The Flower Travellin' Band

"Ever see the movie The Wild Bunch? Sam Peckinpah?" Ben says. "It's like that. A bunch of guys coming back to give it one last shot."

Ben Kobayashi is in a position to know. As both producer of the new Flower Travellin' Band CD "We Are Here," and as the son of FTB bassist Jun Kobayashi, he's watched his Dad's band rise from its 35 year hibernation to strap its guns on for one more ride.

The questions are many, but an obvious one stands at the forefront: will it work? Reunion shows are, historically, a dicey proposition. The thought of what many consider to be the definitive Japanese hard rock band getting back together is alluring, but it still comes down to whether or not they can deliver the goods.

For what it's worth, the tiny audience (limited to 100 people) is happy just to see them on stage together. The Q&A session beforehand gets as much raptuous applause as any live performance, and the band is clearly happy to be there.

Hideki Ishima.

They sure as Hell don't look to be in their 60s: drummer George Wada especially could pass for his mid 40s. Good thing, too, as his tribal, propulsive (and physically demanding) drum work is a definitive element of much of the band's catalog. Nobody looks a day over 50, but will that translate to the stage? The Flower Travellin' Band's classic material is no one's idea of laid back.

So now, in a small (literally) underground club in Tokyo, the band takes the stage (as they noted in the Q&A, it's the first time they've played with the benefit of stage monitors.) So far so good: former Happenings Four member Nobuhiko Shinohara's dramatic, Jon Lord by way of ELP keyboards blast from the speakers, and the crowd goes into conniptions. The first Flower Travellin' Band show in three and a half decades has begun.

Jun Kobayashi.

The most amazing thing, at least at first blush, is that vocalist Joe Yamanaka can still hit those notes. Not exactly a falsetto, Yamanaka's upper register reads as more of a tribal yell, the kind that most vocalists couldn't pull off in their 20s. While his voice has certainly aged a bit, the bum notes are few and far between, and his delivery has every bit of the mic swinging bravado of past (although his hair style and wardrobe have gotten a bit more conservative.)

Once that sinks in, it takes about half a song to stop thinking about older guys coming back to give it one last shot, and start watching the music unfold. The band plays mostly new material (possibly due to the promotional nature of the gig: tour shows may be different,) and while it's not as bizarrely manic as previous work, it still maintains the core of what makes them unique. Hideki Ishima's "sitarla" riffs are droney, buzzing, and snakelike as always. During the fourth song (titles for some new songs remain elusive at press time) he even manages to sound like he's playing backwards. Jun Kobayashi's bright, rubbery bass line bounces the song along while Wada's elaborate drumming steadfastly refuses to fall back on the 4/4 beats that typify less adventurous bands. Adding keyboardist Shinohara was an inspired choice: while much of the new material's approach places it firmly in the present, his stately but energetic playing puts just the right air of 70s heaviness in the mix.

George Wada.

The new stuff's great, but they know what the audience after: Wada splashes his way into "Satori, Part II" and the place explodes. The truly breathtaking thing is how complete it is: while many reunion bands sound (to paraphrase Robert Plant) like they're covering themselves, FTB rip into the primitive thump with all due urgency. After eight or so ecstatic minutes, "Part II's" final Bo Diddley beat echoes through the club, and the show is over.

The band can still deliver the old stuff, but what about the new stuff? It would be naive in the extreme to expect another glorious mess a'la "Satori:" the band is clearly uninterested in trying to pretend they're still kids. The seven new tracks the band previewed are, on the surface, like modern blues rock: tight, occasionally smooth, powerful without losing its mind.

Nobuhiko Shinohara.

It's not until you dig beneath the surface a bit that you realize how out there it all is. Ishima's riffs haven't really mellowed much at all, still sneering their way towards your third eye. The rhythm section of Kobayashi and Wada persist in their "it's not a rock beat but we'll make it rock anyway" maneuvering, and Shinohara's newly minted keyboards slither their way through the songs in ways that most bands would never think of. But the most distinctive element is Yamanaka's voice. It was never typical, but the man occasionally hits notes that are normally reserved for Tuvan throat singers and the like: finding a voice like that in a rock band is still startling in 2008.

So...will the public play along? Only time will tell, but as Yamanaka sings in the upcoming CD's title track: "We are here. We will sing about today." Whatever might happen, this Wild Bunch will go out on their own terms.