Surviving Guitar Wolf's "Fujiyama Attack"
By Kim Bellware in Arts & Entertainment on May 19, 2011 9:00PM
If concerts were assigned a "physical exertion" index for the audience, most of us would agree to something like: intimate singer-songwriter folk jam < power pop indie rock < punk and metal freak-outs. Polite applause versus tooth-loosening mosh pits. Mild mustiness versus sweat and blood. A performance by Guitar Wolf, the self-described "jet rock n roll" trio from Japan, surely ranks in that red-zone level of intensity. They're tests of endurance; a Jack LaLanne-esque "feat of strength" for the concert-going contingent.
Guitar Wolf has been splitting eardrums since 1987, but it wasn't until 2005 that we caught them in Chicago, then crossing the U.S. on their "Loverock" tour. During the show, (where the speakers totally went to 11), Seiji (Guitar Wolf), Toru (Drum Wolf) and Billy (Bass Wolf, who died in 2005 and was later replaced by U.G.) crashed through a set--or three--that was equal parts scuzzy garage-meets-punk rock originals and covers of American rock classics, most memorably the barely-intelligible version of Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues."
During a typical show, the band will sweat through most of the clothes they have on (though Seiji tends to keep his leather jacket on in absence of other apparel). The audience will end up in a similar state of undress. The guys smoked onstage (when you still could), blowing puffs at the faces in the crowd and screaming about drinking gasoline. At the '05 Abbey Pub show, fans couldn't get enough, and Guitar Wolf seemingly couldn't stop giving it to them: after the final set, the band came out for no fewer than four encores.
That level of energy is as hard to match as it is to fake. The snarls, the leather jackets, the Rockabilly pompadours and the rock n' roll swagger are all part of the out-sized, almost comical image that Guitar Wolf has cultivated--but don't think for a second that they're anything but sincere about their obsession. While the band has embraced American (and to some extent British) rock, their musical anchors most firmly set in the 1960s, though plenty of '70s-'80s punk influences factor into their sound. The easiest way to sum it up: "Chainsaws running through a riding lawnmower. Plus reverb."
Guitar Wolf's level of hyper-kinetic energy is a blast to experience, though it comes on so strong that it's easy to see why some doubt if they guys are serious. The band occasionally feeds that misdirection by pulling odd turns, like starring in a pair of B-grade horror/sci-fi films from the last decade. In the most well-known of the two, "Wild Zero," the trio essentially play themselves, but with some zombies, aliens and lasers added to the mix. A special-feature drinking game on the DVD reveals some odd self-awareness on the band's part, with a shot glass appearing on screen any time a character combs his hair or says "rock and roll" (the shot glass, by our unofficial count, appears about 98 times through the course of the film).
Silly, weird and loud as the band is, let's not forget that they're actually worth listening to--and even more worth seeing live. This trio of seemingly ageless, die-hard rockers make "rock and roll" feel like an experience rather than an abstract expression. Just be sure you have earplugs for the show if you ever want to hear them (or any other band) again.
Guitar Wolf plays tonight at The Bottom Lounge, 1375 W Lake 11:30 p.m., $15