Concert season is in full swing here in the Twin Cities. Just about every night it seems another great band rolls through town. January was chalked full of our local favorites, but this month we’ve been lucky enough to get some national and international tours swinging through town. And last night was one of those.The Japanese House (aka Amber Bain) hails from the UK and brought their talents to a sold-out Triple Rock Social Club as just one of many sold out stops on her US Tour. The Japanese House was supported last night by Toronto-based up and comer Blaise Moore.
Blaise Moore kicked off the evening to a packed house promptly at 9:00 pm. Monday night shows are always a little interesting, but there was no shortage of energy in The Triple Rock last night. Minneapolis music fans showed up to ride the wave of the weekend into Monday and Blaise Moore was the perfect soundtrack to a zero f’s given Monday night. When Blaise Moore first took to stage, I think everyone was first struck by her model-status good looks. But from the moment she opened her mouth it was evident she is much more than just a pretty face. Moore has a voice, the girl can sing. Her set mixed elements of R&B, trip-hop and electronic and it’s clear she hails from the land that gave us Drake, Majid Jordan and the rest the brilliantly talented OVO crew. She switched up between singing and rapping, which had just about every dude (and some girls) at the Triple Rock drooling. Beautiful and talented? Some people have all the luck. Moore definitely has the cool, no fucks given, attitude down but mixed with her trap sound, she’s almost like a more street-version Lana Del Rey. Moore talked about her steak tar-tar she had at 112 Eatery and took sips of her tequila between songs and thanked Amber of The Japanese House for having her out on tour. It took the crowd a minute to warm up to Blaise Moore but once they did, it was clear she had made some new fans.
The Japanese House took to the stage shortly after 10:00 pm and the anticipation was palpable in The Triple Rock. This is a band that has had the Twittersphere and Blogosphere abuzz over the past couple months. That buzz paired with a little boost from local radio station, Go96.3, it was no wonder she sold out The Triple Rock. I had listened to The Japanese House on and off over the past couple months, again, when I kept seeing their name all over my Twitter feed but I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from their live set. Since popping on the scene there has been a mystery surrounding The Japanese House, but last night the curtain was pulled back, and Amber Bain and the rest of her band shined. At the most surface level The Japanese House is pure synth-pop, heavy layers of synth that cascade up and down, swirling you around. But Bain’s vocals transcended genres last night. Calling their set “synth-pop” seems like it doesn’t even begin to describe the musical journey their live set takes you on. Their set toed the line between spiritual and surreal with Bain’s hauntingly beautiful vocals. Their harmonies were bone-chillingly beautiful. It was a set you could not pull yourself away from. Bain kept the dialouge from state short and sweet. At one point she noticed the disco ball on the ceiling and was so into it. “Can we turn that on?!” she asked through her thick accent. As the disco ball spinned Bain and the band played through a roughly hour long set. Highlights of course featured Still, Swim Against the Tide, and Face Like Thunder which they closed their set with. The Japanese House’s set was hypnotically mesmerizing. The Japanese House radiated with an intoxicating aura of mystery and humility (despite being wildly talented), drawing you in and leaving you craving more.