Japanther @ Goldilocks Gallery.

Art/punk rockers Japanther blasted through a late night set Saturday at Goldilocks Gallery that had the small crowd bouncing, slamming and screaming along. It was a raucous atmosphere in a fabulous, unorthodox space (to get to the bathroom, you walk through the kitchen, past the green room, where the musicians chilled before taking the stage).

Drummer Ian Vanek and bass guitarist Matt Reilly sang into old pay phone handsets that acted as mics, giving them an eerie, retro sound. The only time they stopped jamming was when they needed to change their cassette tape backing tracks. And during those moments between songs, Vanek muttered, “Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!” into the mic (the duo stopped by Pizza Brain before heading to the show).

The only problem with the night was that Japanther’s set was wicked short. Vanek and Reilly unceremoniously walked off the stage, seemingly mid-song. Reilly said something about coming back to Philly again soon, and with amplifiers next time. Vanek was drenched in sweat.

Fortunately, the brief but lively Japanther performance was preceded by a fun-filled set by fellow Brooklynites, Ninjasonik. Ninjasoniks’s pair of MC’s – Jah Jah and Telli – rapped old-school, party style, blending pop culture references with random music samples. They invited the crowd to sing along, and one young lady shook her ass on stage for an impressively long time.

Two Philly bands, Hirs and The Worms, opened the show (but sadly, we missed them).

Can’t wait to see more shows at Goldilocks, which, oddly enough, is located above the posh Stephen Starr joint, Morimoto.

Ninjasonik