SHONEN KNIFE
Fuel, Cardiff - 12th June 2025
Support: ???
This show had been scheduled for the year before but was postponed, then moved owing to the original venue, the Moon Club, closing its door. So instead we crammed into Cardiff's tiny rock club Fuel.
The Madster accompanied me for this one. She'd never seen Shonen Knife before and I reckoned they'd be right up her street. However, our visibility was restricted owing to the low stage and how tighly packed in we were. Which is a shame as Shonen Knife are a band whose stage presence and personas are part of their appeal.
Ever-present frontwoman Naoko is now 65 - SIXTY-FIVE - yet still as amazing as ever. Her younger sister and fellow-founding member Atsuko is now back in the fold as bassist (she's 61 herself) and along with drummer Risa, we got 20 songs stretching the 40 years of the band's existence with all three members sharing vocal duties.
Atsuko shared a story about how she wanted to visit Cardiff Castle during their day in town, but was denied entry as there was a Snow Patrol concert there that required tickets. Loud boos filled the room - clearly Castle security had no idea they were dealing with rock royalty. Snow Patrol should be paying to have Shonen Knife turn up to their venue, I reckon.
As is often the case, songs about food were among the highlights - Vamos Taquitos, Ice Cream City, Cookie Day and the brilliant Banan Chips were all aired, as well as the bonafide classics Twist Barbie and Riding On A Rocket.
Closing out with the Knife's inimitable version of the Carpenters' Top Of The World we couldn't complain about what we didn't get. The only quibble I had was the venue. As great as it probably is for a metal mosh pit, it doesn't really lend itself to a show where you really need to see the band to get the most out of it. Unless you were in the first couple of rows, or were 6ft plus, you don't get to see much.
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