The Japanese House at The Fonda Theatre 11/20/2023

On November first, English, indie, dream-pop songstress Amber Mary Bain who's known as The Japanese House embarked on a North American tour of 30 show days. Starting off with a sold-out show in Philly and ending in Boston on December 10th, last week marked the halfway point with four sold-out shows in California, one of which I happened to find myself at.

The Japanese House @ The Fonda Thetare 11/20/2023 
photo by Nikki DeMartini

The Fonda was still filling up when I got to the venue last Monday night.  Quinnie was a few songs in as she comfortably positioned herself as an angelic sailor, cooing to the crowd with her sweet folky songs laced with swear words.
The crowd looked to be around my age (middle) and conversations seemed to grow louder the more Quinnie played and as more people showed up. 

Released over the summer on June 30th, the tour is in support of their critically accalimed sophomore album In The End It Always Does. When I gave it my first listen it stirred a resemblence to Boygenius and even HAIM a little bit...something about the riffs and harmonies. The fact that there were a lot of guys at the show that night, seemingly on thier own accord and not in tow with someone else was not lost on me as we waited for the headliner to take the stage. The Japanese House is proving to be a power player on the optomistic "sad-girl" indie trend.

Any space on the floor when the opener left the stage was inconspiculously occupied and before you knew it the place was as stuffed as a Thanksgiving turkey.
 After nearly forty minutes, the change over that didn't want to end finally did! Cheers filled The Fonda as the house lights dimmed and The Japanese House took the stage. The curtains opened up to a minimalistic stage design of one large white, wrinkled sheet stretched out longbehind the 5 piece band with Bain front and center. 

The Japanese House @ The Fonda Theatre 11/20/2023
photo by Nikki DeMartini

For as solemn as her sound can be it was refreshing to see Bain smiling as soon as the room laid eyes on her. She beamed on stage with her guitar in hand and band by her side as they kicked off the set with "Sad to Breathe" a track off the new album. 

It was clear quite quickly that there was good reason for the long change over. The Japanese House sounded impecable. Her vocals, calm amd collected were smooth as butter and the instruments clear and crisp. Causing a stir at the top of the next song, "Touching Yourself" fueled cheers as well as some movement in the crowd. Rainbow colored lights illuminated the white sheet backdrop, lightening the mood of the night. People around me knew the words, becoming cooly jubilent as they quietly sang along. The audience participation sparked a visible bliss on stage between Bain and her mates as well as between her and her fans. 

Bain, still smiling, greeted the LA crowd, expressing that it'd been too long.
In 2019 she released her first LP, Good at Falling,  that was also the last time she played in LA.
Peersonable enough, she went on to introduce the next song, "Something Has To Change" joking at the end of it that something really had to change when she had wrote the song.  

The Japanese House @ The Fonda Theatre 11/20/2023 
photo by Nikki DeMartini

They played a couple songs off the first album before coming back to new stuff and as the sixth song of the night was qued, Bain declared, "this one is for all the queers". "Boyhood" is easily one of my favorite tracks from "In The End It Always Does". It's serene and soothing for easy listening, relatable not only for those in the queer commuinity but anyone on the journey of learning who they are and finding their voice. A delicate song for a delicate dance. 

As promised by Bain herself, the mood shifted to a more meloncaly one before "Friends" picked things back up. I couldn't have been the only one there hoping that The Japanese House would play "Morning Pages", another  favorite off of the new album and I definitely couldn't have been the only one there totally shocked when MUNA, who's featured on the track,  joined The Japanese House on stage to preform the song live!?! Or was I? Being from the Bay I wonder, does this sort of thing happen all the time in LA?
 Everyone there was elated and that wasn't the finale! The Japanese House had six more songs in store for us! 

This show made staying out late on a Monday night well worth it. For as reserved as their sound is, The Japanese House live show will blow you away if they sound anywhere as near as good as they did their headlining show at The Fonda. Friends mentioned that they had tickets to see The Japanese House in San Francisco and Seattle and I them that they were in for a treat! 

The Japanese House @ The Fonda Theatre 11/20/2023 
photo by Nikki DeMartini

set-list 11/20/2023

1. Sad To Breathe 
2. Touching Yourself 
3. Something Has To Change 
4. Follow My Girl 
5. Saw You in a Dream 
6. BoyHood 
7. You Seemed So Happy 
8. Baby Goese again
9. Over There 
10. Friends 
11. Morning Pages (ft. MUNA) 
12. Chewing Cotton Wool 
13. Maybe You're the Reason 
14. Dionne
 
encore
15. Super Trooper (ABBA cover)
16. One for sorrow, two for Joni Jones 
17. Sunshine Baby