The first time I saw (and ever heard) Blonde Redhead was live in New York City, at Tramps on West 21st. Kazu wore a red shirt. In fact, so did the brothers, Simone and Amedeo. But they looked like underfed trapeze artists while she looked ridiculously hot.



It was the late '90s, a few years after Cibo Matto's seminal (yes, seminal) Viva! La Woman, when it seemed every weird little band or musician that came out of Japan got hype -- Kahimi Karie, Takako Minekawa, Buffalo Daughter, Cornelius. Yoko Ono was posing on the cover of Ray Gun Magazine, Giant Robot was on the rise. But right around the time Grand Royal kicked, that trendy J-School music scene died, too. What ever happened to Kahimi? Who cares. That show blew my fucking mind. Kazu may be Japanese, and I might have gone to my first Blonde Redhead gig because I myself was a weird little Asianophile, but that's as far as that went.


It's rare when you hear a band for the first time and they swallow you whole -- obsessively, mesmerizingly, covered in sweat and tangled hair. Soon after, I interviewed Kazu for GR. It was as difficult to understand her whispery speaking voice as it is her lyrics when she sings. And for some reason, the clearest detail I remember is her telling me that her favorite restaurant was the Four Seasons, a posh place she dined at only when someone else was footing the bill. Anyway Kazu is still hot, and Blonde Redhead's latest album, 23, comes out tomorrow.


If you're so inclined, check out their free show at the Apple Store in Soho tomorrow night. 103 Prince Street, 8 pm.