In town from Tokyo, frenetic garage/punk trio Theee Bat descended on Bushwick’s Brooklyn Fire Proof last Saturday night, keeping Halloween alive for just a little while longer. After singer/guitarist Mika Bat’s first rabid cry of 1-2-3-4-5-6-7, the sleepy and sparse crowd in Fire Proof’s school gym-like performance space quickly woke up. Wheee! Mika, a pint-sized dungeon batgirl who delivered spidery Link Wray licks without batting an eyelash, catapulted from the stage like a vinyl onyx pinball, bouncing around all four corners of the room and eventually reestablishing herself behind the mic just in time for another Back from the Grave screech. Meanwhile, black angel cowboy bassist Kub Sharp tumbled into the crowd, careening around willy-nilly before dropping to his knees and flailing on his back in epileptic abandon. The final Bat to join the mayhem, drummer Pat-Trash, in full Screaming Lord Sutch attire, picked up his hi-hat, carried it like a trophy above his head, and Crash!Pow!ed his way through the audience. He, along with various fans, took turns bludgeoning the cymbal while bomping and stomping around the space. After circling the room, Pat “Jack the Ripper” Trash exited briefly into Brooklyn Fire Proof's adjoining cafe and then reappeared with Mika and Kub onstage.
Bats, the only mammals that can truly fly, navigate in response to echoes. Considering the huge amount of off-kilter fuzz generated from their vintage 60s Japanese Firstman instruments, it’s no wonder the members of Theee Bat flew all over the place throughout their relentless set. Biff! Bam! Pow! Ripping through frantic originals and a number of Back from the Grave classics, this Tokyo trio are heavily influenced by their idols, San Mateo's the Mummies, and their cohorts in Japan’s garage/punk/trash scene. Remarkably, in spite of the free-for-all romper room energy of Saturday's show, very little beer got spilled, no one tripped over any cords, the music never stopped (there was barely time for a gasp between songs), and Mika even managed quadruple back somersaults during the encore, briefly losing her London constable helmet in the process.
In Theee Bat’s own words (from their website http://theeebat.fool.jp): “We are playing SO FAST, the 3minites songs became 1 and a harf minite songs. Be Frantic!” There is still time to catch them in NYC during their current tour. Theee Bat will be playing again at Mercury Lounge on Saturday, November 12th with the legendary 5.6.7.8’s and raucous Back C.C.’s.
Here's a video of Theee Bat from Back from the Grave's Halloween Ball 2010:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oWDZ03lyCw
No comments:
Post a Comment