Cibo Matto live at Bowery Ballroom

Posted by The G on July 19, 2011 under G Reviews | Be the First to Comment

Photos by G.

Cibo Matto, the Japanese acid jazz/trip hop band broke up in 2001.  They’ve recently reunited and celebrated getting back together with a  sold-out show at New York’s Bowery Ballroom on July 18, 2011.  The band’s name means “crazy food” in Italian, so as you should expect, many of their songs are about food.  Lead singer Miho Hatori’s stories in between songs were absolutely hilarious.  Of course, many of them were about food, but she addressed the real reason the band broke up – they all went to jail!  She was kidding, but had some pretty great stories about the types of food they would have eaten in jail.

Highlights for me were the songs “Sci-Fi Wasabi” and “Know Your Chicken,” which was the final number of the night.  Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger opened up for Cibo Matto and is Sean Lennon’s band.  Sean got his musical start in Cibo Matto and he joined his former band mates for the song “Moonchild.”  Lennon reflected on his days in the band and mentioned traveling the world with Cibo Matto eating delicious food together on their journeys.  The band happily signed merchandise after the show was over but before they exited the stage, they gave the crowd something to whet our appetites – Cibo Matto is recording a new album!  For those of us hungry for new music from Cibo Matto, the band promises to satiate us very soon.  Stay tuned!

The setlist was:

Beef Jerky / Le Pain Perdu / Sugar Water / Spoon / BBQ / Moonchild (with Sean Lennon) / Tenth Floor Ghost Girl / Sci-Fi Wasabi / Check In / Birthday Cake.

Encore:  Blue Train / Know Your Chicken