The Magic Persists: Kishi Bashi Closes Out East Coast Leg of “Sonderlust” 10th Anniversary Tour in Home State
- Amanda Mack
- Apr 20
- 4 min read
Terminal West doesn't seem large enough to contain all the violin-threaded, sometimes food-related whimsy of Kishi Bashi (real name Kaoru Ishibashi). And it very nearly wasn't. For the last East Coast stop of his Sonderlust 10th Anniversary Tour, Terminal West felt snug in a way it rarely has for the several shows I've attended there. If it wasn't sold out, it had to be a mere ticket or two away from being so. Georgia made sure to welcome back one of its favorite sons with open arms.
The support for the tour, Bayonne (whose real name is Roger Sellers), a solo artist out of Austin, TX, showed up as a two-piece wall of sample looping and tandem drumming filled out by plucky guitar and keyboard parts, and a little bit of stage pacing from Sellers. Though he did save room for earlier, popular tracks from his works like Appeals and Drastic Measures, he gave the most space to selections from his 2023 release, Temporary Time, and his newest single, “January.” His set wasn't nearly long enough, and it's probably a good assumption that audiences along the tour felt the same way because he was just about out of merch by the time they hit A-Town.
Sonderlust was forged in the fires of uncertainty and heartbreak for Ishibashi, though it was a little hard to remember that, experiencing the album performed from front to back for a live audience that danced to every note. Ishibashi and Mike Savino (who, in his own right, is an impressive solo artist who performs under the stage name Tall Tall Trees) have incredible chemistry, having toured together for over a decade. They found each other several times throughout the night to turn from the audience and play to each other. Graham Richards was barefoot and delightfully animated as he sang backing vocals while nimbly tinkering at the keyboard. And drummer Josiah Wolfe seemed happy to provide the tight percussion for the unfolding magic of the night from a raised platform at the back of the stage. Not even the broken guitar string that Ishibashi sustained between “Statutes in a Gallery” and “Why Don't You Answer Me” could dampen the mood. The show went on with an early appearance from an acoustic guitar to take its place. For “Honeybody,” the final track on Sonderlust, the band's newest mascot of the same name joined them on stage, where she broke out a rippin' drum solo on a child’s drum kit that was painted like a bee.
After completing Sonderlust, there was nearly a second show’s worth of songs on the set list. Ishibashi sent his guitar to be restrung and took the stage alone to talk about and perform pieces from 2022's Omoiyari, which included “Violin Tsunami” and “Theme from Jerome (Forgotten Words).” There was a complicated sense of pride from Ishibashi as he talked about Omoiyari, a film with an accompanying album he made when his American citizenship and Japanese heritage felt at odds with each other with the rise of hate against Asian people during COVID. He clearly still feels strongly about the messaging of compassion for all but is perhaps a little disappointed at how his film’s message is becoming more relevant instead of an archive of past issues in the United States.
To finish out the night, Savino moved from bass guitar to his famous electric banjo for some of Ishibashi's most beloved songs, “Philosophize in It! Chemicalize With It!” and “The Ballad of Mr. Steak.” For “Mr. Steak,” Mr. Steak himself, who’s been at every Kishi Bashi show I've attended over the years, made an appearance, wielding a cardboard butcher knife. After a bit of theater, it was discovered that he was upset about having to share his longtime friend with the new talisman, Honeybody. To reassure Mr. Steak that he was not being replaced, he played a hilarious slideshow of photos documenting this time with Ishibashi over the years. Some of the photos were real, taken at past shows. Others were hilariously Photoshopped to show Mr. Steak in some very compromising situations. After ending the main set on a stripped-down, sample-looped violin cover of Talking Heads classic, “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody),” Ishibashi and company took to the middle of the room for the encore to be amongst the audience. With the crowd providing the lighting from their cell phones, Ishibashi stood on a stool and conducted the audience to sing along to “Summer of ’42” and “Manchester,” which he called his wife via video call to witness.
The West Coast leg of the tour picks up in October of this year. A few things may be different – Ishibashi will most likely have a different support act, or he may change up the set list in the second half a bit – but the magic of a Kishi Bashi show will still be present. The best advice I could possibly give would be to experience that magic in person if possible.
