Concert Reviews and Photos: Kishi Bashi @ TLA
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
"Mr. Steak was in love / every minute of his mind / he's stepping left and right cha-cha."
[ 6/6 ] Kishi Bashi, the solo project of seasoned touring musician K. Ishibashi, finally came through town on Thursday night. After playing violin in the bands of Regina Spektor and Of Montreal, the multi-instrumentalist has worked to compose his own strange and cute pop identity. His second album, the just-released Lighght, debuted in March and it’s catchy as anything. It’s a tight, kind of mystical album with very silly lyrics (i.e., “and like that, Mr. Steak was in love / every minute of his mind / he’s stepping left and right cha-cha.” Out of context, but still), and to tie it all together, Ishibashi utilizes an insane amount of falsetto and sweet samples.
Starting a little early was Philly opener Our Griffins. Singer/songwriter DJ Brown played a few songs off his super sad new album, Michael Boyd. His smooth voice works well with his slow, folksy tunes, and the stripped down instrumentation suited his powerful vocals. Near the end of his set he called Buried Beds vocalist Eliza Jones to the stage to sing with him on a Strand of Oaks cover, “Last to Swim.”
Next up was Kishi Bashi’s touring partner, Philly’s beloved Buried Beds, my nominee for stars of the night. Their set was upbeat, and they slipped some rock into the otherwise pop-heavy concert. The vocalists work together so well, and people in the crowd who came for the sticky pop of Kishi Bashi were looking at each other saying, “that was actually really awesome.”
Kishi Bashi was intense. Between the symphonic style of the violin (with unexpected Eastern influences) and the roar of the crowd, the set was destined for greatness. Halfway through, a woman in a floppy sun hat fed each of the band members a strawberry, then left without explanation. The show was quirky in a very calculated way, but nothing about the show was even close to as impressive as the musicianship. First of all, I have never seen such proficiency with a looping pedal in my life. Ishibashi would loop violin riffs and beat box lines then double and half the speed like magic.
On this tour, Ishibashi scored a collaboration with banjo player and friend Tall Tall Trees who completely stole the show. He played his banjo with a mallet, a bow, a myriad of unexpected effects, and on top of all that, he could shred. He looks a little bit like Zach Galifianakis (and apparently he gets that a lot), and he jumped in on the impossibly high harmonies. Who would have thought that a banjo and a fiddle onstage together could produce this futuristic, bubblegummy pop?
