Cat’s Cradle Backroom Carrboro, NC
Contact: chad@pitchperfectpr.com
Website: meisemones.com
Players: Mei Semones, guitars, vocals; Noah Leong, viola; Claudius Arippa, violin; Noam Tanzer, bass; Ransom McCafferty, drums
The audience was in for an orchestral treat with this show: anytime there’s a viola, a violin, and a drum set on stage, trouble can’t be far behind—which is exactly what happened! Mei Semones was in her element this evening. Acting as string-wrangler, string-tamer, head twangster, and groove magician, she conducted an audio-centric study in how to be all over the place and still make it work.
This smart, high-octane set started off with “Tegami,” and it was clear from the onset that Japanese influence was going to color the evening. The emotional investment required didn’t let up as the ensemble plowed ahead with “Wakare no Kotoba,” which was a jazz hands meets cherry-blossom landslide of violin and guitar, with a sophisticated back beat that wouldn’t stop. Mei moved it all right into “Inaka,” “Kabutomushi,” and “Kemono” before taking a short breather with “Dumb Feeling” and then the exquisite “Dangomushi” and “Tora Moyo.”
Moving on from blossom beats and bubbly tearoom rhythms to a bit more straight-ahead jazz (almost), this lo-fi geisha breaks into song with a strong vocal that was a bit unintelligible: it was the sound in the room fighting too much stage volume. But once that got worked out, it was ukyo-pop with a wiggly beat on a horse that wouldn’t quit. The songs were at once refreshingly unique, and had fun, wacky titles. And Miss Semones was no slouch on the guitar. Her bebop Parker chops flowed nicely and were reminiscent of David Landau’s work with a splash of Larry Carleton and a top slice of early Mike Stern: the combo of violin and viola plus percussive twerks and perks make the set sizzle.
The jam continued with a large run of bento bangin’ morsels of tasty twang: cloudcore, sonic cupcakes, and chord extensions that seemed to flow around the music wrapped up in a kimono cloud. “I Can Do What I Want” was a strong and refreshing straight bit of sonic pop.
“Norwegian Shag” seemed to be a shuffle in 7/8 time, followed by “Rat with Wings” which led directly into a septet of songs that seemed to originate directly from Nippon:
“Zarigani,” “Sasayaku Sakebu,” “Itsumo,” and “Kurayami” filled out the final set, and the interaction between Semones' guitar and the intricate violin and viola soundscapes put the butter on the asparagus for this show!
While the music was performed with grace, aplomb, technical skill, and thoughtful voicings, something was missing. It was chewing gum for the ears—it tasted great starting out, but became flat and tasteless after a while.
