Live Review: Kishi Bashi, Tall Tall Trees

The art of the loop pedal. It's not just an artform, it's a seriously tricky and masterful skill and, when it's done right, it can be breathtaking. Tonight, we were treated to how it should and shouldn't be used.

We started with a guy by the name of Tall Tall Trees, otherwise known as Mike Savino. He arrived with a banjo and a shit-ton of pedals. He proceeded to make that banjo sound like nothing we'd ever heard before. Not only was he looping the crap out of it, but there was also distortion and even effects to make it sound like an organ. Then it lit up as he handed a remote to someone in the front row to control. Pity about the sound problems, though, and with all the innovative use of banjo sometimes you just want to hear a basic finger-picking twang, right?

Kishi Bashi, the stage name of Kaoru Ishibashi, arrived in his usual tuxedo and took to his stool by the organ to start with Statues In A Gallery. Since his last visit in 2014, he has a new album and a band, which includes Savino on banjo and bass. The new album explores the use of synth, distortion and, of course, the violin. Watching Ishibashi on violin was awe-inspiring. He made the bow dance. He finger-picked with aplomb and tied it in with loops that created a magical orchestral effect. Not just basic loops, but double-speed, octaves and all sorts of cleverness. This was no gimmick.

The night swayed from delicate violin and falsetto in Bittersweet Genesis For Him AND Her to full-on kaleidoscopes of sound from the trio in Philosophize In It! Chemicalize With It!. Interspersed between songs was the shining personality of Ishibashi, who practised his Australian accent on us, learnt the definition of 'tits-up' and 'pear-shaped' and made us all fall in love with him over and over.

Kishi Bashi finished with a trio of acoustic tunes. We witnessed two hours of extraordinary talent on the small OAF stage and our souls are all the better for it.