Guitar Wolf – pic by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussex
Guitar Wolf – ギターウルフ
Guitar Wolf is a Japanese garage rock power trio founded in Tokyo in 1987. The band is known for songs with piercing vocals and an extremely loud style of noise-influenced punk which emphasizes heavy distortion and feedback. They coined the phrase “jet rock ‘n’ roll”, which they also use to describe their musical style – an energetic cross between the Ramones, Link Wray, rockabilly, 77 punk, and garage rock. The band is part of Sony Music Japan’s Ki/oon Records division.
Guitar Wolf – pic by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussex
Guitar Wolf has released thirteen studio albums internationally as well as a live album, numerous singles, and a retrospective compilation called Golden Black. The band members have also been featured in two B-grade science fiction horror movies.
Guitar Wolf – pic by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussex
Stay Sick promotions put these guys on, they warned us it was going to be a loud one! They weren’t kidding dear reader! What we got was 90 minutes of non-stop punked up rock ‘n’ roll played at volume level 11 and a bonkers tempo. Let me tell you it was a whole lot of noisy, sweaty fun!
Guitar Wolf – pic by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussex
Guitar Wolf: The Band
Gotz – Bass Wolf
Seiji – Guitar Wolf
Toru – Drum Wolf – not available – Shinji Wada from Osaka band DMBQ was the stand in.
Guitar Wolf – pic by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussex
Guitar Wolf: The Set
How can you not just fall for a band choose to start their set with each band each downing a pint – in one, whilst the unattended guitars howled and screamed with waves of feedback.
The guys didnt stop, not once, for nearly an hour and a half of hell for leather rock and punk. Damn they were good!
And so the set, sadly my Japanese is great and it was so damn loud I couldn’t have heard what was being said anyway! But, I did recognise a couple of tune. One moment he was on stage, the next Gotz grabbed a mic and stand and plonked it down in the middle of the hot capacity crowd and gave us a rendition of Summertime Blues. It was loud enough to have shaken Eddie Cochran himself!
Guitar Wolf – pic by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussex
The leather jackets were very Ramones and the frequent 1-2-3-4’s also gave more than just a passing nod to the brudders. Only a few songs in and Guitar Wolf Guitar were already dripping with sweat and the beer from earlier. In all that leather it was a wonder we didn’t have a heat exhaustion casualty. So the set, there was a list but Gotz slipped on it before launching himself across the stage.
Thank you Derek! Hi, just been reading your review of the Guitar Wolf show in Brighton, what a great gig! Its been a few weeks now but I thought I’d let you know the set list in your photo: 1. Planet of the Wolves 2. Sex Jaguar 3. Kannana Fever 4. Invader Ace 5. Gimme some Lovin’ 6. Jet Generation 7. Kenka Rock 8. Bowling 9. Wild Zero 10. Mars Twist 11. Kick Out The Jams 12. Rumble 13. Love and Jett. Also, need to let you know that regular drummer Toru couldn’t make this tour and the stand-in was Shinji Wada from Osaka band DMBQ
We had a couple of crowd bundles, I nearly lost my right ear as the guys almost caught me with their boots as they crowd dived! Yes, in The Hope and Ruin! They didn’t care, neither did the members of the crowd who got caught up in it all! I think I heard the Blues Brothers classic – Gimme Some Lovin’ in there, it was the tune and the odd word that helped me spot that one!
Guitar Wolf – pic by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussex
Also a rendition of Kick Out The Jam – it was the “mother f**kers” that helped realise that one! I think I heard I Saw Him Standing There in the set, I wonder what Sir Paul would make of this version! So that was the set. I am sorry I cant give you more – but if anyone can help, please drop us line!
Guitar Wolf – pic by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussex
A lot of what was played seemed similar, nothing wrong with that. It was loud and catchy enough to keep the crowd motivated! I have to confirm that Guitar Wolf are true performers and always put on an amazing live show. Amazing really that the heavy duty leather jackets and cool sunglasses stayed on the whole set, well at least for the singer as Gotz lost his shades during one of his many forays into the eager crowd. Their image is obviously important, and it works. It did for The Ramones.
The memory of the bundles on stage, and off, will no doubt last longer than the buzzing ears. The evening was just utterly nuts but, you know what, it was a shed load of fun – which is just the way it should be. Well played Guitar Wolf!
STAY SICK!
Stay Sick are promoters based in Brighton. They have been around for a while now. Great night and well organised Thank you Stay Sick.
Established in 2008, now a Brighton institution for the ones in the know, these Cramps obsessed guys have put on such greats as Billy Childish, Kid Congo from the Cramps, Monotonix, Eighties Matchbox B-line Disaster and Thee Oh Sees. With bands from Japan, Germany, USA, France and even Croatia (to name but a few), STAY SICK has made it their mission to track down, kidnap and present you with the best bands from all over the globe.
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