Review: Live Show, Asobi Seksu, Great American Music Hall, 22 Nov 2006

I hoped this show might lead to a re-assessment of "Citrus", but unfortunately I'm still as underwhelmed. I went into it knowing that shoegaze is ridiculously hard to pin down live - that hazy wall-o-guitar sound more often than not comes out as formless feedback that does nothing but drown out the bass and drums. While Asobi didn't fall into that particular trap, the guitar was still usually a buzz instead of a shimmer. Probably the best part of the show: Yuki was dead on with her vocals. The band had a strobe light on stage, which the management of the Great American Music Hall were required to warn us about beforehand - but it's kind of besides the point to have a strobe and then not turn down every other light in the house. I can admit to zoning out and nodding my head a bit by the end of the show ("Red Sea" managed to achieve its atmospherics - but only because of the organ)... but I think that was just the beer on an empty stomach.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5