Japanese alt-rock band MASS OF THE FERMENTING DREGS (MOTFD) put on a lively show at Portland’s Mission Theater on their second North American tour. The church-turned-theater pub draws a very different group of people now, but it continues to foster a sense of community and belonging. The crowd on the floor was just as zealous as their religious predecessors, but there was also a sense of supportiveness and mutual care, especially during the higher-energy songs that invited arm flailing and even a bit of moshing.
Guitarist and vocalist Naoya Ogura had the iconic shoegaze stance, thick hair shrouding his eyes and his composure exuding a quiet intensity throughout the show. During his grungy, fuzzy solos, his undeniable passion broke through his stoic demeanor, adding a burst of energy to the choruses. Miyamoto Natsuko, vocalist and bassist, had a bright, animated expression as she sang the pop-inspired melodic lines, but she also has a serious stank face when in full bassist mode. The final member of the trio, drummer Yoshino Isao was calm and focused, unfazed by the bursts of hyperfast sixteenth notes marking chord changes and rapidly alternating time signatures.
In “MELT”, the emphasis on the first two beats of the three-beat bar lurched the track forward relentlessly, much like if someone was favoring one leg over another while running. It built up to a squeaky, noisy guitar passage, and then tumbled back to find the melodic line, only to be overtaken by a crunchy instrumental unison hammering the first two beats through the end. Head-bangable stuff! There were a couple more of these propulsive, maximalist, and pedal-heavy tracks like “She is inside, He is outside,” which the crowd very much enjoyed, moshing as much as physically feasible on the packed floor. There was even some crowd surfing happening towards the end of the show.
Most of the songs the band performed were a bit more laidback and featured sweet melodies, yet they often also featured moments of instrumental ferocity. Natsuko’s plaintive voice gave the catchy melodies in songs like “Sugar,” “Slow Motion Replay,” and “Aoi, Koi, Daidaiiro No Hi” a melancholic twinge. There were moments where her voice was a bit piercing for my taste, but does serve as a good contrast to the steady, cymbal-forward instrumentals.
Perhaps the most captivating number was “End Roll,” a delicate, post-rock track. There’s a moment when the drums drop out, and it makes you hold your breath so as to not disrupt the bass and guitar duet. And just as you start running out of breath, the drums re-enter in a gentle explosion of sound, and it’s like the moment in an airplane when you emerge above the mass of clouds into the vast expanse of blue sky. Soaring vocals and melodic guitar solos towards the end made the beautiful track even more poignant and rich. Like “End Roll,” “1960” had that hypnotic, post-rock foundation, but it also brought in moments of noisy, improvisatory shredding that gives the track an experimental flair.
During the encore, Natsuko surprised the audience by hopping off the stage and into the crowd. The audience made a respectful bubble of space for her, and one lucky fan even got the chance to be Natsuko’s mic stand for part of the song. It was a high-energy outro to a well-balanced show filled with head-bangable, shreddy jams, as well as precious moments of expansiveness.
