Japanther, Joey Casio Show Review 9/18/08

photos by joaquin



I don't really like japanther, but they are an objectively good band, meaning they are really good at what they do....ha. they played with joey casio at hall of the woods on september 18...ira djed...we drove out there to see the spectacle...hall of the woods is located where tumwater and the westside meet. i'm convinced you can only get there at night. i don't know where it is during the day and couldn't explain to anyone how to drive there but we looked on three maps and drove up and down the road and then walked for awhile in the pitch black wooded highway without anywhere for pedestrians to hide, fighting off dogs and racoons and bears and dodging on coming traffic speeding by.

once finally there, here are some things i noticed:

1. during japanther. i counted 20 young guys with shirts off. women were wearing clothes. it made me miss tribe 8. where did all the boobies go? remember scream club 4th of july party where everyone got topless???

2. ian vanek, olympia high ex pat and japanther drummer made some comment demanding some girls get down in front to shake their asses, then self-consciously but with attitude as if to prove he has balls spieled on about how in olympia they don't like that sexist shit but that he doesn't care he's from brooklyn now, da di da di da bla bla bla and then mumbled something about ass shaking. the girls who were wearing clothes screamed and got in the front to dance for mr. drummer boy

3. they still sound like pop-punk to me, and not the good kind either --good kind being fyp and the grumpies--oh and pinhead gunpowder!

i see why people like it but i don't like it. i was kind of into the energy at first (except for 1,2 and 3) but then i just was waiting for it to be over. i think they are pop punk kids who tried to get arty but just ended up playing what they love, which is cool.

i go see them play when they come to town because i remember when ian vanek was 12 years old and played drums with karp at the backstage of the capitol theater. he was a chubby little geeky kid who looked like he had no friends and he beat the shit out of his drums. it was like augustus gloop turned into the hulk. if you are wondering why scott maniac wasn't drumming, the story i remember goes like this. karp set up a show and forgot to tell scott. scott said, i can't play that show, we aren't playing, i have to work. jerad and chris were like, you work at the state tri it's a block away, you can come over and play the set and then go back to work. he said nope, we are not playing, i have to work. they started playing without him, drums were set up, of course he doesn't show up. the drum stool being empty, ian vanek sees his big chance and seizes the opportunity. of course scott refused to believe this show was actually good. little did he know, it was a great show. well he might have been able to hear it from down the street, but it was one of those things you have to witness i think.

it was one of the coolest moments at the capitol theater ever, watching this dorky little kid become monstrous. there isn't much of the little kid monster left in his drumming--snare bashing is about all we get-- but he was certainly ambitious and genuinely gutsy as a little kid, so it's kinda neat to see him living out his dream or whatever, even though it's not the kind of music i like. too bad he's not more of a feminist! maybe if riot grrl had been more inclusive of young male perspectives we could have had more of an impact, it's hard to say. but i digress.

here's another photo.



basically the show was like riot grrl never happened until joey casio came on. not that joey is a girl or said anything feminist but his songs are political and his vibe is inclusive. joey got some less than dudely action going on the dancefloor. either all those shirtless men put their clothes back on or they left, i'm not sure if you can tell by looking at the pictures, but check out all the energy ghosts:





We left towards the end of the set because we wanted to catch Shearing Pinx at le Voyeur but alas, they had played early hoping to catch Joey Casio at Hall of the Woods. Oh yeah we missed the Mean Beanz. Again. Gotta try harder to see them.