I listened to Acid Mothers Temple for the first time before seeing their show, and knew I was in for a unique concert experience. From the pictures, it seemed like they were a huge band, made up of traveling members who they picked up along the road in Japan, in the 70’s while dropping, what else, but acid. From their sound, it seemed like there was a lot of droning vocals, and chanting. I had never heard of them before, but suspected I was in for a treat...and I was right. While the band I saw at the Casbah consisted of a mere 4 members, their sound was still what I expected, except perhaps better. Acid Mothers Temple has been around since the mid 90s, although I was hoping they formed in the 70s for authentification. Since then, they have undergone several additions and subtractions of band members, as well as adaptations and revisions of band names. However, they have developed somewhat of a cult following, and still deliver an amazing show.

Acid Mothers Temples now consists of four band members: Kawabata Makoto – guitar, vocals (founder of the band), Shimura Koji – drums, Higashi Hiroshi – synthesizer, guitar, vocals, and Tsuyama Atsushi – bass guitar, vocals. They were all Japanese gentlemen in there forties (I guess), each with their own unique look. Makoto has long, black, curly frizzy hair and was dressed in a black leather motorcycle ensemble. Hiroshi wore horizontally striped cotton pants, and had long, straight gray hair, Koji wore a sweat-proof shirt with his hair tied back in a pony tail, and Atushi, who sang most of the set, wore the most normal looking pant and t-shirt outfit, with long hair and a beanie.

The sound was very intense. Someone next to me said, “it’s like acid music.” Gee, I wondered, how did you ever come to that conclusion? However, it seemed apparently true. It was as if the band was trying to send you back to the 70s where you were tripping on acid, at least they sounded like they were playing the soundtrack to a movie of that genre. The synthesizer was dubbing sounds that made it seem like we were sliding down a rainbow into a mushroom garden, and Atushi’s vocals added the extra “oomph.” He had such a clear, unique sounding voice, but it was mostly “ahhs” and “omms” although there were of course lyrics that I couldn’t make out completely. The crowd filled in considerably for their set, with people of all ages head-banging to the solid wall of guitar and bass. The drummer was exceptionally good as well. They played upbeat, rocking tracks, and slower, meditative tracks as well. It was unlike nothing I’d ever seen before, and definitely worth recommending.