YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA

Back in high school in Southern California in 1981, I was captivated and amazed by a group from Japan called Yellow Magic Orchestra. Their breakthrough hit, a rearrangement of a song called Firecracker (or the Circus), captivated me. I had never heard anything remotely like it. I bought the cassette tape and played it until it wore out...then I bought it again. Over the years, I grew to enjoy more of their repertoire, but with college and law school, I lost touch with the group's progress, and the breakups and reunions didn't make it easier to follow them. But I could hear their influence in so much of the electronica, hip hop and other music that followed them. Their sound remained fresh, in every sense of the word. Well, it has been about 30 years now, and the closest I have come to actually seeing them was to experience seeing them on Youtube. So imagine how delighted I was to find that they were coming to my new hometown, San Francisco. I couldn't wait to get a ticket and finally experience the music LIVE!! Full of hope and expectation, I arrived at the Warfield Monday night, aching to see the guys in person. After Prefuse, the opener (not my favorite, smile), they took the stage. What followed was truly a tour de force. They simply have not lost a step. A brief abstract interlude opened the show before the group launched into a powerful rendition of "Firecracker", completely true to the recorded version I know and love. Unfortunately for me, I didn't have my camera phone ready and was faced with the quandary of deciding whether to dance (so many reserved people in the audience just didn't move all night, lol), try to figure out how to get the videocam on my phone to work, or just watch and enjoy the song. I settled on a little of all three. Fortunately, there were professionals recording the whole show. I can't wait to get my hands on the video / DVD. I hope they release it soon. The show that followed was so tight, so on point and still so completely relevant to what is happening now. I am 47, and sat next to two kids in their late teens / early 20's. One said he discovered YMO surfing the net looking for music for video games, and it was the best concert he had ever seen. It was definitely up there for me too. Someone said this was their last show in North America. I hope not. I love this band and would definitely pay to see them again.

I loved the Big in Japan concert at the Hollywood Bowl. The music and lighting effects were absolutely phenomenal. Being at a concert with so many lovely and fun loving Japanese people added to the joy of the evening. I think Cibo Matto is so much fun and entering. Yuka and Miho are so cool and beautiful! I am in love with them!

Like many of the reviews here, a lot of people flew from all over the U.S. to catch YMO in SF. I flew from LA. The concert was absolutely wonderful. They played for about 1 hour and 40 minutes, well worth the admission price, which was relatively cheap considering this band's legacy and influence in everything that is electronic music. The set list consisted primarily of classic tracks from their YMO discography, truly catering the best selections to an eager and elated audience. The concert was in fact professionally filmed and recorded, so I'm sure some Blu-ray/DVD will find its way by the end of the year/early 2012. Just some notes: This was YMO's first time back in the U.S. since their last world tour back in 1980. Most of the press didn't bother checking their facts (all of them saying YMO's last time in California was in 1979 which isn't true). YMO played 4 concerts in the U.S. during the end of their 1980 world tour, two concerts in Hollywood, one in San Francisco, and the last in New York.

Seeing YMO play was a classic! It was their SF debut after 40 years and fans were very excited to see them. They had a very classy stage presence and I loved everything they did. From techno-ambient to disco...I love their work and they're so famous in my heart. Please have YMO come to the Bay Area again please!

The sound system was plain horrible. While the Bass was adequate the high frequency range was lost so the overall sound was rather 'muddy'. It was an injustice to such a legendary band. But I was still fortunate enough to have been there!

Show started exactly at 7 p.m. with the pounding of the Taiko drums. Good view of stage, video monitors and great sound. Bowl staff knowledgeable and friendly.

This was an amazing show. I wasn't familiar with a lot of the music, but I am now inspired to hear more.

I enjoyed the concert. It sounded a little bit jazz performance rather than electronic sounds this time. Yukihiro's aura was so energetic and even from distance, I could feel the energy. He beated the drum energetically just like his young day and I was impressed. YMO is my young time good memory in my highschool days in Japan. We danced with their music, "Rydeen" and "Tokio" in our high school festival. Last time, I went to Ryuichi's concert in NYU in November 2010. I said I am his fan since YMO time. He looked at me with astonishing eyes because maybe I look quite young for that generation??? I live in NY and I all the way flied to San Francisco this time. Because of Pride parade, hotel and airline was so expensive. I have nothing to do Pride Parade. I just went to see YMO. It costed more than $1600 for air fare and hotel. I love San Francisco, so it is always O.K. to go to that city but not the time of Pride weekend because it costs more than usual. I hope they will come to New York next time. Ryuichi lives here in Manahattan, so why not? Next time, I want to hear Harumi's "Madman","Mass" and also Yukihiro's"La Femme Chinoise" and also Ryuichi's "Perspective".This is my request. I want to see their concert again. I am listening to their music everyday, actually. Please stay healthy and come back to US.

