Electric Eel Shock

Electric Eel Shock

The Loft, March 17

There's something inspiring about Electric Eel Shock's unabashed love for heavy metal. To the band, no song has ever topped Black Sabbath's "Iron Man." It was played twice during Electric Eel Shock's showcase, once as intro music and then again as it ripped through it in double time. Today, few American bands would beat a horse so dead, but Japanese sensibilities allow it. The counterpoint to guitarist Akihito Morimoto's Mötley Crüe shirt was drummer Tomoharu Ito's penis sock. To his credit, the sock was 4 feet long and he used it to beat the snare when he wasn't using his flanging four-stick style. He powered the band through a 45-minute set of rock-cum-metal that featured charming nonsequitur hooks such as "I Can Hear the Sex Noise." Guitarist Aki, self-proclaimed "real bastard from Japan," licked and thrust the crevasse of his axe before he took it off, slammed it to the floor, and shook with electricity. He did windmills, jumping splits, and two-handed pick slides on the neck of his instrument, all the while playing fat riffs and protruding solos à la Angus Young. At night's end, Aki pointed out the giant windows behind the stage that looked over the madcap hustle of Sixth Street and exclaimed: "There is a lot of music on the street and you chose Electric Eel Shock. You're crazy. There are lot of bands slightly better!" Fuck being better. Let's rock.