NOT REBOUND Live Report

Click on each picture to see a full screen view. You won’t regret it!



Seeing NOT REBOUND live is a bit like watching all your mates play down at a local bar. But they’re not your mates, they are one of the longest running and hottest punk bands to come out of Japan.

NOT REBOUND have been together since before some of their fans were born and this was wholly evident with their performance on Saturday. They put together a well crafted and complex sound that spans pop,punk and rock. The vocal duo of Matsubara and Katagiri perform extremely well as a pair, hammering out songs from a diverse catalogue of sounds.







NOT REBOUND’s popularity amongst the Japanese punk scene shone through on Saturday with an appearance from Water Closet’s Itou Etsushi, who decided to go to the toilet right before he was due on stage, calling for a hail of abuse from a charged punk crowd.



Right before the end of the show a huge lumbering blob of a human being waddled on stage: CIM’s bassist Tropical Gorilla, who played “pussy man” to a mosh-fueled crowd.

The bands drummer received a hefty amount of abuse on Saturday for his more than ample size. Guitarist and singer Matsubara ragged on him constantly about how he ripped the new t-shirts the band had made with his belly. In fact the drummer really didn’t get away with much, being called Otaku regularly throughout the show. All this teasing however just emphasised how tight the band members were with each other and how long they have been playing. Like I said earlier it was like watching friends play.



NOT REBOUND had just come from Nagoya where they played an allegedly “one man show”, with guitarist Matsubara getting so out of control that he played most of it out of tune. This Shelter gig was wholly different, NOT REBOUND have been playing there since an event they ran called “one fine day in Tokyo” and it showed in the audience’s anticipation. It was like watching a football team play at their home ground.

The show ended with the return of an ecstatic Misaki from the supporting Special Thanks (read their live report here). Clutching the song lyrics in her hand she sang along with the band all the while trying to hold back her excitement of getting to play with a band she looked up to so much. This really was the climax of the show, so many people packed into such a small stage and so much going on made it feel like a true underground punk gig.

Written and photographed by Hunter Skipworth. Read the report from the previous band, Specialthanks here.