Recording: Cibo Matto - Live at Brighton Music Hall - 7-20-11

Cibo Matto - Live @ Brighton Music Hall - 7-20-11

1. (Intro)
2. Beef Jerky
3. Le Pain Perdu
4. Sugar Water
5. (Boston Banter)
6. Spoon
7. BBQ
8. Tenth Floor Ghost Girl
9. Moonchild
10. Sci-Fi Wasabi
11. Check In
12. Birthday Cake
13. (Encore Break)
14. Blue Train
15. Know Your Chicken

Another awesome show at the Brighton Music Hall! This place is quickly shaping up to be one of my favorite venues in Boston. Continuing the much appreciated trend of 90’s reunions, Cibo Matto returning this year was a delightful surprise. Though I had only really gotten into the band in more recent years, “Birthday Cake” had been in my life for nearly 10 years due to the video game Jet Set Radio Future. Also I was very familiar with “Sugar Water” due to the classic Michel Gondry directed video.

When they first took stage, is was just Miho Hatori and Yuka Honda, the core of the band. The first three songs were all from their debut “Viva! La Woman” and sounded pretty spot on to their album versions. Yuka was clearly using some of the same equipment from the band’s original run, as her keyboard presents were saved on a zip drive! (Remember those?) The rest of the band then joined them for the Buffy approved “Spoon” from their second album “Stereo * Type A,” and remained for the duration of the set. I always think its cool when bands gradually bring out more members, and never see it used enough. In addition to highlights from their two albums and “Super Relax EP,” the band played two new songs, later hinting at an upcoming album! Both were good and fit in well with the rest of their setlist.

Overall “Sci-Fi Wasabi” and “Birthday Cake” got the biggest crowd reactions, both eliciting a band/audience call and response. The energy for “Birthday Cake” in particular was insane, and it will undoubtedly be one of my live highlights of the year. They closed the set with fan favorite “Know Your Chicken,” playing for a bit over an hour total. After the show, the band hung around the merch table, signing shirts/ticket stubs, and posing for photos. Both Miho and Yuki were very gracious and down to earth. In addition to the new record, the band expressed sincere interest in returning to Boston again. If you missed them this time, be sure to see them in the future!