I'm not sure if SHONEN KNIFE have ever played in Exeter before, maybe they appeared at The Cavern a long long time ago but either way, we were ready for them to come and showcase their offerings to the city.

 

We sent Rhodri Cooper and his lovely wife Charlotte along to capture the action, read on for the full live review and interview with KOLARS.

Supporting Shonen Knife was KOLARS, a band so fabulous that, to be completely honest, I would have happily of paid to see as the main act. This husband and wife team from LA were a revelation.

 

 

She is a crazy Kate Bush look-a-like, with wild eyes and a talent for drums that Meg White would have been envious of. Topped off by the fact that half of her beat skills were made by her feet – combining drumming with tap dancing, both mic’d up to create so new and so different, it nearly blew my tiny mind!

 

 

He is a curly head, Marc Bolan-a-like – If Marc Bolan had quite a severe haircut – with eyeliner and the gravelled voice of a seasoned rocker, he took entertaining the crowd to a whole new level, when he jumped off the stage to join us, it was a shock, but like a surprise birthday party, or a tax refund, it was a nice one.

 

 

Both in matching monochrome, they drew people into the room like the pied piper and by the end of the set the crowd was cheering and calling for more.

As I eagerly waited for the girls to come on, my phone buzzed in my pocket. It was a text from a friend “I am very jealous” was all it said, “Of what?” I replied, confused, “I read your status update.” was the somewhat cryptic reply. Then it dawned on me, I had announced on Facebook my plans for this evening and he must had read it.

 

I called him later that evening to tell him how amazing they had been and and he waxed lyrical about how he had seen Shonen Knife support Nirvana in the 90s… although exactly how much of it he could remember of the gig was considerably lessened by the amount of lager he had necked that night, but he still knew they rocked.

 

 

Formed in 1981 in Osaka, Japan, this pop punk band has had a solid, cult following, not just there, but worldwide. Heavily influenced by early punk rock and 60s girl bands, they were a John Peel favourite and it was Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth that helped them get there first gig outside their home country. After this there popularity spiralled, with fans and other musicians alike, best expressed when, in 1989, over 20 bands got together and recorded a tribute album of their own personal favourite tracks entitled ‘Every Band Has A Shonen Knife Who Loves Them’.

 

The band have been on my radar for a number of years, since my husband came back from an All Tomorrows Parties (I had to stay home and play mum) raving about them, so I was extremely buzzed.

 

 

The band have had a few member changes over the years, but we had the pleasure of witnessing two of the original line up, Naoko and her sister Atsuko, joined by one of the happiest musicians – if not people – I have seen in a long time, Risa, on drums.

 

After a bit of a wait, the girls game on with the enthusiasm and energy of people half their ages – something that did not abate through the entire gig – and, dressed in matching striped dresses in red, blue and yellow, and with a cry of ‘Exeter Rock City Yeah’, they went straight into their set… Usually when I do a review I try and catch a glimpse of the set list and take note, unfortunately, for these girls, as you might expect, the list was in Japanese, so sorry, I cannot let you know what songs they played and in which order, but you can get up to speed on that one if you buy their album, ‘Live in Osaka’, they’re all on there.

 

 

But what I can tell you is that every song was as good as the last and got me jumping around and forgetting to take any notes for most of the evening….

 

I am very aware that the girls love food - you only need to check their Instagram account to find that out - so I was happy to hear the songs about sushi and one of my favourite concepts in life, all you can eat… I suppose when a band has released such songs as ‘I wanna eat Chocco Bars’ and ‘Brown Mushrooms’, you would expect this.

 

 

There was a slight delay when, after a rousing “1…2… 3…” from Atsuko, Naoko revealed that a guitar string had broken, but with the casual dexterity only many years in the business can give you, within a few minutes she was back up and running and Atsuko could finally call “4” before they launched into their next track, a cover of Nick Lowe’s ‘Cruel to be Kind’.

 

But all too soon and after an encore - that the audience demanded with a chorus of stamping feet - the girls were saying a very happy goodbye to Exeter and one of the best nights I’ve had in a long time.

 

Arigato Shonen Knife, Arigato.

 

 

After the gig I got chatting to the band and asked them for an interview… And here it is…

 

Lauren, So nobody has told you you look like Kate Bush?? Seriously? 

Haha no. But man I love it. I hope I hear it again. 

 

How did you come up with the concept of tap dancing drumming? (which blew me away, by the way) 

Thank you! It’s been such an evolution and started with an experiment. I am a trained tap dancer, so years ago I was tapping the percussive rhythm alongside the drummer of one of Rob’s previous bands. When the drummer quit, Rob was like ‘why don’t you try to do both, at the same time?’ Took about 8 years to get to where I am now, finally starting to get the hang of this thing I think. 

 

What came first, the romance, or the music? 

Oh, the romance baby. 

 

What came after, the music or the monochrome?

It honestly just happened! We like the same things, even share the same eye shadow. 

 

So you went from folk to… How do you describe yourself?  

We made up some genres we like to use: ‘desert disco’, ‘space blues’ and ‘glamabilly’. 

 

Rob, is your grandfather really Robert Shaw?  

Yes he is. 

… and you’re actually British? What sent you over to the other side of the pond? 

Rob was born in LA, but when he was a boy attended Walhampton in Lymington-then moved back to LA for high school. He is a hybrid, ‘Cal-ish’? 

 

How do you find British audiences differ from American? 

We’ve been lucky to have the best audiences in every country we’ve gotten the chance to play. Really-I’m not lying. We have the best job. 

 

Is it hard spending so much time together? Or are you one of those irritating couples that just get along all the time? 

We definitely don’t get along all the time. I say it’s an 80/20 split. 80 for the good times, 20 for the hard times. 

 

Who, or what, are your influences? 

For me (Lauren) it would have to be Iggy Pop, Cher, Prince and Tina Turner. Oh and Fred Astaire of course. 

 

… and how do you see yourselves in the future? 

Just keepin on enjoying this wild, weird ride.

Please keep on guys, you have a new fan in me, I can’t wait to hear more!

 

Full photo galleries available below;

KOLARS

SHONEN KNIFE

 

Review and Interview by Charlotte Cooper

Photography by Rhodri Cooper