Korean and Japanese Punk Bands Ally to Tour U.S.
Drinking Boys and Girls Choir and Otoboke Beaver soon to begin one-and-a-half month cross-country tour.
A great show of music diplomacy is set to begin on February 20 when the Japanese punk band Otoboke Beaver begins its U.S. tour with a show in Seattle, Washington. Korean punks Drinking Boys and Girls Choir will be openers.
South Korea is known for its K-pop, but it also has a vibrant punk rock scene. The Drinking Boys and Girls Choir formed in 2012 and has released two full-length albums and one EP. Platform, a Korean indie mag, describes them as “a force for thrash pop punky fun.” With a mixed female and male lineup, including Meena Bae playing bass and Megan Nisbet on guitar, their music includes messages about gender equality.
Otoboke Beaver is an all-woman garage punk band that formed in 2009 while the members were studying at at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto. They have released ten albums and EPs.
Similar to Korea, feminists are also slandered in Japan, so at first, vocalist Accorinrin denied the “feminist” label, but, according to NPR, she began calling herself a feminist after touring abroad. Japanese society also blames women for its declining birthrate—a phenomenon Otoboke Beaver addressed in Super Champon: "I am not maternal!" "I won't dish out salads!"
Both bands make kick-ass music and put on intense shows. They both performed at SXSW in 2019, and they have toured together before, including a brief tour of Europe in 2020.
After two nights in Seattle, the tour heads south, through Portland, Oregon and California, before progressing East through SLC, Denver, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Boston, NYC, DC, and a total of 27 cities, before ending in Orlando, Florida on March 30.
Here is the full schedule, courtesy of Otoboke Beaver and DBGC via Instagram:
