Makigami Koichi will lead Hikashu in one-night-only special event at Japan Society on May 13
ROCKIN’ EVENING OF J-TECHNO POP
Japan Society
333 East 47th St. at First Ave.
Friday, May 13, $25, 7:30
212-715-1258
www.japansociety.org
Japan Society will transform its auditorium, usually home to film screenings, theatrical productions, lectures, and experimental dance presentations, into a nonseated club on Friday night for the full-band North American debut of Hikashu, the Japanese avant-garde collective led by vocalist Makigami Koichi (who also plays the bass, cornet, and Theremin). For more than thirty years, Hikashu has been dazzling audiences with its unique melding of musical styles on such records as Natsu (1980), Watashi No Tanoshimi (1984), Humming Soon (1991), and Ikirutoto (2008) and in wild live appearances. For this one-night-only special event, Hikashu, featuring Mita Freeman on guitar and samples, Sakaide Masami on bass and electronics, Shimizu Kazuto on piano, synthesizer, and bass-clarinet, and Sato Masaharu on drums and voice, will be joined by J-pop-culture icon Tomoe (Shinorer) Shinohara and percussionist Steve Eto. Tickets are $25, with half of the sales going to Japan Society’s Earthquake Relief Fund, which to date has taken in more than $6 million.