Shonen Knife is out on the road on their Adventures in Ramen tour celebrating their latest cd Adventure, and it's still all about the food. It's hard to think of a band more happy and joyful than Shonen Knife, they sing their pop punk tunes abut the little things in life like pots and pans and bicycles and condiments and most of all… FOOD. Sushi. Ramen. Bananas. BBQ. Gyoza. And don’t forget your vegetables…
2016 marked the bands 35th Anniversary and fall tour, and Shonen is back in 2017 with their Ramen Adventures and putting a dent in year 36. Nom Nom. At the Beauty Bar show in May we got to see both sisters and original members Naoko and Atsuko Yamano (bassist Atsuko has been a mostly inactive member since retiring in 2006 to follow a fashion career) so the Ramen tour was a “treat” in itself with 2/3 of the founding group in the house. Atsuko mixed her two passions for the show and told the crowd “I hope you like our new outfits, I made for the shows!”
Drummer Risa Kawano is a new member to the touring band, and at 20 an excited funny addition to the trio, waving “Hello Vegas!" and letting everyone know this is her first time in the US, and Vegas too. Even though the band has been cult darlings since the early 80’s this is a first for Shonen Knife live in Vegas, and the girls were excited to be here, and so excited about the Vegas buffets they wrote a song about it. Naoko introduced the new song “Las Vegas” and told everyone “I come to Vegas and eat too much at buffet” before singing lyrics “I eat so much food. Breakfast, lunch and dinner every time!”
Shonen played a variety of culinary inspired tunes at the Beauty Bar, and a hightlight was their direction of how to sing the “Sushi Bar” chorus to the crowd - “ sing 4 times at the beginning, 2 time in the middle, don’t try to sing 4 times in the middle” - a doll-like maestro leading a group chorus as the crowd giggled and screamed along. It's impossible not to smile at a Shonen Knife show, their pure joy of what they do comes through in every moment. It's all about fun, fierce girls and don’t forget… FOOD.
Shonen Knife's US leg of this Ramen Adventure is sadly over, but keep up with the band news at http://www.shonenknife.net/live.html.