I finally had my opportunity to see Asobi Seksu play live in concert! On a cold, rainy, Easter night in Portland, Oregon they appeared before my eyes. Three fourths of the band looking somewhat road weary and exhausted, possibly a little sick from traveling from San Francisco to Portland in a day. (I think it is about 12 hours by driving)
Yuki Chikudate is actually much prettier in real life. She is extremely petite and thin and almost looks like an Anime character or perhaps an elf princess. She is the lead singer and keyboardist. She has a lot of sexual charisma and she seems quietly aware and confident of this fact.
James Hanna and Glenn Waldman, played lead guitar and bass guitar respectively. James also sang some backup vocals as well. They are exceptional guitarists. Both were incredibly good.
The brightest and shiniest star of the band on this dark and rainy night had to be the drummer Keith Hopkin. He was truly incredible. Of the four, he also seemed to be the healthiest and happiest. Part of the fun of watching a live performance is observing the personalities of the group. I think it is the most entertaining to see someone who is not only great at their job, but also loves their job and is having fun at it. Drumming at light speed, yet in perfect control and harmony he put on a dazzling show. His performance made the price of admission worth it. He was phenomenal and his enthusiasm, confidence, and occasional smile while he played were infectious. Purely hypothetical, but if you were to take a group of school children to watch this band perform and you were to quiz them afterwards about which instrument they would like to play, I think the unanimous choice would be: drums.
Some of the songs played were:
1. Walk on the Moon
2. I’m happy but you don’t like me
3. Sooner
4. Umi De No Jisatsu
5. Asobi Masho
They also played a new song that they wrote. I did not manage to capture the name of the new song, but it was very good and had an upbeat sound to it.
My only complaint about the night was that it was hard to hear Yuki’s vocals over the instruments. I am not sure if this was the fault of the sound system at the venue (there were numerous sound checks) or if it was by design. I had a hard time hearing the name of the new song because of this and I am thinking part of it was due to the fact her microphone was not turned up enough. This I’m not sure of, but I prefer to be able to hear her voice over the sound of the instruments like on the CD. Like I said, I will have to see them perform at another venue before I can really make any decision on that issue.
Having had the experience of watching the band live, I realize now that this is an ensemble group and each member is a very important component in the band and its success. I think the next album should have the picture of all four on the cover and the next batch of t-shirts should have all four of them pictured as well. They are very good. Each person plays their particular instrument extremely well and you can see they are professional and polished.
Having seen them live, I can honestly recommend you watch them perform.