Futomomo Satisfaction
Opal Divine’s, March 21The Tokyo 10-piece that paraded down Sixth Street earlier in the day with homemade signs to promote its stateside debut wowed a bewildered crowd with big-band covers and “the power of the bikini.” As the band launched into the driving spy-funk of the “Peter Gunn Theme,” a trio of trombonists strutted onstage, one clad in a red kimono, the others in bad-cop leather. The garb stayed in place for a single song before the bikini-clad horns led romping covers of the Ramones and rocking jazz standards. At some point the bassist and keyboard player stripped to their Skivvies, the latter nearly baring all after a wardrobe malfunction. Sure, the group has a fairly ludicrous gimmick, but it plays everything from hardcore funk to screamcore punk with a dash of bossa nova lounge thrown in for good measure. After closing the set with “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” the band obliged raucous chants of “one more song” by recycling “Goro Goro Nyang,” its biggest hit of the night, where audience members mimed tiger claws in sync with wicked horn stabs. Bemused spectators shared what-the-hell-just-happened looks while Futomomo fanboys snapped pictures and snatched up every last T-shirt for sale.
This article appears in March 27 • 2009.
