Japan’s very own Shonen Knife sliced into Silverlake’s Spaceland on their current Freetime tour. As would be expected of such an occasion, the crowd was exponentially fashionable. For anyone who hasn’t yet had the pleasure of discovering Shonen Knife for themselves, imagine three adorable girls from Osaka, Japan who play garage-rock pop-punk perfection with titles like “Antonio Baka Guy” “Twist Barbie” and “Sushi Bar.” Their musical dollops of ear candy have charmed the likes of Kurt Cobain (see the video below), Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore and Redd Kross. The latter even named an album for them, 1989′s Every Band Has A Shonen Knife Who Loves Them.  Shonen Knife countered with a love song about Los Angeles entitled “Redd Kross” extolling their longing for long haired boys and hard music that come with the territory.

Celebrating nearly 30 years as a band (they formed in 1981), Shonen Knife’s newest release Freetime has just been released on Good Charamel Records (owned by The Goo Goo Dolls’ Robby Takac, himself a lover of the guitar riff). And on Oct 19th, they’ll release the Live At Mohawk Place DVD. And with their 30th anniversary on the horizon, Shonen Knife show no signs of slowing down. And their faithful and fashionable follows will be there every step of the way!

Check out more amazing shonen knife videos at the links below:

PERFECT FREEDOM

REDD KROSS

IT’S A NEW FIND

E.S.P.

Words and photos by Lisa Johnson