Performing at the Troubadour in West Hollywood on Nov. 19, experiential indie artist, Ginger Root played back-to-back sets during “The Wheel” tour. The performance was split into two segments, the first being a performance of his “Shinbangumi” EP while the second consisting of random Ginger Root songs picked by a wheel.
Ginger Root, the stage name of Cameron Lew, takes heavy inspiration from Japanese city pop and the 1980s Japanese aesthetic, creating his distinctive identity. He likewise brings in new ideas to an otherwise old genre, which generated his cult following.
“I honestly feel like city pop is more than a use of the music, the instruments that people use. It’s like the vibe too,” said Luis Ore, a fan at the concert. “It’s super mellow, super chill, laid back. You can picture driving to this music and it just feels awesome.”
Shinbangumi
The first set, “Shinbangumi,” follows the EP of the same name, however the set is more than a list of songs. Each song and corresponding music video acts like a scene within a movie, combining to form an entire musical that tells a complete story.
“I think Cameron’s a musical genius, but he’s also an artist … I’m almost more into seeing his videos and his movies and the music was almost secondary, like it was the soundtrack. So I actually really appreciated his cinematography,” said Annie Largado, a fan who came with her son.
Ginger Root adapted their storytelling into a concert setting by projecting the film portion of the EP on screens behind them, serving as a backdrop for the live music being played. After every song, Lew would dramatically drop to the floor, allowing the audience to watch the next portion of the film without obstruction.
Throughout the entire performance, the 1980s Japanese aesthetic was put on center stage and integrated into every aspect of the performance. The “Shinbangumi” film feels directly ripped out of the ‘80s, with the quality and colors of a CRTV as well as the fashion and buildings replicating Japan a few decades ago.
The live performance likewise has this same detail, with Lew wearing a suit similar to older city pop artists and camera operator David Gutel wearing a vintage jumpsuit bearing the “Ginger Root Productions” logo during the second set.
Another key part of Ginger Root is the interconnected nature across the different media he uses. One of the main plot points in “Shinbangumi” is Lew refusing to make a sequel to his most famous song, “Loretta.”
Both the performance and the background film came together to create a unique live movie experience, with the songs still being the main highlights of the set. During the entire concert, fans were fully engaged, dancing and nodding as the songs played then erupting into applause and cheers during the period between songs and scenes.
The Wheel
Upon returning to the stage after the “Shinbangumi” set, Lew brought out the titular wheel, containing 14 different songs and two wild card items. Prior to the tour, fans had the opportunity to vote on the 14 songs that would appear on this wheel via a form, containing various tracks from all of Ginger Root’s albums, plus a few stand alone songs.
“I’m looking forward to the wheel,” said Ore, prior to the performance. “I’ve heard a few things about him spinning the wheel, so I’m really excited to see what’s gonna come about. It’s my first time seeing this at a concert.”
Before every spin, Carney and Hovis, the two other members of Ginger Root, would play an instrumental backing track. Lew would then talk to the audience, and finally, together with the audience, shout “Spin That Wheel!”
Lew, prior to spinning the first time, made the disclaimer, “You get what you get, you don’t throw a fit, you cheer for every song even if you have never heard the title before.”
Despite this, during the third spin, one audience member shouted to spin again upon landing on the song “Nominated,” prompting Lew to go on a funny, yet serious side tangent.
“[Nominated is] one of our favorite songs to play,” Lew said. “We picked it because of this legendary venue, the influences of those artists that breathed the same air that we breathed during the performance influenced the sound of this song with obviously a little bit of ginger sauce on top.”
The final song, differing from the rest of the set, was not chosen via the main wheel. This was to ensure that fan-favorite “Loretta” would play no matter the performance.
However, to still keep in the spirit of the tour, Lew brought out a mini wheel, with several variations to “Loretta.” Brandished with versions like “Loretta in Japanese” and the infamous “Loretta 2,” the wheel landed on “Loretta Karaoke.”
Lew sang the part of the song using a bad quality karaoke machine, pointing the microphone at audience members for them to sing as well, but eventually he switched back to the original so everyone could fully enjoy the song.
After the final spin, the audience cheered for an encore, and Ginger Root provided the fans what they wanted, ending with another fan-favorite “Weather.”
“Playing this legendary venue, so many people, so many great people have come through these halls, and now we can finally check it off our band bucket list,” Lew said.