水曜日のカンパネラ (Suiyoubi no Campanella / WEDNESDAY CAMPANELLA ) @ Ebisu Liquid Room 03/29/2015

Because I don't live in Japan, perhaps the biggest inconvenience to me is not being able to see all these great concerts that go on for artists I like when I want to see them. Concerts are sometimes great leaps into the unknown that unearth numerous musical discoveries or opportunities for me to reaffirm my love for an artist I used to obsess over. But nothing beats going to a gig when I'm completed and utterly obsessed with an artist, when my interest is at its peak.

So imagine my chagrin when the perfect day for a Suiyoubi no Campanella / WEDNESDAY CAMPANELLA concert occurred during my trip and the tickets sold out in just two hours. A friend of mine apologized - even he couldn't get tickets to a small Suiyoubi no Campanella show days before at a local club - and I was disappointed I would be missing the one artist I had listened to so obsessively in the months prior to leaving to Japan. Not only was my interest at its highest point, but Suiyoubi no Campanella was also reaching a milestone in their career and becoming a lot more popular. The sold out gig in question took place at Liquid room, a pretty sizable concert hall in Tokyo that followed an equally successful(see: sold out) tour of Japan, plus getting spread about on the net via word of mouth (kyary pamyu pamyu helped and is supposedly a big fan). The concert would mark the artists departure from the confines of the underground club circuit and into the ears of many more people. I myself had been listening in to the artist as this was all unfolding and I had savored every music video and every track on their prior EPs, doting on each release and never wanting the music to end.
It was terrible that I couldnt see them...but then came my saving grace - a kickstarter-esque website was created to give people the chance to pledge for rewards related to the show. You could pledge for images, an audio recording, or HD video footage of the concert and I opted for the complete package, thinking it was better than not being able to go. On the top there was also an option to pledge a paltry sum of 1000yen($10) for a chance to win one of 10 extra tickets to the gig. It wouldnt hurt, I thought, so I kept that day open in my schedule. Then, miracle would have it that one day at work I glanced down at my phone to an email with a vague title - containing a winning ticket to the gig. I guess I'd be watching it from my computer and attending afterall.
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I rushed back to Tokyo from Nagoya after seeing two shows there, with the Suiyoubi no Campanella gig to round out the weekend. I stopped first in Ueno park after hearing the cherry blossoms were in full bloom before heading to the gig later that afternoon. The dress code for the show was red or blue, the theme was to have the audience dressed like the Onis(Japanese demons/monsters) that were the theme of the show's title "Take me to Oni island!". On the subway I saw a few people in the train dressed in matching colors who I would later see at the show and felt a little out of place with my plain, faded red jacket.

Plenty of people had already gathered inside the venue well before the gig was to start and I lined up to grab a poster and some CDs, then wandered around the neighborhood for a bite to eat before they let people in. Since I won my ticket, I was the last to go inside the venue and by then it seemed like an endless stream of people had already been inside.
The stairway was lined with posters of a fake film starring the group, styled like an old Japanese film poster. Once inside the hallways blared tribal music and had two folks in Oni garb greeting people entering. It was sweltering hot and the crowd made it difficult to move, but I wiggled to grab a drink, downed it, and finally went inside. Being last, the entire floor was already full as was the back of the stage but I was keen on getting as close as I could and found a spot on the floor to squeeze into. From font to back the place was completely packed. But it wasn't long before the loud hum of the crowd was silenced as a movie came on screen and signaled the start of the gig; see below.
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I've always thought of Suiyoubi no Campanella as a kind of chimera - as a group, they seek to engage multiple senses while also having so many different facets to them, so many things to appreciate, that it feels so encompassing to be a part of their experience. It's not just an aural experience comprised of music, it's visual, ala their attention to detail on music videos. It's not just komuai's vocals, but Kenmochi's track making. It's not just about a unique live performance as it is about the studio recordings. This idea was cemented at the very foundation of the gig, with a combination of komuai's stage performance, antics, vocals, and background videos moving the performance along and making for a unique live show.

