Girl at the Rock Shows

My Thursday night was spent straddling two worlds. A world of indie-pop softness and then a world of controlled and uncontrolled chaos. Both shows had their merits, but I would by lying if I said I didn’t gravitate a bit more to the chaos happening in First Avenue’s mainroom.

It’s been some time since I’ve seen Scrunchies perform, so the fact that they were the one and only local opener on the three-band bill at First Avenue on Thursday night was definitely a highlight for me. Scrunchies have a super distinct sound. It’s post-rock, post-punk, as they put it, post-whatever. It’s in your face and explosive but features a more controlled sense of chaos than some of the music performed on the legendary stage on Thursday night. The last time I saw Scrunchies perform was in January 2019 at First Avenue. We have been through a whole dang pandemic since then, yet nothing has changed about this band. Okay, that’s not quite true as they felt more polished and together than I remember them being last time, but it felt as if this band hadn’t skipped a beat over the years. They’ve clearly stayed true to their unique sound and the endless amount of energy they have always brought to the stage. Long story short, I loved their short time on the stage and hope that seeing them on Thursday night may mean seeing them more often here in the local scene.

That’s all she wrote for locals. After Scrunchies, the packed audience was off for a world tour, starting with a visit to South Korea with the help of Drinking Boys and Girls Choir. This trio didn’t waste any time letting the audience know what they are about. DBGC has a very classic punk sound. That classic-ness comes from their no-frills, quick songs. It was a refreshing take on a genre that gets overcomplicated by too many acts out there. Instead of trying to fill space with a blend of genres, DBGC focused on good old fashioned punk and had a sense of energy to match it.

DBGC may have been a new name to me and a lot of other people in the audience, but they are far from being a new band. They have been around since 2012 and have released a smattering of releases, including two full-lengths, an EP, and a couple of singles. Even though they have been doing this for well over a decade, I loved the fact that the three members of this band were clearly having fun on stage and off. At one point, the guitarist (maybe it was the bassist, I honestly can’t remember) made their way down to the crowd and played from there for almost an entire song. This brought a sense of intimacy to an otherwise larger-than-life performance, and the fact that not a single note or beat was missed said everything there was to say about this group’s talent and professionalism.

I’ll be honest: although the two opening acts on Thursday night were great, I was there to see the headliners- Otoboke Beaver from Japan. I hadn’t heard of this band prior to about a month ago, but since then, it’s been all I’ve been listening to. I was so excited to see how their chaotic yet perfectly crafted songs would translate into a live show and if these four Japanese women could really have as much power and intensity as I heard in their reviews (I promise, I don’t mean for that to sound mean but you’ll get it if you check out their music).

As soon as Otoboke Beaver started playing, my jaw hit the floor. Okay, not literally, but I stood there in the photo pit, trying my best to remember that I was there to take pictures, not just stand in awe of these women as they performed. I so wish I could tell you what songs they performed, but the fact is, I was just too stunned, and their set moved super fast. I didn’t catch the song titles, nor could I try to recall them. That wasn’t the point of their performance on Thursday night, and me rattling through the probably twenty-ish songs that they powered through in their one-hour set won’t make up for the fact that, if you weren’t there, you missed out on a hell of a show.

Otoboke Beaver’s sound, as mentioned, is chaotic. The constantly changing tempos mixed with shrieked gang vocals and breaks here and there that don’t make sense yet fit perfectly is a truly magnificent sound. I’ll be honest, it’s not for everyone. I was listening to their new album ‘Super Champon’ the other week at work when my boss came into my office asking me to turn it down because he couldn’t stand what I was listening to. Honestly, I respected that. It’s definitely not for everyone, but if you are like me and like a little chaos and insanity in your music, you’ll definitely love Otoboke Beaver. The best part is how their live show matched the same energy. Each member brought a different little zig and zag to the stage. You had the bassist who seemed a bit more reserved, the guitarist who came off as a bit more goofy, an absolute beast of a drummer in the back, and then the vocalist who had a stare as intimidating as she was beautiful yet when she opened her mouth, was like a banshee. It was truly everything I could have imagined and more.

I could genuinely write for days about all of the little moments that made up the Otoboke Beaver set on Thursday. There was the mention of loving Target from the bass played or the way she would break into a Lizzo song or Prince song as the rest of the band caught their breath between songs. I loved the way the vocalist seemed to eye down the crowd between tracks. The way she stared into the audience was intimidating and intense in the best way possible. Add to this that all four women on stage clearly didn’t get a f*$& what you thought of them and were just up there doing their thing and you were left with a hell of a way to spend a Thursday night.

When Otoboke Beaver comes to your town or anywhere near it, drop everything and go. My words will never do this band or their show justice.

Line Up:

Scrunchies

Drinking Boys and Girls Choir

Otoboke Beaver

Venue: First Avenue

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 36

Crowd Surfers- 2

Stage Divers- None

Mosh-ability- 9.4 out of 10

Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around- $0

Broken Bones- None

Spotted Flying Through The Air- Bodies

Fights- None Witnessed

Pukers- 0

Passed Out Kids- 0

Idiots Taken Out By Security – None Spotted

How Irritated I Was With The Audience – 0 out of 10

How Many Times I’ve Seen These Bands Before (or at least how many times I can remember)-

Scrunchies – 2

Drinking Boys and Girls Choir – 0

Otoboke Beaver – 0

Celebrity Sightings – Paddy of Dillinger Four; Christy Costello

Overall Score – 10 out of 10

Show on Deck — Two Door Cinema Club / Joywave // Tropidelic / Ubi of Ces Cru / The Palmer Squares

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