Blessings come in more forms than I can count on my two little hands.
Saturday finally came around, and I was exceedingly excited to finally get to go to a rock concert. I've been restless in the city for a while now, and getting my grunge on with a Japanese band like BORIS sounded like the perfect remedy. I haven't known Boris for a very long time. In fact, I stayed up until three in the morning researching their music one Saturday, and bought the tickets to see them at the Regency Ballroom here in San Francisco the next day. Anyone who knows me, knows I'm not much of an impulse buyer, but this impulsive buy was definitely worth it.
The Regency Ballroom is on Van Ness, one of my favorite streets in the city with some of my favorite sights like City Hall, and the Symphony Hall, to name a few. Once I'd hopped on the bus to get from one side of Van Ness to the next, peeking out the smudgy windows, I felt transported, as I always do on Van Ness, to a world of gold and beauty. A place beyond the United States, that always seems to fill my heart with a sense of wonder.
Once I hopped off the bus into the sparse line of maybe four or five people, I waited in the cold night as the sun began to set, for the doors to open. Once inside, I was filled with a familiar feeling, one I haven't had in a while, that I would always get when I was a teenager, going to rock concerts with my best friend. The feeling, I believe, truly came from the atmosphere of the hall. The lights of the Regency Ballroom were elegant and dim chandeliers, and a vast stage covered in amps and microphones greeted me, carried me across the smooth wood floor to the pit.
I set my bag down, and like the many others who were there, began to wait for the first act to begin. Opening for Boris were Master Musicians of Bukakke, and Tera Melos.
Master Musicians of Bukkake had set the stage first, and it was decked out in ethnic cloths and tapestries that took us to a far away country sitting between Indian land and Arabia. Master Musicians has been called a band that plays Black Metal, Acoustic, or Psychadelic, and while I got those vibes certainly, there was also a very cultural aspect to their music. In low light, they entered shaking bells, their faces covered in turbans and scarves, the vocalist wore a mask that reminded me of a Chinese dragon. He turned to each member as they began the beginning to play thier song "Schism Prism", bowing with his hands placed together in a prayer-like position. He cued up his synthesizer and the audience was swept off our feet to a place we'd certainly never been in our lives. I was highly impressed with the guitarist of the band, who played excellently and as though it were the easiest thing in the world for him to do. He inspires me, truly, as a musician. Their leaving was adorned with dynamic bows and hands in prayer positions, and of course, bells as they left the stage.
Tera Melos was next, and while Master Musicians may not have been a group I'd usually listen to, I was certainly warmed up with the rest of the crowd. The group consists of three young guys, and they've been said to play electro ambient experimental math rock. I was quite impressed with their work, and definitely think they have made me into a fan with their music. Their sound has character, and each song they play didn't seem forced, but rather, carefully looked over and they put their very hearts and souls into each performance. I was very happy to see a band like Tera Melos on the rise, and hope that they continue on the path that's set for them. I particularly enjoyed the performance of their song "Aped", as it had nostalgic vocals for me (reminded me a bit of modest mouse), but a completely different and restructured song structure. I couldn't possibly write well enough to do justice to their work. They are definitely thinkers - and they've shown thinkers can make music that's great.
Then finally it was time for Boris.
Set List - Listen to the songs they played at the show! It'll be almost like you were there.
The lights went down and the theme from their new album titled New Album trickled through the speakers as they prepared their guitars and amplifiers to kill us all. The crowd started cheering and shouting, a big smile graced my face as Takeshi began playing the first few chords of "Riot Sugar" a fun, fun, heavy, heavy song that can make anyone swing their heads to the rhythm. I was extremely excited to be seeing a band I'd just started listening to, playing a song I enjoyed so much by myself in my room or walking down the street, now amplified ten times louder and in person, larger than life.
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| Our beaming faces as "8" resumes Photo taken by Tomo Saito |
Wata's guitar solo strung off into the next song, and things quieted down for a short moment as Takeshi prepared to play the beginning of the next song, a personal favorite of mine, titled "8". The song started off slow, and sporadic screams and shouts echoed throughout the hall as Takeshi took his time playing the first few measures. The measures of this song grip at your heart, simple as they are, and then pick up speed for the drummer, Atsuo, to jump in. However, we ran into a short technical difficulty, and Takeshi timidly said, while fixing his guitar, "Hello San Francsisco. Thanks for coming." We were hyped.
Atsuo picked up the next part of the song and Boris charged out with the most beautiful, simple progression, gorgeous vocals saying literal sweet nothings, drums on fire, and guitars creating walls of sound, as Boris is known to do. We danced around, like we were all children again, shaking the sorrow off our heads for happiness, lost in Takeshi's voice and the Wata's guitar that sounded beautiful like a waterfall. We danced and laughed, shouted and threw our hands up together. The chorus particularly steals my heart even to this day, Takeshi spins his vocal chords into a falsetto that sounds so endearing and filled with heart.