Then of course, you had various highlights, like seeing "Mitsuko" (above) with an accompanying stop motion video taking us through Tokyo's winding streets and right up to the Liquid Room venue. A similar new approach was also done for Marie Antoinette where Komuai struggle to throw   Or in "Inca" when the group of performers came out and had a tussle with Komuai on stage. There was also a semi-failed attempt to live broadcast the merchandise table from just outside the concert hall - there were some technical difficulties and Komuai ended up just bringing the shirts out and showing them that way. She leapt into the crowd after a few songs and took a Go-Pro strapped to her microphone around the entire Liquid Room, weaving in and out of the crowd while trying to sing "Dracula," giving just about everyone in the large room a chance to get close to her.

Things started to wind down and personally I was getting a bit tired myself when the entire stage changed and some unknown music started blaring on the speakers. This was another far out experience provided by a musician who would later be announced as Oorutaichi, a producer for one of Suiyoubi no Campanella's new tracks. His set dragged on a bit, again, probably just because of my fatigue, but my favorite part was his use of this laser animation that reminded me of the targeting computer stuff from the first Star Wars film. Afterwards, Komuai joined him on stage to perform their new track, "Yuta," which also had a really neat background movie that was broadcast across the stage and ceiling.

The night rounded out with Diablo, a track off her new(at that time!) Triathalon EP, featuring the aforementioned track by Oorutaichi as well.

It was a pretty great night, albeit a very tiring one, and I was a little disappointed I didn't get to hear Janne da Arc, especially because the accompanying performance involves Komuai getting onto a makeshift cardboard bus and riding it through the audience...but I was already pretty satisfied with getting into the show of my dreams, being able to catch every single song that came on, and getting to see an artist I probably won't be able to see again - at least because Suiyoubi no Campanella has grown exponentially in popularity since March of last year and has sold out many of their shows.

Anyway, cheers to the next time they decide to do something really ambitious again. It was fun!
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Chris

Imaike GO NOW @ 今池 名古屋 2015/03/28

I was at a loss of what do on the Saturday between the Oomori Seiko show and Suiyoubi no Campanella's Liquid Room gig in Tokyo until Hayden, a fellow member of a Japanese indie community, directed me to an all day event with a massive lineup - in both the quality and sheer number of bands performing - being held in Nagoya. The event fit perfectly in my schedule - I was already in Nagoya to see Oomori Seiko they day before - and the lineup had a ton of really fantastic looking bands on it. A lot of these bands could have easily held solo concerts to a sold out crowd and some might argue that experiencing a band's music is better this way as opposed to the shorter set lists that have to accompany huge events like this one, but given that most of these bands were only relatively familiar to me in name and sound meant that the short and sweet set lists at this event would be just enough for me to enjoy them without feeling lost in a two hour long concert. It was a perfect opportunity to get a taste of a number of great artists, both staples in the scene and upcoming talent.Unfortunately I was still fighting my cold and my hotel reservation was messed up. I had to get booted from my room in the morning and I spent a good part of it wandering around the Sakae downtown area, exploring the area around the science museum - it's hard to miss a giant orb among the skycrapers. It was strange seeing an area so bustling with life at 2AM that morning suddenly transformed into a tranquil, mundane neighborhood once the sun came up.

The event, Imaike Go Now, was a sort of mini-music festival that took place in the Imaike neighborhood of Nagoya (imaike is a homophone - it's both a place name and can be translated into English as go now, hence the event name!), where there was a large concentration of live houses all relatively walking distance from one another. The event kicked off at 12PM and lasted until evening, with band's playing at around 10 live houses simultaneously. With a lineup of so many bands worth seeing, it was definitely going to be difficult to carve out a schedule in which I got to see all the groups I wanted to. Take a look at the lineup:

The first task was deciding between Bonobos and Homecomings, the first two acts opening the event. I heard nothing of Homecomings at the time, but I knew they were getting a lot of exposure and I had a feeling I would enjoy them (after I got back from my trip I couldn't take their album out of my stereo!), but I opted to see the indie/reggae outfit bonobos instead...most likely because they were conveniently playing at the large venue where the event required you to get your wristband anyways.

