Cibo Matto get 'Sco goers swingin'

Japanese-NY hip-hoppers jive to full house Wednesday

It's not often that a line to get into the 'Sco extends into the Wilder mailroom. But Wednesday night was an exception: Cibo Matto was here.

The Japanese-New York new wave-hip-hop outlet drew a crowd of over 200 for a performance full of smooth, rhythmic grooves and sing-a-longs about food. Also putting on a unique performance were Chicago band Pulsars, who opened the show.

Though the crowd put up with an agonizing half-hour wait for sound technicalities to clear, there was an immediate roar of approval and excitement when the female half of the band took the stage. Singer Miho Hatori introduced herself and synthesizer wizardess Yuka Honda and following her "Let's start!" command, pulsations of bass hit the 'Sco full-fledged.

From the moment Cibo Matto played their first number, the by-standers were hooked. They screamed as the third and fourth members - bassist Sean Lennon and drummer Dougie Bowne - took their places on stage and moved into a full-throttled effort of loud, funky bass lines and heavy, steady percussion. As a full-band, Cibbo Matto was even more textured, yet the female duo alone could have survived on the crowd's enthusiasm.

Hatori worked the crowd with generic hype calls of "Cibo Matto in the house!" and shout-backs with familiar lyrics. At other times, however, her voice took on an incredibly clear, baby doll-like sweetness. This, joined by Honda's smooth rhythms and a slower, toned down waltz from the band, made one number sound almost as if it were a Japanese variety-show ballad. A few couples in the audience even began to slow-dance.

Through all the jive drum and bass numbers and angry punk versions of album hits, Cibo Matto's greatest moment at Wednesday's performance was their infamous "Know Your Chicken" number from last year's critically acclaimed Viva! La Woman. From the moment the crowd was able to recognize the song's lyrics - an anecdotal piece about the lives of two magenta and blue chicken - they sang and swayed along to every beat. At the chorus, nearly the enitre 'Sco crowd was chanting along the silly lyrics at the tops of their lungs: "I KNOW MY CHICKEN! YOU GOT TO KNOW YOUR CHICKEN!" as if hypnotized by Cibo Matto's musical influence.

Also popular was "Birthday Cake." The song's incredibly loud synthesizing accounted for even louder shouting along. Cibo Matto's recipe called for a sing-a-long chant of "Extra sugar! Extra oil and MSG!" and Wednesday's crowd gave full-effort. Hatori was into the song, prancing around the stage giving cooking instructions and feeding off the audience's energy.

Sadly for the fans, the show had to come to an end, but they didn't let Cibo Matto off easily. After "Know Your Chicken," the band's last scheduled song, they were called back for two encores. All went silent as Hatori began an eerie cover of the classic "Moon River," which contrasted with another up-beat song from Viva! La Woman entitled "Beef Jerkey." The final encore was more the band's chance to show off their artsy abstractness with their "Theme," an extended number full of slow, barely audible lyrics and incredibly distortionized synthesizer and guitar collaboration. When it was through and the crowd seemed satisfied enough to let them go, the members of Cibo Matto graciously thanked their audience and ended the show.

By this time, most fans had probably completely forgotten about the openers of the show, Pulsars. While the two-man band put on a well-rehearsed, tight performance of their electro-pop style, their time spent on stage seemed like an eternity. Not to say that Pulsars didn't put on a good show - while crowds generally hold back for the openers, Wednesday's 'Sco-goers were pressed up against the stage for the entire set. However, the band's quirky, rhythmicly synthesized pop songs grew stale and generic after a half-hour. In their case, Pulsars would have been better off quitting while they were ahead.

On a side note, the crowd seemed fairly well-occupied with the conveniently placed distraction on stage: a moniter displaying uninteresting video footage with a built-in "robot" eminating Pulsars' back-up moog effects. It was almost as if the band members depended on this technology not only for added melody, but to veer their audience's eyes away from the live music. The process worked, and even the guitarist was caught watching the videos. If nothing else, Pulsars' unsophisticated performance revved the audience up all the more for Cibo Matto's incredible entertainment.

I know my chicken:Synthesizing queen Yuka Honda feeds off the crowd's energy at Wednesday performance. (photo by Laren Rusin)