YMO's return to the USA was an unforgettable event, one the finest lives shows I've ever seen in over 40 years. Sakamoto, Takahashi and Hosono split the vocals, and they were augmented by two guitarists and a horn player. My only quibble is that I wanted more vocals from Yuki and I thought it was odd he sang only three songs since he was the lead vocalist back in the day. The sound was as fresh, muscular and vibrant as ever and sounds like it could be released now. Their music is timeless. They all looked great too. I travelled from my home in NYC to SF just to see this concert and it was totally worth it.

YMO was fantastic. The whole band was incredibly tight. I was pleasantly surprised by the deep tracks in the song selection. It more than made up for the opening duo who were so abysmally horrible I can't understand how they got the gig.

Was lucky enough to see them in concert in one of their only 2 appearances in the U.S. (L.A. & S.F.). Their music seemed as bright & fresh as ever and could see how much of it influenced more contemporary Electronic music from the 90's & 00's. Hope they decide to visit SF again and that this was not their last U.S. visit.

Great show. However, the sound on the floor level was pretty bad. The bass cabinets and subwoofers were operating at such high levels and intensity that it obliterated any clarity. I don't think this was the band's soundperson's fault - it seems like most Warfield shows have this problem. There's no reason why the subs need to be driven at this level; it just makes you feel like your chest is being caved in rhythmically everytime there's a kickdrum hit.

Seriously fantastic. Opening act was painful to sit through, though.

it was the night to remember!! as I was sure 30 years ago, YMO's music is forever.

The night of "Big in Japan" was full of anticipation; Yellow Magic Orchestra (the reason my friends and I went to the concert for) played last and their performance (yeah Sakamoto!) did not disappoint. I didn't realize that the line-up would be all electronic music until the concert commenced with Buffalo Daughter. I wanted to dance and scream louder, but the Hollywood Bowl was too big and polite a place to go crazy at. One thing I am somewhat disappointed about is how the members of YMO did not get to say much, except for a short introduction on welcoming Yoko Ono near the end of the concert. I wanted Sakamoto to say something - to thank his fans and talk about the band's reunion in L.A.! Alas, they played nonstop for 45 minutes and were probably too constrained by time to finish their songs... :(

Yoko Ono should not have shown up! Beyond Terrible.

Cibo Matto was AMAZING and the overall show was fantastic!!

What's not to love if you love Japanese pop music? Cibo Matto back together? Priceless! And the Hollywood Bowl still has the capacity to amaze, what a setting. Perfect!

When i was young, they already go separate ways, and I never have a chances to see them..... and what i saw today is.... Legend....!! they are amazing..... Until Yoko Ono..... starting performing...........................

I didn't go to this concert for YMO, though my girlfriend and I became instant fans. The group was like a Japanese Kraftwerk (Klaftwerk?) but with much more soul, like Zero 7, and the instrumentation of Elfman, with the slick production groove of Thievery. The atmosphere was trip-hoppy icy cool, and it was fun that these guys are basically Japanese elders. We went for CIBO MATTO, and I am so sad I can't see my favorite band elsewhere, unless I travel to DC, Boston, Toronto, or NY. I love their first album "Viva La Woman", and place their second "Stereotype A" on my top ten, so every song was a treat. Just sucks they only played seven songs. The songs were changed a little just to make it interesting: "Sugar Water" and "Beef Jerky" were spacey, "Spoon" had a reggae feel, "Know Your Chicken" had a different key (so I thought), and the highlight was a stripped down "Sci Fi Wasabi" ["CIBO MATTO 2011!"] and the "Birthday Cake" finale.

YMO is a legend. Yes, they are Big in Japan. I remember them and their songs in my childhood memory. That was great to see them still active after thirty years, play songs in more sophisticated way. But honestly I could not catch up with other bands prior to YMO. I heard Cibo Matto from CD, they are OK for me, not my favorite style (I'm an old Japanese) but good to see young Japanese artists are appreciated in America. - and other bands also "too young music" for me.. and long long program before YMO ... - but well OK I should appreciate them all. Actually Japanese traditional dancing and Taiko in between bands were fun kind of mixture! It was interesting to see real Yoko Ono! She is 87 years old ehh-? In general, great concert. Thank you!

Very good show, very well-organized. Opening acts went on too long so no encore for the main act which was too bad.

The main act made no attempt to build chemistry with the audience at all. And Yoko Ono should just not even try to perform.

I was so bummed. My heart goes out to the people of Japan for their recent tragedy and I wanted to support them in this show. The show was very flat. Where was the soul, the energy? I am a Cibo Matto fan and it felt like a girl shouting/screaming over a track with very little emotion or soul.