CMW Review: Japan Nite Josy

"We are saying German words in the states. I guess we got used to using them"- It sounded like Japanese psychedelic girl rock band, Josy had a great time in Germany while staying there for two weeks prior to the Japan Nite U.S Tour." The audience was so warm and they listen to our CD." Josy had multiple shows in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, which made them keen to explore more cities in Europe such as France and Berlin in the future. It was also the first time for them to participate at SXSW despite the fact that they've joined Japan Nite tour in the past. "It was so exciting and the city was filled with music everywhere we went."  

It's been three weeks on the road and their month long world tour is coming to the end after a few more shows with Japan Nite. "Toronto's (audience) was very similar to Japan. But by looking their faces I knew that they were listening to our song attentively so I was glad that we made it to Toronto. Not only was it the first time for us to play here, but also it was for Japan Nite as well. So I hope that we can come back to Toronto sometime in the future in summer."

When the girls of Josy showed up on stage confidently and dressed up colorfully, I felt that the audience was wowed by their stage appearance and they rather couldn't figure out what to do with the dynamic of their performance. The lead singer, Kumi, invited them to step closer to the stage. However the shy audience moved only inches and left some space between stage and the crowd. Yet, it didn't stop Josy rocking out the fullest. Their funky and fetching melodies enhanced by Kumi's powerful vocal captured my attention for the entire time. (It's so hard to believe that the compelling voice was coming out from such a tiny little girl.) Their stage presence was so strong that I didn't want to miss any bit of the show. While I was taking pictures, I couldn't help noticing the expression that Kumi had throughout her performance, which was very engaging and alluring. 

The band name, Josy isn't referring to the English name "Josy" It is a made-up word in Japanese based on Joshi and Josei -" Joshi (girl) and Josei (woman) "We can have both feelings of a woman and girl and also enjoy as a girl or woman forever. I think every woman can relate to that to some extent that sometimes they want to be playful like a girl forever and we wanted to express it through our music." Their style is hard to express in one word or one genre. It was just like their expressions throughout their performance changed with each song: Sometimes they appeared as cute girls, other times they had a face of a strong woman. Josy is the perfect example of the new generation of Japanese Yamato nadeshiko.