Fujiya & Miyagi @ Mercury Lounge: No Track Jacket Required

Steve, Dave and Matt, better known as Fujiya & Miyagi, dropped the science tonight at Mercury Lounge like Galileo dropped an orange. Even though I was majored bummed that hotly tipped French rock band, The Prototypes had to cancel (please, reschedule!), F + M made it one hell of an evening for 45 minutes. If you haven't heard them yet, they'll be your new favorite band.

The setlist:

• Ankle Injuries
• Sucker Punch
• Photocopier
• Transparent Things
• Conductor 71
• Cassettesingle
• Reeboks in Heaven
• Tevez
• Pussyfooting
• In One Ear & Out the Other
• Collarbone
• Electro Karaoke

Just calling the lads a kraut rock outfit doesn't really encompass their sound. I find them more attune to 70s disco funk and soul with a heavy dose of Stereolab and early 80s electronic music. What's great about it is that's never slow or boring, which you can often find in kraut rock. Every song they played tonight had me dancing in my snow boots. The usually stoic Mercury Lounge was turned into a Fun Time Island where even those who fold their arms in the back were nodding their heads and moving a little.

Even if you prefer just to stay still, F + M make dance music for people who don't like music. With just a pair of keyboards, guitar and bass, the music is economical, so every beat counts. It's not crappy house music with lame lyrics and over-produced and over-blown electronics. The album, Transparent Things is a cool, funky, sexy, retro and fun. With a little more push, it can be your soundtrack for the summer. I know, with a foot of snow on the ground, I'm thinking of summer.

While you find variations on their sound, the consistent part are Steve Lewis's soft, almost whisper-like vocals which remind me of Robert Del Naja's style. Plus, with their album and tonight's show starting with "Ankle Injuries," which has the line "Fujiya, Miyagi, Fujiya, Miyagi, Fujiya, Miyagi," you can almost hear that line or beat in some form in all their songs. I also love how "Conductor 71" sounds like an 80s science program theme song.

Again, I have to stress how much fun the live act is, and they don't even do anything on stage. No banter, just three guys in track jackets from Brighton, U.K. It's not like you're doing big dance moves or sweaty dance steps -- just rock your head from side to side and you got the groove.

I'm excited for the people going to their sold out Tuesday show. You'll leave with happy feet.

Comments

[nick]

We have some live clips of Fujiya & Miyagi at SXSW over at our SXSW blog.
They were new to me too and i was instantly converted.
Nick

[Eduardo]

I agree... lost of fun man.