Atomic Stooges

Japan Nite

7:15pm, Elysium

No Japan Nite, no SXSW. Back for a 21st spin, the annual celebration of the island nation’s music scene kicks out the jams with garage rockers Atomic Stooges, followed by Nashville-tinged Dexstrings and their string-centric folk-pop sensibilities. Art-rockers Kao=s remain a Japan Nite fixture, an honor they earned with swirling vocals and guitar/Tsugaru shamisen interplay cemented with Kaori “Lady Samurai” Kawabuchi’s swordplay. Psychedelic rockers Tempalay eschew walls of sound for simplicity and sway, before blues-immersed guitar prodigy Rei makes seasoned six-string wannabes realize it’s too late for them (damn teenagers with their Johnny Winter and Beck). Transcending the tag “beatboxer,” Reatmo‘s self-sampling builds layers upon layers. Finally, Japan Nite veterans Red Bacteria Vacuum are on hiatus, with bassist Kassan out on maternity leave, so here roar greased-up spasm/side project Jungles!!! to save the day and break the stage.

This article appears in March 18 • 2016.

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The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.