I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: October 28, 2017] Boris

I’ve been a fan of Japanese band Boris for about ten years since my friend Lar got me into them.  But I really got into them with the reissue of Pink last year.  I was bummed to have just missed their tour supporting the Pink reissue and immediately put them on the top of my bands to see live.

And how much do I love that touring poster.

There was a rumor that they were about to call it quits after 25 years, but they decided to do one last album (which has turned into something more entirely).  It also meant another tour of the States.

I could say that I was slightly disappointed when I discovered that they were only going to be playing the new album in its entirety, until that is I realized that Boris could play pretty much anything I and I’d be excited to see them (plus the new album is really good).

After Endon, the guy in front of me left and offered me the spot front and center in front of the drums.  I’d never been so close to a band before and it was great–awesome to have no one in front of you, but a little disconcerting to have to turn your head so much to look at the different members.  But that meant I was right in front of Wata as she came out and started testing her gear.  Which was pretty awesome.  And then Takeshi came out and picked up the iconic double neck guitar.  He fidgeted with some buttons and then he pressed something and the bass was so loud it rumbled the entire floor, the railing, my clothes, my hair, everything.   When he turned it off, the crowd went nuts–and that was just the tuning up.

A few minutes later they reemerged, Takeshi now wearing a cape.  And then Atsuo came up front, raised his arms (he was also wearing a cape of some sort), waved his hands for more applause and then walked to his drums.

I was sorry that the crowd was so sparse.  I have no idea what kind of crowds they have been getting (almost no one I know has even heard of them), but at least the people who were there were really into it.

It’s hard to know exactly how to describe what came next.

Boris was loud.  Very loud. Even with my quality earplugs (thanks Liz and Eleanor) in all the way, my ears still hurt (but did not ring afterwards!).  And there was fog–a lot of fog.

Boris can play loud droning music, but they can also play loud fast music.  There are words sometimes (again, vocals were sadly lost–being in the front definitely has disadvantages).  But mostly it’s an experience.

Atsuo often sat behind his drums hitting the bass drum and holding aloft either a drum stick, a mallet or a gong mallet (yes there was much gonging).  Takeshi never took of the double neck guitar and played bass or guitar (and sometimes pretty melodies).  And Wata was a calming force, standing there playing outrageously loud chords, expressionless and intense.  The only change was when she switched to accordion (!) for one song.

As for them playing the entire new album Dear in order, that in no way meant that they simply played the songs.

The album is about an hour long and their set was over an hour and half. They stretched songs out.  They slowed things down.  There were recognizable melodies and lengthy droning sections.

Atsuo sang into his headset and also a handheld microphone (which at one quieter moment he scraped along the cymbals to provide extra creepy ambiance).

Yes, quieter.  There were moments when Boris brought the volume down (it was appreciated).  Wata sang lead vocals on “Beyond,” which begins very quietly with just cymbals and strummed guitar.  Many of us even took out our earplugs for this–until they exploded mid-song once again.  And later, during what I think was the intro to “Dystopia-Vanishing Point” Atsuo had some variant of hand cymbals and clanged then together–seemingly waving the fog away while Wata played the e-bow.  This song–11 minutes on record–ends with a five-minute solo from Wata and she nailed it.

Mostly it was loud.

I loved the great rumbling sound that Takeshi got on the bass neck during Absolutego.

Wata’s performance on the accordion was great (can’t remember which song) .  She didn’t do anything fancy, but the droning sound she crated through pedals and effects was wonderfully creepy.

And then there were Wata’s solos.  Most of the time it was piercing notes, adding an extra level of intensity, but she did play some really nice melodies too.

A huge highlight for me was when they played “The Power” it’s one of the Boris songs with a great menacing riff that they repeat over and over, but slowly.

For the final song, the feedback-laden “Dear,” Atsuo climbed up on his drum kit with his mallet and banged the hell out of the gong.

When the song was over, they left the stage, Taskeshi came over and handed a pick to a guy a few spots down from me. That was pretty awesome.

They left for an encore and came back a few minutes later (it was already after 12).  For the finale, the played “Farewell” a track off of Pink and the crowd showed its appreciation.

And The lights came up and we could see them clearly for the first time.  Atsuo came to the front, bowed and the threw his drum stick into the crowd.

It was a spectacular show.  All three bands were great and Boris was utterly terrific.

1. D.O.W.N -Domination of Waiting Noise-
2. DEADSONG
3. Absolutego
4. Beyond
5. Kagero
6. Biotope
7. The Power
8. Memento Mori
9. Dystopia -Vanishing Point-
10. Dear

    Encore:

11. Farewell