I went to see Japanther at the Hemlock Tavern with some friends on the 14th of April and it was something else. Japanther, once they hit the stage, were cool and full of crazy energy. I was bouncing and thrashing in front of the stage for their entire set. To my regret, they played a short set (mostly because the opening band played way too long), but they managed to perform a lot of familiar songs, though they failed to play Critical (one of my favs).
The opener was Ninja Sonic and they were a hip-hop group. I guess they were okay, but I didn’t come out to see a hip-hop show, and all the crowd participation stuff. Not only that, but they just wouldn’t leave the stage. I must surmise that they are friends with Japanther because both groups are from Brooklyn, and also because one of the guys from Ninja Sonic did a coupe of songs with Japanther. Still, I would have preferred to have the headliner (Japanther) to do the longer set (which they did not, man).
That being said, Japanther’s short set was worth the wait. In fact, I thrashed way more than I would have if they had come on sooner. When I left the show, I had beer in my hair (and I don’t drink) and sweat everywhere else (use your imagination).
You must see Japanther.
Photos by my friend Ezra Ekman (http://www.ezraphoto.com)