Polysics at The Roxy Theater Live Report

Orange boiler suits, straight-bar sunglasses, a big "P" stamped on the outfit from Tokyo, Japan? That can mean one thing: POLYSICS is back, bringing their unique energetic "techinicolor pogo punk" last Friday at the legendary Roxy and what an experience! Many words can describe POLYSICS and their unique style of both music and fashion, but as one major fan put it: "It's Anime Expo as if it was music."

In spite of knowing that POLYSICS was in Southern California a few times before, I never really attended the concerts. Even though I pride about attending all the Japanese-related concerts, there were a few that slipped away and unfortunately, POLYSICS was one of them. However, this year is different because I can finally make it! Also, this is the last time Kayo will be playing with POLYSICS. She is due to leave the band after the day of their Japan Budokan gig.

I made it to the Roxy about 30 minutes before doors opened and even though the line was not as long as I anticipated, but there was a guy there, dressed in the orange boiler suit, pimped out with the POLYSICS logo and playing their music though a "X-mini" speaker. No other words other than "huge fan" crossed my mind. We passed the time listening to the music and talking about the band and stuff in general. My other friends, who I had not see in a while also showed up and we chatted before doors opened. They are also really big fans of POLYSICS. Doors opened and my group rushed to the front of the stage. Also we got the front, there was a catch: POLYSICS will be the main band, but there are three opening acts beforehand.

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There was merchandise being sold: two shirts, albums and a special going on which is purchase of "Absolute Polysics," their new album, comes with the poster of the full band. Nothing regarding about special signing or even a meet and greet. Roxy is pretty big; reminded me of The Knitting Factory of Hollywood (before it closed down), but in the size of House of Blues of Sunset first floor. Quite a nice vibe and playing great music from the past helped passed the time during the break.

At 8:26 p.m., lights went out and the first band to come up is "Little Red Radio" which is a great band to start off the night. An enthusiastic Jason "SpaceMan" Spallino, the male vocalist who really focuses on his part of the music with the sexy Lara "Hookie" Anderson the female vocalist took stage and accompanied with the awesome Keyboard/Guitar/Programmer Jason "The Reaper" Bradley and great beats from the drummer and programmer Eli "AnimaL" James. I really enjoyed listening to their music and they played their hearts out. At one point, a female audience member tried to put a dollar bill down "SpaceMan" pant like he was a stripper in a strip bar. He was clothed, but that female in the audience tried so hard! Also "Hookie," she really played her sexy role well and guy some of the guys in the audience riled up. "The Reaper" looked really cool playing on his keyboard and by the end of their act, he was sweating a storm! "AnimaL" really did synched very well with the rest of the band even though he was in the back, beating on the drums. If you are interested about Little Red Radio, check out their MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/littleredradio

Another band following Little Red Radio was New Kingdom which also impressed me. Another Los Angeles-based band and "Noah King," the vocalist really has some moves! Not once did I see him stand still and their music really is great to groove with. Other band mates, such as the guitarist "The V.O.E" drummer "Evan Turner" and bassist "Yoel" really got something going on. They are really a good band and worth a listen. Even though there weren't any more dollar bills stuffed down the singer's pants, but they sure got the audience moving and passed the time before POLYSICS hit the stage. Although I was there mainly for POLYSICS, I gave them a try and liked what I heard. If you are interested about New Kingdom, check out their MySpace as well: http://www.myspace.com/newkingdom

Next up, Sabrosa Purr, another Los Angeles-based band that really is good, but personally, they should have been first mainly because their style of music did not fit the first two opening acts and following up to the ultra hyper POLYSICS. They played a really well and really have a great act. They are certainly a band to check out. Personally, I did not pay too much attention mainly because I was getting tired of waiting for POLYSICS, but they certainly got my attention. I may not know much about this band, but they are worth checking out. Their last song was more upbeat and restored the vibe back to the audience. They are a band to check out as well and if that gets you interested, check out their MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/sabrosapurr .

Before POLYSICS hits the stage, there was plenty of great music being played. The best moment was when the fans got into singing "Rock Lobster" from The B-52, which also an inspirational band for POLYSICS. After that, it was all fun, talking to fellow fans and from what I heard from the fans is "brace yourself!" Checking out the venue, it was packed! From the first act which started at 8:27pm, and checking at the time which is 11:30pm, it has been one hell of a wait! However, the three bands beforehand were great and really should be checked out, but right now, POLYSICS! Nothing can calm this fans and I was getting the feeling that this is going to be one hell of a night!

At 11:37, lights went out and curtains went up. Seriously, nothing can impact what was going to happen next. As soon as the orange jumpsuits with their straight-bar sunglasses got on stage, fans went nuts. Since there were no guidelines about any cameras and video, I was able to whip out my camera and get some footage. However, it was no easy task on getting the footage because it was insane. Fans cannot stand still! I was able to get plenty of pictures, but for video, I recorded their entrance and lastly during their slower song. Other than that, it was hectic. Think Gackt's fans that entered the front of a Dir en Grey mosh-pit. Yeah, it was like that. I got smashed, moved even had my camera flicked off my hands at one point, but I was able to recover.

Music was awesome. I was so into the music, battling to stay at my spot and POLYSICS themselves enjoyed their time. Hiroyuki "Hiro" Hayashi is really ENERGETIC and I am not kidding. He was drench in water from the head to his clothes and able to rock out with his guitar and just all over the place. Seriously, takes the cake for being so enthusiastic about being on stage. Kayo, on the other hand, being on keyboards area most of the time really stays cool and calm. Fumi, the guitarist, bassist and vocal was as energetic as Hiro, but it is hard to ignore Hiro. At one point, Hiro went to the front center of the stage and gave some fan service to the fans. I swear, this is one of the few times you can touch the lead vocal butt in public and not get taken away from the guards. Also, I'm quite surprise no one tried to bring him down off the stage. It was dangerously close though. This kind of "fan service" reminded me of what D.J. SiSeN did last year with his pants ever so low and going up the stage, yeah, it was amusing!

From the start of the show to the end, it was non-stop crazy action. I can safely say that I made it through the warzone in one piece. It was so spectacular and crazy that ended up very difficult to note down the song list. I checked if there was a list and even contacted some fans that showed that night and a lot of them cannot fully remember. I couldn't blame them! Some of the songs they placed that night, My Shwarma, black out fall out, rocket, boys and girls, tic tic tic, among others. Even though Kayo is going to leave the band to venture off into a new life, I wish her the best! I'm not sure if she leaves the band will cause them to postpone or continue. If POLYSICS does continue, hopefully they show back up, more spontaneous than ever. Highly recommended for anyone looking for high-octane fun and bands out of the normal scene that has their own style.