I hadn't kept up with bonobos since their album "Gold" many, many years ago, but I tuned in again with their album "Ultra," a fantastic updated take on their sound, and the group played some fantastic songs off of there as the crowd trickled in. Bottom line, the event's home base and the largest live house with the most popular acts, was packed: bonobos were obviously really popular, and they closed on a high note with their classic, "Gold". Their set was enjoyable but I found myself yearning for the songs I had known from them before.
It wasn't until people were shuffling out of the live house that i realized the first concert I had been to in Japan was bonobos playing in Okinawa in 2009 and I was only seeing them again six years later. Both the band and myself had changed a lot since then, an epiphany that would probably lead to some emotions welling up in me during their set but thankfully I only realized this after they performed. Crisis averted.

Afterwards I took off to see a band I listened to a few times when their debut EP came out, the post-rock trio palitextdestroy. I briskly walked down the street to Valentine Drive and as I walked down into the basement of the building where the club was the attendant urged me to squeeze in as best I could to the center of the room. Inside, the band was playing in the center with a small crowd strewn in front of them. There couldn't have been more than 30 people inside and I hadn't moved an inch from the door in my attempt to squeeze in. They were closing out their set, the drummer beating the life out of the set and the keyboard player going nuts as well. palitextdestroy were energetic, that's for sure, and despite them lacking a certain depth in their sound, their stage presence and energy was great and benefited from Valentine Drive's miniscule size and minimal stage setup.

I walked back to Bottom Line to check out the ska band Zainichi funk, managing to groove in place despite the crowd being packed in the place as tight as ever. These guys were great: definitely a staple at something like a big, outdoor music festival.

The progressive jazz band jizue was next on my agenda and I walked further to Tokuzo, a club on the second floor of a building along a side street after popping into a convenience store for a beer(and waiting in vain for 20minutes for the bathroom to free up). Seeing plenty of young, energetic people walking about the neighborhood in band T-shirts made for a really inviting atmosphere. Other peopel were waiting outside the club, located on a second floor, and I joined them while sipping a cold one and sitting on the pavement. It was rather roomy when I went up and by the time I arrived the room was already filled to the back with a lively crowd (who made constant remarks of how cute the keyboard player was, she blushed and thanked them). They arrived to enthusiastic applause and put on a fantastic set. Jizue's style is both jazzy and progressive, relaxing and intense. It's something you can leisurely enjoy but also admire for each members virtuosity. I play the drums so the coolest part of the gig was seeing their drummer effortlessly destroy during his solo. They played a cover of "When you wish upon a star" that they had recently recorded for a Disney covers compilation, so even if this was the first time I heard them there was small familiarity. With all the jazz-like improvisation jizue did and how they captivated the audience, familiarity isn't exactly necessary to enjoy them at all.

I didn't know any of the other bands playing at the time and the only name that was even relatively familiar to me was Turntable Films, so I marched to 3Star Imaike, where they were playing, and stayed for a majority of their set before Wuja Bin Bin. For some reason I thought they had been a shoegaze band(I was laughed at for this, maybe their name just gave that vibe?) so I was surprised when their music turned out to be a lot more folky than I had thought. They were decent - I wasn't familiar with their work at all - but by this time the hunger and crankiness was setting in. I hadn't eaten since lunch and the combination of hunger pangs, being slightly sick, and the creeping annoying feeling that was permeating since the annoying kids at the day before's Oomori Seiko concert made me feel pretty gross.

Wuja Bin Bin and grou_inou were both performing at Club Upset, and according the map it would be quite a walk. When I finally got there, I was greeted by a small entrance to a tall building with Upset on the 6th floor. The elevator had a big X marked on it and a sign directing the groaning patrons to use the stairs.

I walked in (probably sweating, panting, and tired) just as they were playing the single of their last album "Safe driving." Their lineup is a massive chimera of veteran musicians playing a wide variety of instruments, kind of like a mini orchestra without a conductor. The band can get pretty abrasive and just as easily come back down to earth for some soft jazz.

