Redwood Bar & Grill Los Angeles, CA
Contact: @jirokamikazi
Web: jirokamikazi.bandcamp.com
Players: Jiro, vocals, bass; Alex Kane, guitar; Dez Cadena, guitar; Tim Jimenez, drums
The air was buzzing in Downtown Los Angeles on a Sunday night in March. Electricity was dancing from the high-rise rooves, an uneasy blend of revitalization and steadfast decay the backdrop, and punk should-be hero Jiro was performing at the Redwood Bar & Grill.
For the uninitiated—get initiated! Japanese bass-master Jiro was a highlight in Richie Ramone’s band for a while—a Tasmanian devil of blonder-than-blonde hair and the most infectious smile in punk’s oh-so-cynical history, all tied up with a let’s-fucking-go bow.
All that remains the case, and Jiro’s solo band allows us the opportunity to fully focus on the man. He deserves the attention; he’s a rabid frontman—a snowball of kinetic energy that rolls over you and then fully encompasses you. You become a part of his show, whether you choose to or not. But you quickly realize that you really fucking like it. Then you grow to need it.
He’s aided by a veritable supergroup of rock ‘n’ roll reprobates. A rogue’s gallery of wizards and beasts. Alex Kane has a musical rap sheet longer than his luscious locks. With "Life Sex & Death (LSD)," he and his Chi-Town brethren smeared the hair metal landscape with glorious filth. His band AntiProduct repeated the feat across the pond. He’s played with former Dictator Handsome Dick Manitoba, Enuff Z’nuff, Shark Island, Starz, all of the surviving Ramones, and many, many more.
Dez Cadena is best known for his time with hardcore icons Black Flag, and he spent a considerable amount of time in the Misfits before the horror punks reformed the original lineup. Drummer Tim Jiminez was in the Rave-Ups, arguably best known for the song “Positively Lost Me,” which appeared on the Pretty in Pink soundtrack.
That’s the band, and what a band! Kane never stops moving and/or cajoling the crowd into getting involved. He and Jiro are wonderfully exhausting; they give the show their everything, so the least the crowd can do is reciprocate. Meanwhile Cadena, sporting a button-up shirt and business spectacles, glares at the crowd like an adrenalized Ron Mael (Sparks).
The songs are as stellar as the showmanship—all Ramones sing-along brilliance, played as fast as humanly possible. It’s simultaneously loose and precise, and the Ramones covers (“Cretin Hop,” and a couple more) plus Black Flag’s “Rise Above” round off what was already a magnificent set. Later, Mickey Leigh’s Mutated Music performed (Leigh is the brother of Joey Ramone), making this a solid night for da bruddahs!
