Last night, Vancouver got an annual dose of psychedelia courtesy of Acid Mothers Temple. The performance landed deep on the psychedelic end of the musical spectrum. The evening was arranged by Timbre Concerts who put on a great many psychedelic shows including the particularly trippy Levitation Vancouver festival. AMT are a long standing Japanese based-out act that range from extenuated heavy rock riffing to drifting space experiments. The evening performance served well to further the band’s magical reputation.
Playing support for the evening were Orphan Goggles, a savage and thrilling four piece from Los Angeles. As AMT shows usually include an opening act of considerable interest, Orphan Goggles as their name may suggest play music with a bizarre, post-psychedelic perspective. Although the group played with the set up of a regular four piece rock band, their sound and attitude was anything but typical. Vicious, visceral and with a touch of humour and absurdity, Orphan Goggles effectively warmed up the crowd’s experimental appetite.
Led by group founder and guitarist Kawabata Makoto, AMT are touring North America. Fortunate enough to experience an AMT roughly every year, 2016 featured the psychedelic heavy weights with a significantly altered roster. Of course, AMT are and will always be Makoto’s project; the group has always been something of a “revolving Soul Collective.” The substantial match up of musicians made this particular AMT performance very distinct from their last five west coast tours.
Although there were the familiar faces of guitarist Tabata Mitsuru and the iconic and wizardly Higashi Hiroshi, AMT’s rhythm section has been recently revamped, with the energetic addition of drummer Satoshima Nani. Most noticeably absent onstage was longtime bass member Tsuyama Atsushi who had performed much of the group’s vocals in addition to bass duties. Since Atsushi’s retirement, the torch has now been passed to S/T, a member of the now defunct Japanese psychedelic rock outfit Green Milk From The Planet Orange. S/T performed his part with art and admiration; he is a more than capable bass player and his distinct style has altered the core atmosphere of the band drastically. Of course it was still spacey and psychedelic, but it was more fluid and drifting than some of the more guitar-riffed shows in past years.
Longtime fan favourite and live staple “Pink Lady Lemonade” made the setlist, with the latter song being resurrected after a long, meandering jam where Makoto lifted his guitar into the air with a wild and lengthy guitar solo. One might almost assume that he could solo in his sleep — his meditative attention was most apparent through the sweat dripping down his forehead.
Overall, the evening was a spacious and explorative musical adventure that was anchored down by the impressive rhythm section of S/T and Nani. Acid Mothers Temple are a longstanding and fruitful institution. The group has set a high standard for what can be accomplished, brilliantly pulling compatible influences from the worlds of psychedelic rock, jazz and the spacey avant-garde. This project’s musical continually impressive performance are the foundation of their dedicated fanbase. Check out a show if you can; Acid Mothers Temple are simply out of this world.
-David Lacroix
