One of the events that I was really looking forward to seeing at Anime Vegas was the Red Bacteria Vacuum concert. RBV is an all-girl group from Japan who’s been together for around 15 years. When I first went backstage, I found these three slender, exuberant ladies wearing shimmering oversized shirts and Lone Ranger masks over their eyes. They were mugging for another photographer so I had to jump in and snap a few for myself.
They were really excited, a little nervous, but excited more than anything else, and then they started jumping around doing stretching and breathing exercises. They were just so freaking cute and not anything like I expected. When they finally take the stage, the crowd starts cheering. Lead singer/guitarist Ikumi tells the audience: “I am happy in Las Vegas!” Then they proceed to deluge the audience with their torrential sound. They so obviously love what they do that it’s infectious and on top of that, they can really play!
The next day I was taking a break from the convention, kicking back in one of the big, comfy leather couches at the Alexis Park resort, when I spotted the two original members of RBV, Ikumi and Kassan (bass/vocals) take a couch across from me. So of course I had to go bug them. Just as I had gathered from seeing them backstage, Ikumi and Kassan were really friendly and they explained that they just added their drummer Jasmine last year. You’d never know it by listening to them; they sound like they’ve all been together ever since the band’s inception in the late 90’s. They went on to say that this was their first trip to Vegas and they liked it (even though it was really hot outside). In Japan, they’re still up and coming and play as a part of a tour called “Japan Nite.” From what I could gather, they mainly do smaller shows like the one here in Vegas and that in Japan, they are still as of yet only “a little famous.” But there’s nothing I could say that would do them or their music justice, you’ll just have to see them for yourself. Check out more pics from the show below and click to get to their website at www.red-bacteria.com or on Myspace: www.myspace.com/redbacteria.