Japanther at Burro Bar

August 30, 2013
by
2 mins read
Folio Weekly

by FAITH BENNETT
For whatever reason, Japanther’s appearance at Burro Bar will only be five dollars–a price suited for a punk house show, and it may feel like one anyway, in a good way. The mostly punk band who recently released their latest full length, Eat Like Lisa, Act Like Bart, will be performing with Jacksonville’s Tough Junkie, Glitterpiss and Ascetic. Ian Vanek of Japanther was able to talk to EU about the upcoming performance.
“We like to keep it open ended,” Vanek says, describing their art-project-turned-band. Having performed in more innovative ways than most in similar situations, they veer into the realm of performance art. This is fitting given their start. Vanek and Matt Reilly began their 12-year artistic partnership at New York’s respected Pratt Institute. “Pratt is like a great school of writing.” He says that Pratt allowed him and Reilly to heavily experience the culture of another type of music than their own: “There was so much hip-hop going on all the time, and we were still two kids who were really interested in rock and roll and punk…It was a very hip-hop place at that time. Now I think it’s a little more punk, but things change.”
If you want to know what to expect of the new album, then maybe just imagine a cleaner more melodic continuation of 2011’s Beets, Limes, and Rice. It’s every bit as easy to listen to despite being characteristic of noise rock in 2013. When it comes to their live show though, audiences may need to anticipate a little more ruckus. Ranek says to expect a lot of sampling, a lot of dancing, and perhaps crowd surfing. They are known for their stage antics, less to the extent of theatrically baroque bands like Of Montreal or Gogol Bordello, but rather in a more classic punk fashion. Ranek says their performance aesthetic even carries a vaudevillian aspect.”It changes from city to city but expect a very high energy show…punk aspects with hip hop connotations.”
On the concept of the art piece of a band Ranek admits, “I know it sounds a little pompous to other people, but it’s just an idea for us to stay interested and stay excited about what we’re doing and the manner that we’re doing it. We definitely have learned how to talk about our process and our art-making process and people and friendships. You’re allowed to have so many new experiences and travel and learn so much about what different artists are going through. Like artists in California are going through and artists in Florida and artists in New York and all three of those things together…you learn a great deal through travel and friendship and performing music, which like I said is at a place where you’re very transparent.” The energy of performance is a huge pay-off Ranek. “When you’re making music, and you’re dancing, you’re at your most human and beautiful.” That said, Sunday should be pretty beautiful.

Folio is your guide to entertainment and culture around and near Jacksonville, Florida. We cover events, concerts, restaurants, theatre, sports, art, happenings, and all things about living and visiting Jax. Folio serves more than two million readers across Jacksonville and Northeast Florida, including St. Augustine, The Beaches, and Fernandina.

Folio Weekly
Previous Story

CANCER: Aug. 28-Sept. 3

Folio Weekly
Next Story

FALL PERFORMING ARTS PREVIEW GUIDE

Latest from Music

Nancy Wilson: Still Rocking, Still Writing, Still Raising Hell

By Teresa Spencer In a world where music icons are too often frozen in amber, Nancy Wilson remains in motion writing, playing, evolving. And when you speak with her, it’s clear the Hall of Famer hasn’t just survived rock and roll. She’s still breathing fire into it. At

Loud, Fast and Lifted: Lifted Riffs 

Words by Carmen Macri  “It wasn’t always the dream, you know, I didn’t always want to be a punk or a rockstar, it’s just something that kind of happened through life.”  Jacksonville’s music scene might seem like a thing of the past — if you’re not paying attention.

Nightlife Tech

Words by Kaili Cochran What does it mean to go out when the dance floor might be virtual, the music silent and your wristband reflects your mood in real time? Nightlife is constantly evolving and so are the ways we socialize and spend our time. Earlier this year

June Concerts

June 1 Certainly So Jack Rabbits jaxlive.com June 2 Styx & Kevin Cronin + Don Felder Daily’s Place dailysplace.com June 3 Dispatch St. Augustine Amphitheatre theamp.com Melrose Avenue Jack Rabbits jaxlive.com June 4 Barenaked Ladies St. Augustine Amphitheatre theamp.com Jacksonville Rock Orchestra: The Music of
July 5th Cleanup
GoUp

Don't Miss

The Avett Brothers

November 15 The Avett Brothers St. Augustine Amphitheatre (904) 471-1965

Paula Poundstone

Paula Poundstone “Twitter is the postcards in my head.” It’s