The other day, less than a week after a triumphant show at DC9, the van carrying DMBQ rolled over between NYC and Deleware. All the members were hospitalized and the drummer, Mana "China" Nishiura, was killed.
Kurasawa and I were absolutely blown away by her playing (as well as the playing of the whole band). I've been crowing all week that it was in the top ten shows I'd ever seen. In a band of master players, her prowess with the sticks really shone through. It's a terrible loss of a great drummer.
She could really beat the hell out of those drums. At the end of the show, she didn't bat an eye as the singer took her kit apart, piece by piece, carried it off the "stage" and built a tower in the middle of the floor. She just kept on beating away, using whichever pieces remained, until she was down to one cymbal that he then finally took. By now, the tower was about six feet high, teetering precariously but still standing. The singer gave out a shriek and then flung the last cymbal like a frisbee into the tower, which caused the entire thing to break apart and collapse in a heap. End of show.
Her facial expression never changed. As soon as the tower came down, she turned and walked off stage. So cool.
