Special Thank you to Hiromi Oshima for translation! YOUNG GUITAR January 2015 edition ANVIL live at Shinjuku Loft – October 26, 2014 The powerful metal concert where every note had a soul!! As usual, at the top of the show, Lips showed up playing his guitar, shouting his greeting to the crowd into his pick-ups.! Then they belted out three of their mainstay standards, “March of the Crabs”, “666” and “School Love”. From the beginning, the fans went crazy, and Lips met this tumult with a constant grin. Up to this point, their consistency with their last tour, and the tour before that, gave me a feeling of Déjà vu. Of course, I mean that in a good way… No one wants Anvil to change. They have, since the eighties, walked a road that they believed in; sometimes clumsily, but always with a loveable honesty. To be sure, the success of the documentary changed their fate greatly. However, Lips and his partner Robb (dr), having been persons of note in the news, show no signs of buying into the hype. But even now, after the bubble of attention the movie created popped, the band has continued to give 120% every night for their loyal fans. They played two nights in Tokyo. The people in the crowd were varied, with a good portion of young people who became fans because of the movie. It was noticeable that Anvil, being an “Old School” kind of band, included new songs in their set. We were all surprised to hear that instead of “Jackhammer” (from Metal On Metal - 1982), they played “Running” (from Juggernaut of Justice – 2011) for the encore. The jazzy “Swing Thing” from Hope In Hell (2013)(sic.*) and Robb’s dynamic drumming were standouts. On the other hand, it cannot be denied that Lips’ traditional solo with a dildo was an important part of the show. Lips is a master at making his guitar talk, sing and scream. His guitar work is akin to vintage silver. I just realized that I haven’t written about the new bassist. G5 joined in 1996 and left in 2012. His replacement, Sal Italiano also left, and so this year saw the new recruitment of Chris Robertson. At the very least, Chris’s technique, being tighter than Glen’s, toned up the band’s sound. No offense, but having said that, there was no real dramatic difference. This is due to the overpowering charisma of Lips and Robb. I hope Anvil continues just being Anvil. (*) (“Swing Thing” is from Juggernaut Of Justice) By Yuzi Okumura
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 02:07:40 +0000