung as New Zealand and Australia.
Mar 3 @Club Quattro, Osaka, From 7pm, ¥6,000. Tel: 06-6535-5569.
Galactic
Soul food from the home of Jazz
Within the realms of mainstream music, New Orleans jam band Galactic is a hard act to categorize. Over the last sixteen years, their organic funk sound has evolved into a contemporary blend of jazz, rock, blues, electro and hip-hop, arriving somewhere near New Orleans Mardi-Gras-fuelled dance subgenre ‘Bounce’, which itself has origins loosely rooted in US southern rap. The band is a prolific collaborator, working with an army of New Orleans underground MCs and musicians both rookie and veteran, with a knack for placing them outside their usual genres, or how the band puts it, “putting a picture in a different frame.”
Galactic’s latest album Ya-Ka-May (a play on words of New Orleans soup Ya Ka Mein), released in February, is the follow-up to 2007’s breakthrough-of-sorts From the Corner to the Block, whose success carried the band onto US festivals and TV appearances. Ya-Ka-May continues the guest artist theme, with New Orleans musical pillars such as Irma Thomas, Allen Toussaint and the Rebirth Brass Band featuring among lesser-known hip-hop artists Cheeky Blakk and Katey Red.
Mar 26 @Club Quattro, Osaka, From 7:30pm, ¥6,000. Tel: 06-6535-5569.
Europe
Melodic Swedish poodle rockers go full circle
 It was 1986 when Europe released classic glam-rock album The Final Countdown, from which the single of the same name, with its unforgettable rock opera keyboard riffs, has been immortalized as a definitive ‘80s stadium anthem. The band went on hiatus in 1992, emerging ten years later with album Start from the Dark, then 2004’s Secret Society and 2009’s Last Look at Eden.
On Europe’s future, vocalist Joey Tempest confirmed the band will be active for at least the next few years. In an interview with EspyRock, he said: “We’re gonna keep working at this rate we’re working at, which is pretty good. We’ll probably come out with an album in 2011 and tour in 2012 again… in the next five years I see Europe with two more albums, two more world tours and hopefully having established ourselves even better in a lot of territories around the world.” We guess that includes Osaka.
Mar 28 @Namba Hatch, Osaka, From 5pm, ¥7,500/¥9,500. Tel: 06-7732-8888.
Joe Henry
Legendary shape-shifting troubadour
Since debut album Talk of Heaven (1986), US singer songwriter Joe Henry has established himself as an evocative, introspective musician and producer whose cult status stems from an ability to redefine his sound with every release. His extremely well regarded production skills have revived the careers of soul singer Bettye LaVette, and Solomon Burke among others. Indeed, he has led a double life of sorts: his commercial successes as a producer overshadow his own career as an artist, which has in relativity, shied away from the limelight.
Henry originally set off on an alt-country route, working with the Jayhawks on albums Short Man’s Room (1992) and Kindness of the World (1993), but by the time of 1996’s Trampoline he’d begun wading more experimental, ambient waters. By 2001 the country influence had all but disappeared, with album Scar a soul- and jazz-fusion backed by free-jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman. Well received for it’s offbeat sounds and avoidance of cliché, latest album Blood From Stars (2009) collaborates with a swathe of famed musicians including Marc Ribot and Patrick Warren, yet is as distinct–and dark–a blues album he has made.
Interestingly, Joe Henry is married to Madonna’s sister Melanie Ciccone. It was through this union that his song “Stop” was given as a demo to Madonna, and consequently reworked into the track “Don’t Tell Me” from her album Music (2000).
If we had to choose a gig of the month, Joe Henry at Taku Taku would be it.
Mar 30 @Taku Taku, Kyoto, From 7pm, ¥6,000. Tel: 075-351-1321.
Live Listings
Trashcan Sinatras
Scottish Indie-Pop. Mar 2, 7pm. ¥6,000. Club Quattro, Osaka. Tel: 06-6535-5569.
James Cotton
Blues harmonica & vocals. Mar 3, 6:30pm/9:30pm. Billboard Live, Osaka. Tel: 06-6342-7722.
Isis
California-based sludge metal. Mar 3, 7pm. ¥6,000. Club Quattro, Osaka. Tel: 06-6535-5569.
The Get Up Kids
Kansas City emo rockers. Mar 4, 7pm. ¥6,300. Big Cat, Osaka. Tel: 06-6535-5569.
Chihiro Yamanaka
Globally renowned Japanese jazz pianist. Mar 5, 6:30pm/9:30pm. ¥5,500/¥7,000. Billboard Live, Osaka. Tel: 06-6342-7722.
Placebo
UK post-punk revival. Mar 8, 7pm. ¥6,500. Club Quattro, Osaka. Tel: 06-6281-8181.
Motion City Soundtrack
US pop-punk. Mar 8, 7pm. ¥6,200. Big Cat, Osaka. Tel: 06-6535-5569.
Cobra Starship
US pop-punk/synth-pop. Mar 9, 7pm. ¥6,300. Club Quattro, Osaka. Tel: 06-6535-5569.
BoA
J-pop female vocalist. Mar 9-10, 6:30pm. ¥6,900. Grand Cube, Osaka. Tel: 06-7732-8888.
Backyard Babies
Swedish hard rockers. Mar 11, 7pm. ¥6,500. Club Quattro, Osaka. Tel: 06-6281-8181.
Bob Dylan
Living legend folk artist. Mar 12-13 and 15-16, various times. ¥12,000/¥20,000. Osaka Jo Hall. Tel: 06-6341-4506.
AC/DC
Classic rock. Mar 16, 7pm. ¥12,000/¥16,000. Kyocera Dome, Osaka. Tel: 06-6362-7301.
Soulbop Special Edition
Fusion super-group with Randy Brecke, Bill Evans and more. Mar 17-18, 6.30pm/9.30pm. ¥8,400/¥9,900. Billboard Live, Osaka. Tel: 06-6342-7722.
Kan
Japanese singer-songwriter. Mar 19, 7pm; Mar 20, 6pm. ¥6,800. Zepp, Osaka. Tel: 06-6882-1224.
Diana Reeves
Grammy-winning jazz singer. Mar 19-20, 6:30pm/9:30pm. ¥6,900/¥8,400. Billboard Live, Osaka. Tel: 06-6342-7722.
Kool & The Gang
Soulful disco funk. Mar 22-23, 6:30pm/9:30pm. ¥10,800/¥12,300. Billboard Live, Osaka. Tel: 06-6342-7722.
65daysofstatic
UK experimental rock. Mar 25, 7pm. ¥5,500/¥6,000. Club Quattro, Osaka. Tel: 06-6281-8181.
Galactic
New Orleans jazz funk. Mar 26, 7:30pm, ¥6,000. Club Quattro, Osaka. Tel: 06-6535-5569.
Europe
Classic pomp rock. Mar 28, 5pm. ¥7,500/¥9,500. Namba Hatch, Osaka. Tel: 06-7732-8888.
Rock n Roll Gypsies
J-rock trio. Mar 28, 6pm. ¥5,000/¥5,500. Taku Taku, Kyoto. Tel: 075-351-1321.
Joe Henry
Singer-songwriter. Mar 30, 7pm. ¥6,000. Taku Taku, Kyoto. Tel: 075-351-1321.
Compiled by Phillip Jackson |
