Acid Mothers Temple and the Melting Paraiso at the Troubadour in LA by Eric Nielsen pics by Phil Beaumont 04.16.07

Acid Mothers Temple and the Melting Paraiso debuted their new line up at the Troubadour in LA on Friday. This was the first time the US saw this group with Kitagawa on vox. Their show at the Troubadour was their first on a month long US and Canadian tour.

Ever since Cotton Casino left the band, there has not been a female presence in the band. But, there is one now, as Kitagawa is the new addition on voice and theremin and she fits in with remarkable ease She's a high school friend of Kawabata. This is a master's classic lineup consisting of Kawabata on guitar, Tsuyama on bass and acoustic guitar, Higashi on synth and guitar, and Koji on drums.

All four of the front men are singing and the sound at the Troubadour was a bit out of control at first. Acid Mothers notorius precursory sound checks and the first night of their month long tour led to the levels taking a while to get normalized and balanced in the house. Thank all gods, it eventually came together (as it always does for this top of the line band). The bass was so loud it smoked up through your feet (that's a good thing) and when the kick drum combined with the bass the rumbling would shake loose any knots in your heart or back muscles (also very nice, a sort of sonic chakra massage).

Kitagawa's voice was so hot it would take over Kawabata's guitar and drown it or take over a phrase. It took a long version of Pink Lady Lemonade to get the levels together. When they came back into the closing of the main riff, it all started sliding in. The end of the night brought a head banging version of La Novia that converted all the non believers. The guitar level came up in balance as if the sound man had been waiting to peak with the band.

They opened with the title track of their new album Nam Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo on Ace Fu Records. It was great to see this lineup and you better seek them out when they come to the towns nearest you, meaning go see them more than once. Kawabata said they'd be playing different sets on the tour. Go see the true Japanese Underground 2007 and stay for the party after. Oh, and don't forget to spend all of your money at their shopzone. They've got at least 60 titles on the table with like 3 new discs and t shirts and a dvd, Koji's snare and at some point you'll be able to buy Kawabata's boots.