The Cabs have a slightly legendary status in the Japanese indie scene, spoken of somewhat reverently as a band that never got the mainstream success they deserved but inspired the launching of a thousand indie band ships. They burned brightly for a time, then sniffed themselves out in 2013. But they are back!

Their Sunday afternoon set at Red Marquee featured all their signature quirks, the jumps from quiet to loud, the math sections, the contrast between Yoshikatsu Shuto’s sweet and melodic voice with Kunimitsu Takahashi’s aggressive snarls and screams. If you thought you would never get to see the Cabs in their prime there certainly doesn’t seem to be much difference between who they were then and what they are now.

Throughout the set Itta Nakamura’s incredibly aggressive but meticulous drumming kept the three piece chugging forward, offering perfect counterbalance to the angular guitars.

The majority of their performance was an object lesson in balance, between light and dark, hard and soft, loud and quiet. Portions of songs were melodic and beautiful, and the were frequently tore to shreds by frantic drums, death scream and distortion. This is not a criticism, however. This is what made their set so compelling.

If you were looking for a little of the hard stuff before the sun went down, the Cabs set was the place for you.