"8" left us too quickly, and I still miss the moment of being lost in that song. But Wata turned to the audience with the beginning riff of the most familiar number of the night, "Statement", which conjured up the loudest shouts from the crowd. "Statement" is the first song most people will find when searching Boris' music online, and was also the song on the Regency Ballroom's website, so for many, it was first exposure. Wata, who is a teeny tiny little woman, shreds like a crazy person in this song, definitely giving female musicians someone to look up to. She does it without an expression on her face, and with hardly a move to her left or right, like she's decided, on a straight and narrow path of determination to make perfectly every note. "Statement" is a very fun work with a break down that reminds me of a gospel song I'd heard probably many years ago, with a gliding guitar and sparky vocals from Takeshi, Atsuo, and Wata. The crowd shook their heads and shouted in awe of the musical mastery Boris presented. There was a much more cohesive feeling among the crowd as we all danced and sang to the song we all knew well.
As "Statement" closed out, we were given a break as "Attention Please" from Boris' new album likely titled, began to stream through the speakers. Wata's breathy and shy voice drew us to a quiet foot tapping, as we listened to her careful Japanese.
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| I got so excited to hear "Flare" live Photo taken by Tomo Saito |
The dancing was soon finished, and opening synth for "Flare", another song off their new album "Attention Please" came zooming through. As someone who had had many a chance to listen to the new albums by Boris, I got extremely excited for "Flare". Atsuo beat the drums quickly, and the guitars all played disonant chords together as Takeshi stepped up to the microphone and belted out the chorus of the song. Everyone jumped up and down together in unison, we could have started an earthquake I think. "Flare" is a number with predictability, which the crowd could get into, but still has it's zest and spark that kept us excited for each beat and each chord. There is a sense of hopefulness in this song, in the chord progressions, in Takeshi's voice, in Wata's guitar solo. "Flare" is well pieced and put together, creating a cohesive, and yet very vibrant work that had us all spinning in circles and shaking our heads, throwing our hands up and shouting with excitement. The final minute of the song got heavier and we all shook our heads together, getting into the music with all our hearts. The final four notes Takeshi played on his double-neck guitar escaped into the sky and we were met by the opening kick of "Spoon", another beautiful number headed up by Wata on vocals.
"Spoon" is sweet and endearing, but does not disappoint those of us who wanted to rock out still. This is an element of rock that I really appreciate and that always grabs my attention. While Wata serenaded us like a mother sings lullabyes to her baby daughter, the other members of the band rocked out with their entire soul, presenting something beautiful to us, a contrast many artists are afraid to take, with twinkling bells and disonant, crunching guitars together. Boris mastered the idea of ambience and hard rock in this song perfectly, whisking the crowd away to a place that was safe and filled with joy, passion, and wonder.
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| As Takeshi wrung out "Missing Pieces" our hearts were filled with careful consideration of his feelings and emotions, his beautiful soul, like our own beautiful souls. Photo taken by Tomo Saito |
Atsuo, the drummer, reached out his hand toward us, greeting San Francisco again, and motioned that he just couldn't hear us shouting. Behind him there was placed the legendary gong he usually beats near the final stretch of the set. We shouted and shouted, clapped our hands and reached back out toward the stage, as if we were trying to grab his hand in our own. After some give and take with this shouting game, Atsuo issued in the final stretch of Boris' set with a loud clang on the gong.
We were set quickly on a fast downward spiral again with "Window Shopping" a song full of shouting from the stage, joyful dancing of the band members, and heaviness that burns in your soul. We all shook our heads, shook off our contemplative thoughts and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly with Boris. Wata sang a kind little "doo-do-do-doo" then plunged into a truly unforgettable guitar solo, raising hands and cheers from the crowd. Boris didn't let us off easy with a cute but heavy piece like "Windown Shopping" rather, screeching right into "1970", a jazzy rock song that made everyone in the crowd shake their heads, raise their fists, and dance like it could have possibly been 1970. Takeshi sang out the chorus loudly, and we shouted it back with him, as we were squished against each other in the pit of the livehouse. I think I saw a fight break out behind me, people were really getting into the music, in their own way I do suppose. The song broke down into a ritard, drawing applause and cheers from all around.
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| Headbanging Photo taken by Tomo Saito |
And it did as Wata stood back for a moment, listening to our cheers, then played the regretful opening of "Aileron". We stood again and watched in silence as the song opened up slow and steady, tapping our feet. Then, suddenly, a burst of heaviness, slow and excruciating, jumped out from the stage. We cheered and cried, as Takeshi's voice resonated throughout the hallway. It was like we were crying out a sad farewell to each other. As the song ended, Wata turned to her keyboard and played a sweet song to us. A wall of sound built from the clanging of the gong behind Atsuo, and the resonance of the guitars, then quickly and painlessly - silence.
They bowed and left the stage, left us wanting. And to feel wanting is usually how one feels afterward.
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