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Concert Wed Jul 16 2014
OOIOO Awe the Crowd at Schubas 7/15/14
Yoshimi Yokota is no stranger to the creative Japanese music scene having been a pivotal member of Boredoms with Yamatsuka Eye. Fans and critics alike have experienced a challenge in terms of describing OOIOO. Their sound varies from the tribal to the psychedelic. With six band members, they create compositions that are complex and would be chaotic if they weren't incredibly tight.
Fans of OOIOO have been waiting quite awhile for their return to Chicago and were excited to witness a 75-plus minute set that covered a range of songs from their seven full length albums across the last 17 years. Yoshimi herself exhibited a fantastic energy playing keyboard, trumpet, and guitar and singing. Singing duties were also shared by her five bandmates and she was joined instrumentally with a drummer, a bassist who played a bass without a headstock, and two male band mates that played what looked like a large Asian xylophone with hammers and remarkable rhythm and coordination in time with each other.
Yoshimi herself was filled with a sense of joyousness and smiles throughout her performance. She seemed very happy to have a nearly sold out audience and excited about the praise and applause the songs garnered. One couldn't help but be in awe of the performance as a whole and all of its instrumental and vocal components -- both those more prominent and those more nuanced. The collective effect was inspiring indeed and well worth seeing. The world of music fans who deeply love and appreciate innovation owe a great deal of respect to OOIOO as well as to Yoshimi herself!