The Andy Aupperlee Explosion 5000

Kaz of PWRFL Power at The Velvet Lounge.
Washington DC.
December 9, 2008.
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This is not Half Yogurt. This is PWRFL Power. The last time I saw Kazutaka Nomura, he was his other alter ego, Half Yogurt. From what I can tell, Half Yogurt is Kaz’s solo electric guitar performance vehicle. Add vocals to that and you get PWRFL Power. Of course, you can read his blog at http://www.halfyogurt.blogspot.com/. There he boldly pronounces that PWRFL POWER is HALF YOGURT. Whatever you call him, or he calls himself, it’s the same brand of inventive guitar finger-picking and quirky lyrics.

Kaz and his audience.
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Kazutaka Nomura is a Seattle based musician. Originally from Japan, Kaz splits his time between the Northwest, New York City and Washington DC. I caught his act earlier this month at the Velvet Lounge in DC. The Velvet Lounge is a tiny bar with a performance space on the second floor. My advice is to grab a PBR tallboy downstairs and bring it up with you—using the 16 ounce version will cut down on trips back and forth between the stage and the bar.

Kazutaka Nomura.
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As a composer, Kaz’s guitar work is fascinating. He opened with a thoughtfully constructed instrumental (solo electric guitar). He cleverly weaved together several themes while spanning a wide dynamic range. By highlighting subtle nuances throughout song, Kaz organically accelerated the urgency of the piece. He created a tension, whispered a hint of relief, but did not resolve the conflict until the finale. The packed room at the Velvet let out a collective sigh, and then warmly applauded. The rest of his set featured more frenzied guitar work, but added Kaz’s simple vocals and odd lyrics. The most entertaining part of the night might have been his goofy banter in between songs. He explained that one song was about “Alex 5,” an old, broken bong. Another song was about how he had hooked up with a girl in New England, and then the next morning went to a diner where her mother worked. While some criticize this deliberate “cutesy-ness,” I think it works for him. Watching a PWRFL Power/Half Yogurt set is like walking into a room at a house party where a guy is playing guitar for five or six people.

Also, last time I saw Kaz (as Half Yogurt), he was not selling any merchandise. To make up for this, he offered to sell his guitar for $700. He said he was not kidding. This time he did have merch for sale, although it wasn’t for “gas money” or the normal reasons bands sell CDs and t-shirts. He told he us he didn’t really care about the money; but he’d like it if you bought the CD and learned the songs. This way we could sing along with him next time.

The light at the Velvet Lounge was SUPER low. Most of these pictures were shot wide open at ISO 3200 (click the EXIF links to see for yourself). I used what has become my standard concert setup: Nikon D300 set to Neutral. Matrix metering or spot/center weighted average metering if the light source is behind the subject. Max ISO set to 1600 or 3200 with a minumum shutter speed of 1/60. Close up shots – Nikon 50mm f/1.8. Wide angle – Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8.

The Velvet Lounge. Washington DC.
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View a slide show of the above images and several others from that night.