The sun sinks slowly and the wind blows; I feel good. Calm. Not like I’m about to see a rock show. You can feel it in the crowd, though. That rippling potential energy, the excited smiles during sound check. I’m at the Downright Hotel’s Global Stage, and Gokumon is up next.
The Japanese rock band has been around since 2004, but you wouldn’t guess it from their wide grins and general enthusiasm. Opening with a song naming every possible punch and kick known to man, Gokumon set the tone for what those of us who had never heard this group were about to hear. It’s metal, sure, but it’s also fun. They covered a whole range of everyday topics (like loving to eat fish or feeling proud of their muscles) with a metal twist. Standing in the crowd, bombarded by sound and equally playful yet relatable lyrics (displayed in both English and Kanji on a screen behind the band), I’m beginning to understand the appeal of this group. It’s like a movie montage made intense. Romanticizing life, in a hardcore way. Because what’s more punk-rock in this age of performing for others, than speaking honestly about the highs and lows of a regular life?
Gokumon is a group that plays. You can hear it in their sound and feel it in their presence. They even introduce themselves to us with a sly tease; their name is actually Uchikubi Gokymon Doukoukai (打首獄門同好会), but they use “Gokumon” for their American audiences, because “you can easily remember this name.” A personal favorite from the set is “futon no naka kara detakunai' (布団の中から出たくない), a song about wanting to stay in bed all winter. The surf rock groove breaks up spouts of their signature intensity, at once lulling and frantic. Gokumon is campy, tossing balloon fish around and asking us to squat for them. Their unique sound inspired a genre of Japanese rock called Seikatsu Micchaku-gata Loud Rock (Life-Immersed Loud Rock).
Gokumon closed us out of SXSW day two, playing fast and loud to the setting sun. A quick glance at the crowd, and the smiles that welcomed this iconic group are still stuck to everyone’s face. This hardcore narration of everyday life is a way of being seen, turning regular life into something worth paying attention to. People are loving these guys, and so am I.