Kishi Bashi - 3/1 @ Troubadour Show Review

Marko, the host of Modern Girls Radio, recently saw Kishi Bashi @ the Troubadour on March 1, 2013. Marko's show review and photos can be found below. Check out more from Marko at moderngirlsradio.tumblr.com.

One year after his release of his debut album 151a, K. Ishibashi's magestic solo project Kishi Bashi has began to cause some well-deserved notice and recognition by the indie and popular music scenes. His live show, a combination of psychadelic violin loops, vocal experimentation, and dazzling beat boxing, is an espectacle that breaks expectations and leaves a sense of awe and appreciation to the dying art of virtuoso-style music.

After landging a spot on a Windows 8 commercial with his single "Bright Whites", Kishi Bashi has began an extensive North American tour to promote his music and acquire a larger fanbase. I first stumbled upon Kishi Bashi while doing an OPI review on his debut album. Astonished by his proper use of Asian melodies mixed with Classical and Folk techniques, I instantly knew that this artist could only get better in time. Almost an entire year later, he has gathered a resume which includes spots in FYF Festival, SXSW, commercials for Sony and Smart Car, and a sold-out shows in North America and Asia. Most recenly he has toured Southern California and sold out The Troubadour on his first official LA debut, which I was very lucky to attend thanks to a press pass provided by his respresentative.

The concert, which included an opening act by banjo/folk-rock group Tall Tall Trees, was a dazzling show of passion, musicality, talent, and charisma. Tall Tall Trees proved to be an adequate opener and provided a neat set of folk music that has been featured in a few American sitcoms and TV shows such as "Two and a Half Men" and "American Pickers". Kishi Bashi included the entire repertoire of his debut album in an almost improv-like style; switching keys and adding beatbox beats, extra verses, fan-interactions, dancing, clapping, and plenty of energy to add an extra dimension to the studio songs. The show also included a few covers and a new unnamed song which has charted in Japan. "Bright Whites", "Atticus, In The Dessert", and "Manchester" were the concert's highlights and recommended tracks to anyone listening to Kishi Bashi for the first time. With his appearances in both Asia and America in the Marketing department, it is only a matter of tiem until Kishi Bashi breaks into the mainstream side of indie music. Kishi Bashi is set to tour the rest of North America in the next few months and plans to release a 2nd EP later this year.