Live review: Bo Ningen at The Deaf Institute, Manchester
In the face of soaring popularity that has taken it out of underground club spaces to some of the country’s most recognised venues, psychedelia or ‘psych’ has become something of a buzz term in recent times.
This has pros and cons. On a positive note, some bands that would never have even caught a glimpse of the mainstream a few years ago get the exposure they deserve. However, slightly more irritatingly, the term has become attached to almost anyone with a guitar who releases an album that breaks the 45-minute barrier.
However, Japan’s Bo Ningen is one band that harnesses the otherworldliness and unpredictable meandering of psychedelia in the most authentic way possible. Far Out Magazine headed to the Deaf Institute in Manchester last night to catch the quartet’s explosive live show on the day they released their third album, the slightly less mysteriously titled III.
The band might look more like the wives of medieval samurais than the warriors themselves (all with waist-length hair, dress-like robes, and physiques to match a name that literally translates to ‘stick men’), but the music they make could provide the soundtrack for the most heated and bloodthirsty of battles.
The evening isn’t a sellout, but those down the front look safe in the knowledge they are about to witness something spectacular.
Bo Ningen entered the venue having hotfooted it over from Salford after playing a 6Music session for former Fall member Marc Riley.
The uncompromising nature of Bo Ningen’s juggernaut of rock ‘n’ roll could well draw comparisons to Mark E. Smith and co’s repertoire, but the huge melting pot of noise they create feels just that little bit more like an onslaught of musical talents reacting against each other in equal measure.
On the new record, though, the band can be heard playing what must be considered some of their calmest-sounding material to date. The evening’s opener, ‘Kaifuku,’ is one such piece, but in relative terms, it is no doubt still the most electrifying curtain-raiser the venue will play host to for some time.
There’s a sense that whether they are performing to 150 people or 50,000 (as may well be the case when they support Black Sabbath at Hyde Park in July), Bo Ningen’s theatrical stage presence would not differ one bit.
All four can be seen throwing their hair back and forth throughout an hour-long set that twists and turns through punk, grunge, prog, metal, garage and, dare we say it, pop at times. Bassist and lead singer Taigan Kawabe takes centre stage, while guitarists Yuki Tsujii and Kohhei Matsuda offer a two-pronged attack that is nothing short of mesmerising.
There’s a het-up moment when the band blow one of their amps, but Matsuda doesn’t seem too bothered, simply carrying on his part by downing his beer and proceeding to swing the emasculated guitar above his head until a rather stressed-looking roadie arrives to provide a replacement.
The highlight of the night has to be an all-powerful rendition of ‘Daikasiei—Parts 2 & 3’. The audience was thrown pillar to post during a 20-minute set closer that would no doubt still be going on now if such licensing loopholes existed.
We probably won’t see them joining the psych invasion on the pop charts anytime soon, but one thing is for sure: Bo Ningen looks set to continue shocking venues into life in the most unique way possible for years to come.
