This can certainly be said for TV Tairiku Ondo… seldom does a guitarist break a string during soundcheck. But this is the youthful exuberance the Rookie a Go-Go stage is built from!

These Sapporo boys wasted no time tearing into a blistering alt-hardcore set. Lots of hardcore appropriate minute or less songs, but with interesting and disjointed and discordant instrumentation. Their vibe seemed perfectly suited for a humid, stinking basement punk show (this is meant as a wholly sincere compliment), but they managed to hold down the Rookie stage with aplomb. Occasionally danceable bursts also kept the set sounding fresh, and gave singer Ryuji Chiyotani’s voice a break, letting him sneer instead of simply scream.

It was an intense and theatrical set, and if any in the audience were starting to feel the post 1am Sunday fatigue, TV Tairiku Ondo was a shock to the system like a bucket of cold, dirty water.