Asobi Seksu @ The First Unitarian Church

Asobi Seksu
@ The First Unitarian Church
January 28, 2010

From shoegaze to dream pop to something resembling postmodern lyric poetry, Asobi Seksu have never lacked audacity; it’s also safe to say that they’re still yet to lack brilliance. Last November the group (comprised of Yuki Chikudate on lead vocals and keyboards/piano and James Hanna on guitar, along with additional help from Billy Pavone on bass and Larry Gorman on drums) released Rewolf, an acoustic summary of their catalogue. They’re currently on an acoustic tour supporting the album and presenting fans with this newly stripped version of themselves.

On January 28th they found themselves in Philadelphia’s First Unitarian Church. With the group’s avant-garde pop accompanied by the filigree of the traditional chapel the scene was reminiscent of a moment in art house cinema… or at the very least an iconic performance that, years later, 5-times-the-number-of-people-the-50-capacity-room-can-hold-claimed-to-have-been-there. The room was filled (including the aisle, which came to be secondary seating after the pews were occupied) with a far younger audience than is able to attend the band’s usual 21+ dance parties at Johnny Brenda’s, making this likely their first time experiencing the band live. Gone were the Christmas lights adorning their equipment, the fog of echoes, and the almost-rideable waves of synthetics. In its place, a sincere display of perfectly crafted songs, powerful enough de-coy even the hippest of hipsters.

The performance resembled a VH1 Storytellers… had John Peel been the show’s creative director. Nearly every song was introduced by name (“This is a song from our very first album, it’s called ‘Walk on the Moon’”) and there were tales of times immersed in French pop, time spent recording alongside U2 (and taking liberties with their catering), and freezing cold days when even the birds are an annoyance.

The performance was essentially a live interpretation of Rewolf, opening with the emotionally atmospheric “Breathe into Glass.” While the album did prove to be one of last year’s most intriguing, it plays a bit like an exercise in simplicity, lacking the encompassing beauty of acoustic pop perfected and the piercing splendor of Chikudate’s voice, which live set provided. The band relied most heavily on material from 2006’s Citrus and 2009’s Hush, including “New Years,” “Thursday,” and “Meh No Mae.” Also included were covers of Hope Sandoval’s “Suzanne” (which proved to be noteworthy, albeit safe) and Donovan’s “Celeste,” which closed out the night.

The most impressive musical moment of the evening was an acoustic rendition of “Layers,” not included on Rewolf. Hush’s opening track rang just as magnificently epic and warmly consuming as ever, despite it’s newfound lack of “layers.” However, the evening’s most intriguing piece of storytelling was presented before “Blind Little Rain,” which apparently came to Hanna when he an Chikudate were eating mushrooms in Martha’s Vineyard. – Izzy Cihak