Japanther

I saw Japanther last night at a not-at-all-seedy place in Seattle called the Vera Project. Though I've come to expect great things from the NYC drum and bass combo, I never really expected them to be fun at an all-ages venue, with a small crowd, on the stage.

At every other Japanther show I've been to the band sets up on the floor, with their massive cabs on either side. Inevitably, things get so rowdy, so fucking frantic and joyous, that the two Japanthers get stepped on, their amps fall down, and everything happily goes to shit.

However, last night Ian and Matt played a show for a few timid teens and alternative dads in which they stayed on the stage. Stranger Newspaper columnist Casey Catherwood warned me to expect this new stage procedure and like him, I have to amit, I was uncomfortable with the idea. Much to my great disbelief, Japanther managed to stir up a tepid, uncomfortable crowd into something very nearly approaching hysterics. For whatever reason, maybe the better-than-average PA mix, the band managed to be just as compelling in arena-rock mode.

Love was made, friends were there, and the music was loud enough to make me forget the impending economic apocalypse. And this, my friends is what pop punk is all about.