Ginger Root’s Cameron Lew at Royale Boston
Tuesday night brought the funk, the groove and the laughs as Huntington Beach born “aggressive elevator soul” project Ginger Root and opener—j-pop sensation Amaiwana —brought their full production to the Royale in Boston. Complete with multiple screens throughout the venue, including four on the ceiling directly above the dance floor—something frontman Cameron Lew described as his “nightmare,” seemingly reflecting the potential danger of hoisting up such large screens over a crowd of people. But the night went on without any falling screens or general mishaps. Instead, attendees were treated to a brightly colored multimedia showcase of both bands.
Amaiwana with Atsumu Wonderful at Royale Boston
Opener Amaiwana served up a heaping helping of kawaii and Japanese city pop with colorful outfits, cool guitar solos and plenty of peace signs. Guitarist Atsumu Wonderful wore the best outfit of the evening, an all mustard yellow silk suit with a complimentary sky blue suit jacket and sunglasses. Both performers were able to engage the crowd with just a look before launching into another candy-sweet head bopper.
Ginger Root (and their cameraman) then took the stage to riotous applause, ready to put on a wonderfully weird show. Quite often, bands employ a cameraman to capture various angles of the performance, but I haven’t seen any put in the work quite like David Gutel. Dancing around the stage, switching frantically between different band members and members of the audience, Gutel became an integral part of the performance.
In between songs, videos would play on the ceiling, the sides of the stage and on little retro TVs scattered around. These range from ads for “Overdrive Academy,” a fictional show from “Ginger Root Productions,” and a recap of the latest “Briefcase Expo.” There’s a trailer for an anime, “Meet You in the Galaxy,” which Lew may or may not be turning into an actual movie and various skits including one where Lew is fired from his own company. The evening buzzes with excitement as we eagerly anticipate the next gag before being treated to more delectable bops and charming clips.
Ginger Root at Royale Boston
As entertaining as the recorded portions of the evening, Lew managed the same level of dry-humor and absurd bits live on stage. Pausing to recount some deep personal feelings before admitting they have nothing to do with the next song, “just something I needed to get off of my chest”, or grabbing a cowbell from the drummer before violently striking it with a drumstick while screaming. Whatever Lew was doing onstage, the audience was hungry for it. Standout songs from the night included lead single “No Problems” from Ginger Root’s recent album SHINBANGUMI, their 2021 hit single “Loretta” and a cover of The Beatles’ “Day Tripper”.
Be sure to check out all of Cam Cavagnaro’s photos below!
Ginger Root’s 2024 Fall Tour continues across the US with Amaiwana before heading over to Europe with support from King Pari. You can follow Amaiwana for more info here and for more information on Ginger Root, click here.