Masahiro Takahashi with Half Chinese

Masahiro Takahashi's set with Half Chinese was probably the cutest thing to happen at this year's Music Waste. Originally from Tokyo, Masahiro Takahashi introduced his backing band, Vancouver duo Half Chinese, in softly spoken, broken English, before starting into a sweet waltz with Japanese lyrics. Near the end of the first track, drummer Harrison Pratt came out from behind his kit to play a few licks on clarinet, something he would do a few more times until bassist Enzio Verster replaced him on drums near the end of the set. Takahashi's recent studio recordings tend towards the kind of glitchy folktronic rock heard on early Her Space Holiday and Fantastic Plastic Machine releases, but his set with Half Chinese this evening was folky, laid-back, and wistfully sweet, like the playful yarn-ball dreams of a napping kitten. Takahashi started singing in broken English a few songs in, as Verster sat down to play his bass cross-legged on the stage. Takahashi's awkward cadences only increased the cuteness factor, as did the trio's loose style, which came off more playful than sloppy. Verster even laid down a bit of glockenspiel near the end, just to make sure it was nice and adorable, though he did perform the classic rock move of throwing his drumsticks into crowd after their last track, which ended up pegging a couple of unknowing audience members in the dimly lit pub. Surely, his intentions were good.