I had to get back to Upset for group_inou but in the meantime I went back to Bottom Line to see Humbert Humbert, a singer/songwriter folk duo I had listened to a few times in the past. Most people by this time seemed less interested in who was playing than trying to relax and a lot of people on the first and second floor were sitting on the ground trying to recover. I found a space on the second floor and managed to relax a bit while listening to the two play a cover of the theme song to Kiki's Delivery Service as well as some original songs. Everyone else seemed to appreciate the soft acoustic melodies after a long day of wailing electric guitars and pounding drums.

Teen Runnings sounded familiar to me as well and after the short rest (both physical and aural) of Humbert Humbert I went down the street to Second Vision to give them a listen.

Cool indie rock, and I got to take some nice pictures at that. I purchased their album and made the long trek back to Second Vision to see group_inou.

People were getting shoved into the club and the warnings not to the block the aisle were all but ignored after a certain point. A ton of people were wasted already and bumping into people obnoxiously while the crowd waited for the duo to come on. Impatience was at its limit when it mixed with the fact that I had walked up those stairs(again!) and hadn't eaten any solid food since lunch, but when group_inou came on and got the crowd jumping everything momentarily faded. Their unique style of electronic music meets hip-hop worked great in the club setting and I had only wished I had been closer to the front to experience it...and the room had been less cramped so I could get out my camera for some pictures.

A lot of the bands closing out the event at each live house were familiar to me and sure to be good, but I was too tired to decide who to see. The closest live house was Bottom line on the way back from Second Vision - so I decided to check out Ogre You Asshole. The band was a far from cry from what I remember them sounding like, and they built up some great, almost post-rock-esque walls of noise during their set, the kind that engulfs the crowd and immerses them in the sound. I can't call myself a fan yet - I never was before, either - but I probably should check out how they've changed.

It was a long day but full of a ton of great music. Events like this are always a great way to cover a lot of ground when traveling to Japan. Being here for a short time it's a great and inexpensive way to check out a bunch of bands all at once and this kind of live house hopping event, even if it doesn't happen often, had the variety of a festival minus the insane price tags and bloated capacity of stadiums and fields that can often destroy the intimacy created at a live house. Even if these events don't happen often, Imaike Go Now is a good example of what to look out for if you want to sample a lot of music in Japan with little time on your hands...although, you do need to clear up an entire day and get a great pair of jogging shoes for it! 

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Chris

大森靖子 (Oomori Seiko) Band Set Nostalgic Nagoya @ 名古屋 Club Quattro -2015/03/27

After the first two shows in Tokyo I spent two days wandering around Koenji, Mitaka, Nakano, Shibuya, and Shimokitazawa and generally taking it easy before the cornerstone of my trip: a weekend of three consecutive live shows by artists I was looking forward to more than anyone else. By this time in the trip I had been in Japan for nearly a week and the effects of living in a tropical paradise all year long was taking its toll. The night before I started to get the warning signs of an incoming cold and the morning I set out to Nagoya to begin the most exciting few days in my itinerary I felt pretty terrible, although it wasn't anything that seeing Oomori Seiko, my biggest musical crush for the past year or so, couldn't temporarily remedy.

For her Spring 2015 tour, Seiko would be returning to the small cafes that she perhaps frequented as a young artist plus a few extra gigs performing with a band of veteran musicians in larger live houses. The acoustic solo shows all sold out immediately - the intimate venues obviously meant extremely small capacity - but one of her band shows at Nagoya Club Quattro wasn't sold out at the time I was planning my trip and a friend was able to get a ticket. At the time I never really thought about the pros and cons of seeing her perform on a bigger stage with a backup band versus seeing her perform intimately with just her acoustic guitar (and Nana, her teddy bear, of course). And of course it didn't matter too much to me because I was just glad that she was actually performing while I was in Japan. It would've been nice to see Seiko in a cozy little venue for an acoustic set, being closer to the young woman herself in a small crowd, hearing some songs that she perhaps wouldn't otherwise perform with a band, and being able to witness the antics of her solo shows that I've always seen videos of: Seiko plucking and pulling the strings nonsensically and later laying waste to her guitar. But at the same time the fuller, more dynamic sound of a band set was equally enticing and perhaps even more fitting for some songs that were recorded with other musicians in the first place and the lack of intimacy was replaced with the rush of being in a crowd with a ton of other energetic fans. They were both great ways to enjoy Seiko and her music, two sides of the same coin. I'm not sure if I have a preference.

