Puffy AmiYumi + Boom Boom Satellites @ Anime Fest Extravaganza

Well before the show began, the line at Irving Plaza for the Puffy AmiYumi-headlined Far East to East Showcase stretched around the corner in a rainbow of pink, red, and purple hair and Ghost in the Shell t-shirts. The showcase was held as part of the New York Anime Festival and New York Comic Con and intense discussions about Futurama and comic cons past kept young and old occupied while on line. Darth Vader was in attendance, along with many other, more obscure fictional characters. Everyone was amped for a night of great big sounds from Japan.

Boom Boom Satellites face off. Photo: MTV Iggy/Nichole McCall

New-York-based-Japan-founded band Echostream opened the night gently with their epic melodic rock gilded by frontwoman Ryoko’s soulful soprano. Their full sound derived from two keyboards and an electric drum kit in addition to the expected guitar, drums, and bass. Keyboardist Tony even pulled out a French horn toward the end of the set.

Irving Plaza never quite filled up that night but the audience’s size and enthusiasm grew with each new band to take the stage. Next up, Zazen Boys of Tokyo played an intense brew of cerebral, uncategorizable music. They ranged across free jazz, math rock, hard funk, and electro and the crowd was with them for every beat, nodding and shouting along with the lyrics, which were mostly in Japanese. It was clear they had a full complement of friends and fans in the house.

The final two bands were obvious perfect choices for the anime and comic festivals. Electro-rock veterans Boom Boom Satellites have contributed quite a few songs to anime movies and TV shows, such as Appleseed and Vexille. Their songs “Scatterin’ Monkey” and “4 A Moment of Silence” were used in the The Dark Knight. And their track “Shut Up and Explode” was the theme for anime series Xam’d: Lost Memories.

Guitarist/singer Michiyuki Kawashima and programmer/bass player Masayuki Nakano have been perfecting their fusion of big beat electronica and raucous guitar rock for twenty years. It showed in their aura of confidence as they took the stage carrying a Flying V guitar and bass, respectively, their black hair perfectly veiling their eyes. Blinding colored light and deafening sound exploded from the stage. They embodied rock stardom.

Puffy AmiYumi rev up the crowd. Photo: MTV Iggy/Nichole McCall

Devilishly handsome, Kawashima projects remote rock-star magnetism. He smirked a little at the crowd as his delayed vocals built into waves and waves of noise. Sometimes the band became completely obscured in reverb and flashing lights — and the two of them totally reveled in it.

After a few songs, the two men turned and raised their Flying Vs in salute to their touring drummer Yoko Fukuda. Black bob in perpetual motion, she literally matched Nakano’s electronic beats measure for measure. Sometimes it was hard to pick the two rhythm sources apart.

At the exact right moment, the trio launched into “Kick It Out” with fearsome velocity. The kids in brightly colored wigs and bondage pants raved in back and the crowd up front threw their hands in the air and jumped up and down. But, almost as soon as it started, the set was over with a simple “Ohayo gozaimashita” from Kawashima.

Wait. What just happened? It was shame that the set was short, but maybe they just wanted to leave the audience wanting more.

In between bands the relaxed atmosphere of the anime fest and comic con prevailed with steam punks and J-rock fans, and every other stripe of pop culture enthusiast lounging cross-legged on the floor.

Puffy AmiYumi catch some air. Photo: MTV Iggy/Nichole McCall

Puffy AmiYumi needed no introduction at Irving Plaza that night, but they were introduced to many of their American fans through the theme song they performed for the American animated series Teen Titans, which ran on Cartoon Network in the early 2000s. The band also had their own animated show Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi on Cartoon Network through much of the 2000s.

As the band walked out on stage,  more than a dozen cameras, camera phones and digital video cameras shot into the air amid wild shrieks. This was definitely the moment everyone had been waiting for.

Clutching sky blue cordless mics, singers Ami and Yumi burst into their tightly wound favorite “Fan Club” without delay, to the audience’s evident gratification. The singers wore coordinated outfits (sequined jump suits and bow necklaces) and peered at their adoring public from beneath heavy butterscotch colored bangs. Together with their band, consisting of two guitar players, a bassist, a keyboardist, and a drummer behind a very large kit, they poured sweet harmony and incredibly loud guitar rock over the crowd like honey.

One of the guitarists wore a Stooges t-shirt, which actually didn’t seem out of place. Puffy AmiYumi really puts the power in power pop. Their sound is tuneful but so exuberant that it can be as overwhelming as a lot of more dissonant music. But these ladies don’t throw devil horns — only peace signs. Turbo pop, anyone?

Reading from small notepads, Ami and Yumi shared the English stage patter. They acknowledged that it was a Sunday night and that most of us probably had work or school the next day, but added, “Let’s forget about school or work and have fun!” They followed the suggestion up with their theme song from Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi. It was a lot like getting kicked in the head with fun. Ami and Yumi vamped, emoted and danced frenetically and, at a certain point, everyone but the drummer was bouncing up and down in unison.  The audience joyfully bounced too, threw peace signs back at the stage, and sang along to the Teen Titans theme. They also howled for an encore, which was granted with two more songs.

Ami and Yumi told the crowd that they were working on a new album and hoped to return to New York when it is released. When they do, their fans will definitely be waiting faithfully.

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Ami and Yumi were in constant motion. Photo: MTV Iggy/Nichole McCall