Met up with IKvsDK and PanicManual to take in Cibo Matto. It's been a while since the dynamic New York Japanese duo passed through but still some diehards showed up to take it all in.
We arrived to catch the last two songs from the openers, Tony Castles, who seemed to have started and finished earlier than the time posted on the palace site. A foursome not much into pedals. One of the guys switched from keyboards in one song to guitar in the next. I experienced some AV disconnect as the guitarist on the right was madly strumming but I still couldn't hear him. This was the END of the set mind you - anticipated a rough night for the techies.
Long wait for Cibo Matto - time enough to scout the crowd. Not full at all. IKvsDK said it was twice as full when he was here in 1996. I wasn't sure if that was just Old Man memory (e.g. in my day, the snow fell twice as high) but the crowd did seem sparse - and aged. Hipster count: 0. One dude was wearing a Celtic Nakamura jersey. No one seems to wear J league jerseys :(.
Slightly late, Cibo Matto takes the stage. Miho on the Mic and Yuka on the keyboards. We push up to the dance floor and the ladies launch into Beef Jerky. Yuka signals "volume up" to the tech and he half-asses it. Scotty in the Engine Room he is not.
I'm at the back of the dance floor dancing with the same intensity as the tech working the board. Scotty in the Engine Room I am not. There's two young ladies about 5 feet in front of me who clearly remember the band from the 90s. They are into it and dancing it up. IKvsDK and PanicManual have drifted to the right scoping for better vantage points.
Third song is Sugar Water and IKvsDK is elated. The crowd recognizes it and enjoys the soother.
A little later, Miho stops to rap a bit with the audience. They are stuck out near the airport where restaurants are legally required to charge double. $17 Pad thai - crazy food!! IKvsDK hollers a question "Was the food any good?" Ha ha - it was $17.
The band gets back into it. They try out BBQ (?) and the bassist and drummer join the ladies on stage. My favourite track of the night.
Meanwhile PanicManual has scored a great unobstructed view just to the left of the stage. The two young ladies have somehow backed up into me leaving about five feet of space in front of them. IKvsDK snags the spot and I shuffle over.
Cibo Matto tried out a few new songs during the evening. A bit slower with more singing (instead of the old school rapping) and electronic percussion from Miho who wields a mean drumstick. Kind of like a Moon Child with cowbell. The title of one song was about a girl so perhaps the food motif has run its course.
The band ends the set with Birthday Cake. Crowd is into it. Two guys in front of me shout the lyrics to each other. The chorus has everybody jumping up and down. That is those who aren't old and decrepit and holding a drink like yours truly.
Quick off stage and back on for the Encore Know your Chicken. Miho and Yuka hustle off the stage at the end of the set to sign merch. They work hard. Much luck to them on their tour.
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