Despite little familiarity with Kishi Bashi, a few songs and a highly enthusiastic recommendation from a fellow music aficionado were more than enough to coax me out last Friday night to check out the band at Mohawk. When I arrived just after the experimental pop project began playing around 10:00 PM, the venue was packed and white sheets adorned the rafters and backdrop of Mohawk’s outdoor stage. Having just caught The Golden Dawn Arkestra’s set at Cheer Up Charlies next door, I was thrilled to see two theatrically aimed shows in a single night.
Draped sheets may seem like a small gesture, but decor can go a long way when a stage looks the same night after night, and the colored lights shining through the white sheets created some stunning and appropriated imagery to accompany the band’s vibrant experimental pop. Kishi Bashi falls into the same camp as Andrew Bird and Owen Pallett, creating joyful pop with plenty of embellishments and flourishes. Central figure K Ishibashi has an incredible ear for melody and tone, which serves as the backbone for his songs that are that then decorated with a plethora of sounds.
Fans at the Mohawk on Friday night acted as a barometer for the spiritual effect of Kishi Bashi’s music, as some concertgoers literally vibrated with joy and jumped in place as they sang along. I’ve always been particularly attracted to music as an outlet for confronting life’s harsh realities, loneliness and sorrow. Music’s broken-hearted ballads have always dominated the medium from the pain in Otis Redding’s heart to Hank Williams weeping at his lonesomeness. Still today it seems this trend occupies our fascination; relationships are all wrecking balls and we’re all looking for someone like the one we can’t forget. However, sometimes it’s delightful to be reminded just how exuberant music can be. Even when Kishi Bashi employs some dark lyricism, their live show and sonic ethos can’t be called anything but jubilant.
See photos from the night below. All images © Bryan Parker & Pop Press International; all rights reserved. Click any photo to open in slideshow viewer.
