Blog - Panikaraqs at SuperDeluxe

Panikaraqs at SuperDeluxe

Last Friday I met my friend Boris. After having eaten in Ebisu at a hawaiian restaurant called Tsunami, we headed for Roppongi SuperDeluxe for the Expo '45 event.
Although SuperDeluxe is a neat place, we both rather despise Roppongi as a whole, and it's not with much enthusiasm that we exit Hibiya line at Roppongi station. Instead of going outside right away, we walk underground through Roppongi Hills to get closer to our destination.

Arriving at SuperDeluxe, the system isn't too obvious, and there's no one to guide people. There's a long line of 3-4 floors in the stairway so we go to the end, only to later find out that we could go in first because I had reserved by phone.
By the entrance were the pictured flowers for Shinohara Tomoe from Takenaka Naoto (actor/comedian/musician).

We first stood through the punkish metal band Assfort, which wasn't much enjoyable to us. But afterwards things started getting more interesting.
After a while of DJing and stage setup, a live painting show began, featuring Kuroda Seitarō mixing his paints on two large canvases while Kondō Toshinori played trumpet and live electronics which sounded great! While I didn't know who Kondō-san was, Boris surprised himself recognizing his style before even being able to catch a glimpse through the thick crowd.

After more DJing that seemed to go on forever (the poor staff had to remove all paint traces from the floor too), during which we were able to sneak up front, finally came a Roland DJ-70 (with a broken key), unmistakably belonging to Honda Yuka, not more than a meter from where we sat!! Soon she also came on stage, wearing Panikaraqs' original pink "T-shirt" (actually a strangely shaped outfit designed by Shinohara Tomoe, shorter at the front and long at the back) and set up her laptop on which she'd lightly sequence pre-recorded tracks during the show. Yuka looked just like I remembered seeing her about 10 years ago when she was with Cibo Matto. She then left the stage.

Then came everyone: Yuka who was now wearing a beautiful dark dress, percussionist Steve Etō, dancer Chikage and singer/dancer/leader Shinohara Tomoe.

Tomoe explained that Panikaraqs is a band made up of dear friends of hers, and that the concept is to make something absolutely new. The band is in fact a sort of visual performance unit, featuring a lot of dancing. Their sound was somewhat Middle Eastern (Indian or something) because of Steve's playing and Tomoe's singing in a style much different from her previous works. Steve most of the time played what seemed to be a sort of electronic tabla drum Roland HandSonic and at other times a portable lighter acoustic drum djembe with which he danced around lightly. Yuka's music didn't sound overly Middle Eastern in itself, actually it sounded like very cool electronic pop, and it mixed perfectly with the drums and vocals.

My overall impression was great, all members were smiling and seemed to be having a lot of fun. The concept was indeed rather unique and refreshing.
Unfortunately pictures weren't allowed during Panikaraqs' show, there was even a warning before it began, and I missed a good chance of taking pictures of Yuka while she was setting up her gear...
I'll just have to go see them again at one of their upcoming shows. Keep an eye on my agenda for details.

Panikaraqs' show ended around 2am, so we were stuck in Roppongi after the last train, er... So we each took a taxi back home (mine cost ¥3540). But just before then, Boris was asked by some guy whether we wanted to go to a strip club. Of course a night in Roppongi isn't complete without... not a visit to a strip club, but rather some moron who wants to drag you to one.

See also: Panikaraqs at Nakameguro Space Force (March 4, 2005)

Disclaimer: This is a fan page. Artwork by SHINOHARA Tomoe. SHINOHARA Tomoe official site.

Posted on February 7, 2005 at 21:54 | Tweet |

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