So I went to see Limited Express (Has Gone) in Kyoto last night... They were on a bill with the brilliantly-named Bathtub Shitter (who sadly turned out to be purveyors of lame cookie-monster metal) and four other acts: not bad for the relatively modest 2500-yen cover charge. (Only in Japan could I possibly consider a thirty-dollar cover "modest".) Anyway, Limited Express were peppy as all hell. That huge toothy grin (or is it a grimace?) on Yukari's face on the back cover of the Tzadik album isn't an exaggeration, either... she's one of the most obscenely smiley people I've ever seen, and looked positively thrilled to be up on stage in front of a crowd of 50 or so, flailing and yelping away the whole time. Iida did a whole lot of bellowing, too... the show was a whole lot more conducive to hopping around and having fun that the CD is. The really odd moment of the night, though, was when... actually, I'm not even sure what they were called, but their name has something to do with shrimp... this group of people in white shirts, black ties, and gimp masks came out and started dragging their gear up on stage. At first, just based on the masks and the pointlessly loud metal band that had preceded them, I was expecting something Haters-ish... and then they brought out their wooden keyboards (what are those huge xylophone things called, anyway?) and a Chapman stick. And then they disappeared, only to reappear with elaborate shrimp masks (glowing orange eyes and all) on their heads and a bunch of whirring, buzzing hand percussion toys, marching through the crowd making a noise like a swarm of cicadas between them. The overall effect of their set was somewhere between the Residents (for sheer deliberate weirdness), Crash Worship (clattering, ritualistic percussion and dancing), and Primus (the slapped and bowed bass was pretty damned cool). This description doesn't really do them justice, but there's a brief video sample up at their web site at http://www.digipark.co.jp/D-Shrimp/ (check out the fifth link, for their promotional movie). I can't wait to see them again... they're playing a bit closer to home next month, and I'll definitely be there. This is such a weird country. -me PS: Efren, drop me a line... I can't find your address anywhere.