Japanther plays great show, has even better name

By Erin Szrankowski
Senior Staff Writer
December 5, 2007

A quick primer: Japanther is Ian Vanek (drums) and Matt Reilly (bass). Together they are a minimalist, experimental punk band from Brooklyn, N.Y. Over the span of seven years they have released six albums, each exploring different loops, samples and punk jams for wildly singing along. Their fan base is mainly within the surrounding states, but they are growing.

The Nov. 30 Japanther show took place at the very elusive Danger Danger House in South Philly. When I say elusive, I mean hard to find. It looked like a normal house from the outside, nothing special, but once you walked in it was full of mingling people and smoke. The $5 it cost to enter benefited the performing bands.

The show itself took place in the basement of the house. Pipes and wires hung from the ceiling as the crowd danced and pummeled each other in the tiny area. One side of the basement wall was covered by a long rainbow piece of hand-made art. The over-crowded merch table hung along the back, where the musicians sold their CDs and 7-inches. The closeness of the basement brought people together and kindly forced them to make conversation with one another. Everything was real about the situation—everone was there to see and hear the music.

There were four opening acts: Shark Shark, Black Ladies, Women and Mtn. High. The night began with Philly natives Shark Shark. The lead singer throated screechy weak vocals, while the guitarist could not even keep a rhythm. It was very hard to get into and not all that great. Next was the mind-numbing drum and bass stylings of Chi-town’s Black Ladies. The band’s no-vocal set ripped throughout the basement like a crash of sound.

After Black Ladies were Women, a Philly local punk band that was coincidently not full of women. The act reminded me of Les Savy Fav, whom I love. The last opening act of the night was the three-drum-kit-heavy Mtn. High. Its stage set up was very Animal Collective-like, but luckily did not sound like it. Oddly enough the group sounded like a sped up punk version of Built to Spill. After the opening acts, people quietly went outside to breathe and chat.

After the short break, the show resumed with Japanther at 12:30 a.m. To no surprise the basement was still alive and buzzing with energy.

At first I stood with the crowd, but then had the opportunity to stand where I faced the crowd. Basically, I was on stage with the band and its equipment, lingering in between the amps. Japanther had no problem with people being in its area. It seemed that the members wanted everyone to be near.

As Japanther broke into its first song, which honestly I do not remember due to all the excitement, the fans went crazy. They rushed the stage, which caused the instruments, specifically a telephone-receiver-microphone-thing, to fall to the ground. People in the front served as temporary roadies, as they would fix the mic stand or even plug back in the power cords. It was a messy scene, which took away from the overall performance.

In between songs, Vanek would try to calm down the crowd by saying something very motivational, while pumping his fist in the air. Still, the crowd was overexcited and there was no way of bringing it down. As a regular Philly concertgoer, I hate to see others behaving in this manner. By all means have fun, but respect who you are seeing at the same time.

The music continued with an amazing rendition of “One Hundred Dollars.” This seemed to be a crowd favorite as everyone sang, “I want to be a part of something, revolution baby.” Reilly switched on the Casio to reveal sounds of movie clips, radio scrambles and record scratches. Using live samples is a risky move, but the duo executed it very well.

Another favorite of the night was “Challenge.” Sadly, Japanther’s set only lasted around 25 to 30 minutes. I do not know why, but it was awesome while it lasted. These two people make music that may seem simple to the human ear, but it gives needed inspiration to those who have limited instruments and endless ideas. Throughout the set you could feel the conviction for both the music and its fans.

szrankowskie1@lasalle.edu