Yura Yura Teikoku doesn’t make it to these shores very often — so when it does, you really ought to go. The 19-year-old Japanese group — which combines raging psychedelic rock with lush pop and driving dance music — is huge in its own country, but has made surprisingly few forays beyond the island nation. That changed in 2005, when Yura Yura did its first overseas shows here in New York (treks to Taiwan, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Australia followed). The group has only been back twice since then, most recently on October 19 at Brooklyn’s Music Hall of Williamsburg and 20th at Maxwell’s, in Hoboken, New Jersey. Yura Yura were excellent, delivering loud, catchy, energetic sets each night — and audiences responded ecstatically.
So it was shocking — and a little disappointing — that the band was giving its all to less-than-capacity crowds (particularly at Maxwell’s, where the smallish venue seemed less than half full). But if this fazed them, Yura Yura’s members — singer-guitarist Sakamoto Shintaro, bassist Kamekawa Chiyo, and drummer Shibata Ichiro — didn’t show it. In fact, they acted much as they would have if playing to the massive sold-out crowds they regularly attract in Japan. The trio mixed older songs — mostly heavy, catchy rockers and introspective ballads from its popular earlier albums, like 3x3x3 (1998, MIDI Japan) — with newer, more nuanced material from recent releases, like Sweet Spot (2005, Sony Japan/Mesh-Key) and Hollow Me (2007, Sony Japan).
As strong as the recorded songs are — especially on the most recent album — seeing them performed live was a revelation. Yura Yura is known for creating live renditions that differ significantly from the studio ones (apparently, the band has three distinct versions of recent single “Dekinai”). Its performance of “Sweet Surrender” improved on the official release, from Hollow Me, and was the highlight of both nights: Sakamoto set down his guitar to sing, drawing appreciative screams from the audience when he shook his silvery maracas into a heavily effected mic, as his bandmates laid down an extremely tight, dancey, and undeniable rhythm behind him.
Fortunately for those who missed these shows, or want to relive them, Yura Yura also performed on WFMU when they were in town, and the appearance is archived on the radio station’s website. With rumors of a possible domestic release for Hollow Me in 2009, and a limited edition remix 12” out now on DFA Records subsidiary Death From Abroad, Yura Yura may soon return to the U.S., giving all of us another chance to see one of Japan’s best bands in action.
