Seagull swarms the 'Sco

Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her showed up for sound check at the 'Sco wearing puffy ski parkas in primary colors and cute backpacks. Some time between then and the time their show started they underwent a complete transformation (which included bassist Nao Koyama donning tight leather pants): no longer resembling teenage shoppers at the Midway Mall, the girls and guy of Seagull Screaming were now ready to rock 'n' roll. Onstage they were anything but soft and fluffy, instead offering a short and dirty set of high-powered punk-pop.

Seagull Screaming's current lineup was formed in Tokyo in 1994. Aiha Higurashi, the guitarist and lead vocalist, started the band and writes the songs. According to the band's bio, she is "a unique figure in the Japanese music scene in which strong female characters are the exception." The band has done several tours of the West Coast and have built a small following in the US. Their current tour will expose them to a wider audience and should earn them lots of new fans.

Seagull Screaming's show Thursday was a real blast from the East, avoiding the commonplace without straying too far from punk-pop conventions. The band's best quality was the sheer energy and power of their sound, especially in the first few songs which assaulted the audience with distorted fury. Drummer Takaharu Karashima was a fierce force behind the kit, propelling the band through their set.

The songs later became more melodic. While Higurashi's singing sometimes tended toward a monotone, she also showed a soulful, sexy side of her voice. One song with the refrain "I'll survive" combined a poppy melodicism with overdriven guitars and a hard-edged beat. Others featured groovy, almost funky bass lines which still held on to a punk aggressiveness. The variety in rhythms broke from the hardcore punk convention of continuous eighth-notes, an original touch that added a lot to the band's songs. Many of the songs also avoided standard verse-chorus forms by including contrasting sections, another unique aspect of the songwriting.

Between songs, Higurashi entertained the smallish audience by announcing that she was four months pregnant and complaining about the hardships of being on the road while suffering through morning sickness. If this was causing the band any stress they certainly did not show it on stage, where they were confident and dynamic throughout the show.

Marcie and The Go-Bots, who seem destined for superstardom (if they don't get sued for copyright violation first), opened the show with their energetic renditions of songs by The Cure and many others from everybody's favorite decade.

'Scogulls: The Japanese band Seagull performed Thursday to a smallish crowd in the 'Sco. (photo by Laren Rusin)