I got to this one late. I was invited to cover Shonen Knife at The United Theater in LA, BUT there happens to be a communication issue. When a venue says “Doors at 7pm” or streamlines to “7pm”, you might imagine they are referring to the same thing – get there at 7pm, grab your drink, tour the lobby, settle in. But it’s an old theater, the bands playing are seasoned legends in their genres, so 7pm means show starts at 7:30pm at the latest. Was this explicitly communicated? Nope. Should I have assumed? Also nope. I’m used to the late night venues – the clubs that don’t open till at least 4pm and book the first band at 9pm. My bad. It’s a rare occasion, but it happens.
I missed shooting Shonen Knife from the side aisles of this antique theater, but I did catch the most of their set. A fully seated room notwithstanding, the crowd loved them and showed as much enthusiasm responding to calls from the band. Something about loving candy, here’s the Japanese word for “sweets”, now you try when I say hey! Call and response. Woo them all night.
Toad the Wet Sprocket was something else. I remember their singles on the radio growing up. Rick Deez in the morning on my way to school, pushing singles for those making their way. I didn’t love them back then. I don’t love them now. But I genuinely like them. “All I Want” was the undeniable jam that broke the tension between my parents’ polarized taste. Somewhere between Goo Goo Dolls and Brian White. Earworms are insidious. This set, for all its chill, kept our seated crowd engaged. How? Classic charm, of course. Big smiles. Long songs. You won’t catch me sitting.
Men At Work headlined this one. For a band with so many identifiable hits, they managed to bring out a few more I hadn’t remembered. Lead man Colin Hay claimed “3 or 4”, but I think the entire set proved that wrong. Maybe I’m misremembering my childhood. Maybe I didn’t realize I’ve simply heard all of their work? Either way, I took my seat for the second half of their set, long after I got my three songs, and basked in nostalgia’s nostalgia.
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