Shonen Knife - Musician, Leicester, 7/9/2012

  by Anthony Strutt

published: 7 / 10 / 2012

intro

...while in Leicester at The Musician Anthony Strutt sets the group play an equally remarkable set of their own material under their own name

On the eve of what would have been John Lennon's 72nd Birthday, Shonen Knife play my favourite venue in Leicester. Tucked away in Clyde Street on the edge of a grotty part of town, The Musician is a godsend. On the other side of the road is the Cultural Quarter. Rock 'n' roll, however, remains on the dirty side of the road. Originally formed back in 1981, and now up to album number eighteen with their latest offering 'Pop Tune', Shonen Knife show no sign in slowing down. Only one original member, its founder member, singer and guitarist Naoko Yamano, remains, but the new girls, bassist Ritsuko Taneda who joined the group in 2006, and drummer Emi Morimoto who became a member in 2010, gell well into the ever-touring hard-rocking trio. Tonight's set lasts just over an hour, but it's the stuff of both rock 'n' roll and wet dreams, three Japanese chicks in school uniforms playing Ramones-fuelled rock 'n' roll punk with the energy of 1977. Ritsuko smiles all the way through as she bangs her head, and Naoko is the perfect front woman, a friendly guitar goddess with tunes to match. 'Pop Tune' is given a decent airing, and a decent cover of 'Rock 'n' Roll High school gets the approval of all the older fans here, which is most of the crowd. Afterwards the girls happily are mobbed for pictures and autographs. It is no wonder this band reduced a young Kurt Cobain to jelly.

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