Karate took the stage this past Tuesday night, September the 28th, and provided a respectable start to the KSPC Blowout concert series. Although billed with an 8:00 PM start the concert did not get underway until approximately 8:40, due to an understaffed tech crew. The opening band, Kind of Like Spitting, gave an inauspicious start to the night, bringing confessional angst punk to new levels of obnoxiousness. Pain was the theme of the band’s music and in fact also the primary reaction to it; a better name for the band might be Kind of Like Passing a Large Kidney Stone. Though the set developed into a heartfelt emo scream-for-all comparable to fellow (and now defunct) Portlanders Lync, the first songs revolved around a heavily arpeggiated guitar, somber bass and genuine vocals remniscent of early Silkworm.

Andrew Jennings Shaolin strumming, Karate style. Geoff Farina and his deadly weapon.

Despite the earnest intensity of the opening set, and a few good thrashable jam sequences, the relief of the sixty person crowd when Karate took the stage was audible. Unlike most bands on the popular scene, Karate seriously impresses with a low-key attitude. None of Kidd Rock’s, "What’s my name?", or even the old chestnut, "Are you ready to rock?", passed the lips of Karate’s lead singer. Exuding a quiet confidence, the three-man band eased effortlessly into some of their trademark slow grooves. Many students, exhausted from Pomona’s insomniac lifestyle, fought with drowsiness during Karate’s enjoyable but leisurely opening tune. Crowd reaction was strong though and Karate, perhaps sensing the general mood, speeded things up a bit.

Karate’s own promos describe them with this metaphor: "You are at the amusement park and the line is very long for your favourite roller coaster but you know the wait is worth it. You finally get on the ride and you start your climb towards a throat gulping drop. Your emotions are rendered helpless as the ride twists and turns.
Translate that ride to music and you get Karate." This description proved quite apt, but unfortunately many people failed to see the fun of "waiting in line" for the music to energize.

One of the high points of Karate’s performance was the lead vocals. Reminiscent at times of a slam poet, Geoff Farina delivered the vocals with lyrical clarity and understated emotion, allowing the audience to savor their meaning as well as their musical value. Farina is also known for his work in the semi-acoustic sweethearts The Secret Stars, as well as his solo folk recordings.

Although the band kept the focus on relatively simple riffs with complex rhythms, showing their heavy jazz influence, they occasionally broke into expansive and complicated instrumental jams. At times sounding like progressive 70’s psychedelic jams, at others modern jazz (going so far as to cover a tune by jazz pianist/composer Bill Evans) the overall feeling was introspective indie rock. The only major fault in Karate’s performance was that their cool brand of rock failed somewhat to energize the audience, and enthusiastic but polite clapping held unusual sway over the more common concert etiquette of screaming and cheering. The setting, too, detracted from the experience, as stage lighting (obnoxious fluorescence), levels, and acoustics were all mediocre. The room used was clearly intended for brunch buffets (perhaps at the state penitentiary) rather than rock concerts.