Shonen Knife

Who doesn't love bizarre punk pop? No one, that's who. So go see Japanese pop trio Shonen Knife as soon as you possibly can for a night of laughs, power pop and some talented musicians. Inspired by the 60's pop acts such as The Beach Boys, and taking inspiration from a favourite act of theirs The Ramones, the girls sculpted a unique alt rock/pop sound which earned them a cult following worldwide in the 80's.
Devoted fans described them as an alternative to Sonic Youth & Nirvana during the 90's. A lofty claim perhaps, but you can see where their logic lay in that the band are just so likeable and warm with their audiences and they back up this infectious personality with equally infectious pop. It's been a true adventure for the trio and they have visited places that they may not have had the opportunity to otherwise, they once stated that they felt they had made "the international pop underground more international" by "opening it up to bands from Japan". The ascetics that they've built over their long career continue to delight fans during their shows and their kooky songs such as 'Twist Barbie' and 'Badaka' keep audiences bopping along before they drop in Ramones covers that have become so original to the girls, you would pass them off as their own. A lovely trio of musicians who love what they do, go see them soon.

When I saw Shonen Knife live I knew that I was in for a concert like never before. The all girl pop group had just released their newest album in their long career called Free Time. Many of the fans in the crowd I could tell had been listening to the band for a very long time since they played songs that were older and I did not recognize as much myself. I was able to sing along with them to the songs from Free Time and I was glad to see that even though almost every fan in the crowd was American, they still loved this Japanese group. The women in the band were very nice and they would come very close to the edge of the stage and thank us personally for coming to the show and supporting their new album. Before they started to play the concert they had a table with CD's and t shirts. I talked to the main singer and she spoke very good English. I wanted them to play an encore at the end of their set and they did that even though I did not recognize the song. The experience made me feel like even though I did not know all of the songs that they played it made me appreciate the group as a whole and made me want to go home and listen to many more of the songs other than the wonderful ones they performed. This is exactly what I ended up doing and I noticed that the band sounds as good live as they do on the albums.

This review is for the 2016 North American Shonen Knife tour in support of their album, Adventure:

It was the first time I saw Shonen Knife perform, and definitely not the last! There were eclectic mix of fans 21 and up. For example, I chatted with a senior who told me he was 74 years old! He bragged about how he has seen them many, many times. This is just one example of the power of Shonen Knife!

Glitter guitar of Naoko with cute outfits (designed by Atsuko), they are a treat on stage! But personally I was more captivated by the new drummer, Risa. Not only is Risa a good drummer, she always smiles! Her smile alone is priceless.

Another impressive thing about Shonen Knife is that all of their merchandise sold at the show is more than fair - $5 for a huge poster, $3 for signed guitar picks, and they practically had all of their albums available right there on both CD and vinyl! T-shirt price average.

At the end of the show they had a signing event. Not only did they just blow the roof off, they decided to make more time for the fans. Amazing!

Their energy is uniquely contagious to fans from all over the world. Once a Shonen Knife, always a Shonen Knife?

As usual, Shonen Knife continues to impress.Naoko continues the tradition of finding great drummers, Risa is terrific, enthusiastic, a powerhouse and spot on.

The band is extremely tight, despite their ever-changing line up and abundance of material to choose from. The songs are timeless and the set is always changing.

Atsuko is up to the challenge on bass and has a great stage presence. Michie and Ritsuko would be proud. Maybe she will sit on drums for a tune or so,one day.

With Naoko leading the trio,still writing great tunes, she keeps the band fresh and relevant.

Shonen Knife continues to leave a smile on my face every time I see or hear them.

The show at Brighton Bar was the last for the 2016 US tour, and founder Noako was re-joined by her sister and original member Atsuko on bass and new drummer Risa. They never fall short live in any show I have seen, and this was no exception as they support their new album "Adventure", including some new fun songs including some new ones about food and animals. 19 songs for the night including classics "Twist Barbie" and "Ride the Rocket" just made for a happy and exciting show. If there was a way to spread the positive energy from an SK show, world peace would have arrived.

I saw Shonan Knife at The Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco when they were touring on Live in Osaka in October 2018, and they were great! It's amazing that they are back with a new album Sweet Candy Power and playing at The Bottom of the Hill again less that a year later! Unlike many older bands who make touring look like a chore because they ran out of money, Shonan Knife make it obvious that they are in it because for them, being rock stars is just plain fun.

Great venue for a show. The ladies kicked butt.
Hi flyin'n energy and never do they disappoint.

As my friend said, never saw a show this powerful since the early shows by The Ramones.

Risa a powerhouse, always smiling and never missed a beat, Atsuko's bass playing as dynamic as usual and what can you say about Naoko, true professional. Slips from vocals to solos, flawlessly.
And the sweet vocals....

They have so much fun, it is hard not to love SK.

Once again, the ladies never disappoint.

High flying show with tons of energy and crowd support.

Naoko and Atsuko show no signs of slowing down. Add that to the Tommy Gunn drumming of Risa, and the band is once again on fire.

Great selection of songs both older and newer. They have such a large catalogue now, it must be tough choosing a set list. Going again to see them in Brooklyn, and I am sure the set list will be tweaked for some more added gems.

1st time seeing them (I know but sometimes you have to grow up to appriciate the greater things in life)
Whole evening fantastic loved the america's adored the leggy band and even got chatting to wolfmother's support band electric citizen (who were quality)
Shonen knife were outstanding amazing musicians who know there craft inside out.
All i can say my evening ended at 3.30am and I loved every minute of it!!
God save rock n roll.

Seeing Shonen Knife for the first time was pretty awesome. They were full of energy and did play a decent number of older songs considering they were on an album tour (which was nice). They also were gracious enough to sign things and take photographs after the show.