"ASTIG kayo! Wala kayo sa Backstreet Boys, (You're tough. You're not at the Backstreet Boys)" quipped Duster vocalist Katwo in what was to become the running joke of the evening.

Not that anybody in the motley crowd of hipsters, fashionistas, otaku, punk rockers and some seemingly normal people gathered at the Mall of Asia would have been caught dead at the Backstreet Boys concert, also happening that evening across town at the Araneta Coliseum.

"Shonen Knife are the anti-Backstreet Boys!" she added.

Indeed.

"Seminal" may not be the most apt term to describe the all-girl pop punk band from Osaka, Japan, but their infectious brand of punk that melded melodic, Ramones-style three-chord rock with whimsical, childlike lyrics about flying jelly attacks and fruit loop dreams inspired hundreds of girls to form their own bands. They also opened the floodgates for other J-rock bands: without Shonen Knife, the likes of Guitar Wolf, Thee Michelle Gun Elephant and Yura Yura Teikoku might not have been heard outside Japan.

They've been at it for nearly 30 years now, and finally, they were here, the highlight of the 2010 Nihongo Fiesta, the Japan Foundation Manila's annual showcase of contemporary Japanese culture.

"Ang tagal din natin hinintay ito," said Diego of Pedicab, the other opening act. "Nangyari din! [Finally! We've waited for this a long time]."

Shonen Knife (named after a schoolboy's pencil-sharpening pocket knife) is probably best-known to local audiences for their 1994 version of the Carpenters' "Top of the World," from the alt-rock tribute album "If I Were a Carpenter," but the band was actually started back in 1981 by guitarist and lead vocalist Naoko Yamano.

"Before I started Shonen Knife, I was a big fan of the Ramones," she said in a press conference. "I was inspired by the Ramones? songs and decided to form a band like the Ramones. The Ramones have very pop melody lines and their routine is very fun, wearing leather jackets and worn-out jeans. I don't listen to so much J-pop, I'm mainly influenced by American and British rock music."

Shonen Knife began to make waves in the underground rock scene in their hometown Osaka, and might have remained there if it hadn't been for their serendipitous discovery by the influential American indie label K Records.

Their willful primitivism and "Hello Kitty" lyrical bent won them numerous fans, among them Sonic Youth, with whom the band played their first international gig, and Kurt Cobain, who invited the band to open for Nirvana. Hipsters were mostly taken by the naïve charm of Naoko's songs, which were about riding on a rocket to Pluto, and turning into a cat in outer space, when they weren't about eating jelly beans and barbecued tofu.

By the 1990s, Shonen Knife were the darlings of the emerging international pop underground, with English-language versions of their albums finding international release and regular appearances on MTV. They were picked up by a major label and their album "Let's Knife," tailored to launch them to international stardom, was released worldwide in 1992.

The band continued to record for both the Japanese market and the international market, and were favorite guests on that very 1990s alt-rock phenomenon: the tribute album. Apart from the aforementioned Carpenters cover, the band also did a version of "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" for a Burt Bacharach tribute. Appropriately, Shonen Knife capped the decade by contributing a song to the Powerpuff Girls album.

With the fading of alternative rock, Shonen Knife's moment in the major label limelight also passed, but they remain active in the independent music scene. Members have come and gone, with Naoko remaining the constant. The current three-piece line up includes drummer Etsuko, who joined the band four years ago, and bassist Ritsuko, who became a permanent member only two years ago.

"I try to keep my eyes innocent and pure," said Naoko, perhaps in reply to the unspoken question: "How can a nearly three-decades? old band still be singing about "Banana Chips" and "Strawberry Cream Puff"?

"Pop culture or fashion or Japanese culture has changed in these 30 years, but my favorite things always remain the same, so I'm trying to keep my mind fresh," she added. "I don't like to imitate other bands, we're very much about the D.I.Y. spirit, the do-it-yourself spirit. I think I'm keeping the rock spirit and that's why Shonen Knife is so unique."

It's probably apt that one of Shonen Knife's most recent covers was "Who Made Who" for an AC-DC tribute album.

Although its members are pushing 60, the Australian cock-rockers have been basically plowing the same furrow for the past four decades, a living testament to the wisdom of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". (AC-DC have sold more records than any band except the Beatles.)

Like AC-DC, Shonen Knife have perfected their brand of whimsical three-chord melodic punk.

"I just like simple music and a three-piece band," said Naoko in an interview with SIM. "It's a basic style of rock music. I like that."

I noted that their latest album has a song titled "Economic Crisis", and wondered aloud if this was an evolution of sorts.

"I don't like to sing about social matters or violence," she replied. "We want people to be happy through our music so we sing about happy things. If people want to sing about politics, they should be politicians, they shouldn't be musicians."

Duster and Pedicab did an admirable job representing Pinoy indie rock, but Shonen Knife's set that night proved to be a testament to the enduring spirit of "panku rokku!"

Dressed in their matching Mondrian-meets-Star Trek stage gear, the band launched with their traditional head-banging opener "Konnichiwa". By the middle of the set, they had the crowd chanting along to the "Sushi Bar Song," carried along by the irresistible velocity of Etsuko's drumming, Ritsuko's melodic bass lines and Naoko's confident barre chords.

Naoko even engaged in an impromptu Nihongo lesson mid-set.

"Konnichiwa means hello. Arigato means thank you. Arigato also sounds little bit like 'alligator'!"

For an encore, Duster and Pedicab joined Shonen Knife for "Twist Barbie".

Happy happy, joy joy.

Alligator gozaimasu, Naoko-chan. ?