The Vooredoms vs. Sonic Youth
Studio Coast, Shin-Kiba, Tokyo
Friday, April 20th, 2007
By: Michael Lara
"Here by the sea and sand... Nothing ever goes as planned..."
Sure, it's been awhile since 1973 and this Who number off 'Quadrophenia,' but you could say its massive shape, sound and unbridled vintage journey is one of the best ways to explain the culinary meeting of these two longtime friends and trans-Pacific titans as they again perennially embrace the moment and each other in their respective kitchens of creative coalitions. Dished out like that Bacharach song, this world within a steamy Studio Coast is given love, sweet love.
Osaka's most-famed underground railroad spanning the globe, The Boredoms (or Vooredoms), sets the table first firmly, yet loosely in harvesting an utmost Chi to calm the most restless soul as well as stimulate the most downtrodden in striking the right balance. Comprised of Yamatsuka Eye (vocals, keys, turntable, percussion), Yo-chan (drums, percussion), Seiichi Yamamoto (drums, percussion) and Yoshimi P-We (vocals, drums, percussion, keys), they get a bang on briskly in hypnotizing in their streaming hour-plus long ebb and flow session in front of yet another captivated crew of houseguests.
From the first dinner bell, this foursome hit onto their interstellar overdrive, nailing both their long ball as well as their short game. A conductor of charismatic magnitude, Eye assembles and rises out of collective through. United in the collective tribal rhythms of Yoshimi, Yo-chan and Seiichi, they bounce about from their 20- year plus dedicated discography, unleashing each other and coalescing their freedoms of expression through a most raw synergy.
Assembled in their circle of life, all four free flow together in erecting a resonant wall of sound. Eye climbs his multi-guitar edifice, striking it with his staff to punctuate the swellings forged between the four. Never bound to a set list, Eye, Yoshimi, Yo-chan and Seiichi elevate one another as the chiming octaves register one another into this salivating and savoring populace bounce in the trance set that mirrors in the masses. As Yoshimi bellows "Yes!" repeatedly, all bang the tables throughout in mind, body and soul-approval.
As The Boredoms rising reverberations subside, ocean bearings emerge as does Jim O'Rourke to the acknowledging screams for his name as he begins in preparing the table for the second course on an old school wooden-encased turntable system, sublimely tossing in some "Earth, Wind & Fire" into this refreshing aperitif made apparent from his and others wide smiles.
Soon the dinner bell rings and Sonic Youth come out into their kitchen for all to the eruptive masses of hungry humanity ready to eat once again. O'Rourke disappears while Thurston Moore (vocals, guitar, bass), Kim Gordon(vocals, bass, guitar), Lee Ranaldo (vocals, guitar), Steve Shelley (drums, percussion) and old friend Marc Ibold (bass) salute their passionate patrons and commence first of many deep dishes, the building rumble of "Candle". With so many menus to select from over the two-decade plus kitchen, SY pull mainly from latest 'Rather Ripped,' but pepper in favorites to keep it sweet, sour, spicy and smooth.
The uninhibited release of "Mote" runs resplendently fresh and hot down your throat. Lee's vocals march ahead in this come together feed as Shelley pounds throughout awash his swashing cymbal play off Kim's and Marc benching basses, sliced by Thurston's surgical strikes. Later a grinning chef Thurston quips on the remote location of tonight's kitchen, "It's nice to see everybody somewhere nowhere" that lead's to Kim's back-to-back turns as head chef in "Turquoise Boy" and "What A Waste." Far from the latter as these satisfy as this chef swirls about, captivating as one in a Benihana restaurant.
Like any culinary capital, these chefs are resourcefully adaptive as Ranaldo's run of the kitchen "Slide" has Thurston onto bass as Kim grabs a slide utensil for her guitar work for this grinder of life felt to swallow whole. "Jams Run Free" follows with head chef Kim on the go-go. With Lee on acoustic as Steve delivers the deep tribal beat, Thurston puts out his plate "Or."
Dessert is served twice with Kim's skipping "Bull In The Heather" scoring full belly happiness throughout this house in its big count-off. Chef Ibold soon departs, but sweet surprise two comes about with O'Rourke's reappearance in the kitchen with guitar in hand. As Kim, comically at first forgets to plug in, they soon chef up Thurston's "Stones" platter. The good to the last drop drink finish for this impressive feast comes with "Shaking Hell," washing down all the prior plates of good taste, Kitchen SY bid adieu, but we all know, these kitchens, like yours, never close.