On the train ride from Tokyo to Nagoya I found out about a Ramen Street in Nagoya station where I stopped for lunch. The best part about being sick is it gives me an excuse to ingest as much Ramen as possible without feeling guilty (not that I feel guilty even if I'm not sick). By this time my cold came full throttle and this made the search for my hotel extra frustrating. I wandered around for an hour or two in circles and finally found it but realized I was a there an hour or two before the earliest check in time. The staff was clearly irritated but let me in anyways. It was still early, but after not being able to find the hotel I decided to head to the show for fear of getting lost again.

Club Quattro is at the top floor of Nagoya's Parco building and just a few trains tops away from Nagoya station. The gig hadn't opened yet, but a few people were trickling in to check out the venue. Most of the limited tour goods had sold out (merch went on sale quite a while before I got there) and the rest of the T-Shirts and such didn't catch my eye. I spent some time wandering around the other floors of the building before I had to line up along the long winding staircase leading up to the club, each flight of stairs marked with the signs for ticket numbers. I was 399.

A lot of people were probably late, others getting drinks, some in the bathroom, and most shied away from the front of the stage and opted to enjoy the view from the back, so despite my high number in the que I was only a row or two from the front of the stage and pretty content.

The crowd immediately rushed to get as close to the stage as possible when Oomori Seiko came on, starting out with the singles "Zettai Zetsubou Zekkouchou" and "Kyuru Kyuru" from her latest album. Unfortunately, everything toned down after this even if Seiko was going into some of my favorite songs like "Endless Dance" and "Kimi to Eiga." I couldn't understand why the entire crowd went completely silent and motionless except for myself and another guy closer to the stage swinging and bobbing our heads with the music - this same guy was also swigging his whiskey flask pretty frequently before the show started, so I knew he had the right idea. The band took a break a few songs later and her staff came up to show off the merchandise for sale outside before the band came back for the latter half of the set. The crowd finally came back to life for one song in the latter half: "Midnight Seijun Isei Kouyuu," perhaps her best known, and died out again as Seiko winded down the set. She played an encore of a few extra songs and her second encore was done a cappella, Seiko came on stage alone and screamed her song "Sayonara" at the top of her lungs. You can check out the whole set list on this site, which chronicles Seiko singing just about every song I wanted her to sing. Usually bands seem to make it a point to avoid playing the songs I like the most and it's happened on almost every occasion so it's a pretty big deal when Seiko sang not just "Endless Dance," but also every other song of hers I was obsessed with at the time. Every single one.

The band lineup that night consisted of members of groups like H Mountains and Soul Flower Union (I was a bit disappointed since Pierre Nakano of Rin toshite Shigure was her backup drummer for all the other band shows except this one), and although the troupe had less of the stage antics and energy as The Pink Tokarev who Seiko had recently been touring with, they did a fantastic job of coming together to render Seiko's music in live form; even her more electronic numbers like "Imitation Girl" and "Zettai Shoujo" sounded great with the accompaniment. Seiko made every effort to get as close to the fans as possible and often reached out to grab all of the outreached hands pressing toward her in the crowd (mine included at one point!!!), something I thought would have evaporated when she graduated to a major label.

Besides the audience being stiff for most of the show, my other pet peeve was that a lot of younger looking fans had been really annoying. They pushed everyone out of the way to make it to the front of the crowd while everyone else reluctantly made way for them, but most people stayed cemented in their spots. What was most grating was the snide grin on their faces as they laughed it all off and tried even harder to push everyone out of the way. Maybe I was just in a bad mood from being sick, possibly hungry, and having to walk for a while to find my hotel but it was definitely one of the only times I've ever felt irritated this much at a gig, and at an Oomori Seiko one to boot.

Annoyances aside the whole performance was fantastic and most of all I was thankfully that I had been so close to the front. Club Quattro also wasn't nearly as large as a live house as I thought it would be, especially considering that some noteworthy bands play here from time to time. Even if you can't get in early and claim a spot on the floor, the raised area in the back of the live house will still give you a nice view of the stage from wherever you are.

Once the show let out, I made it a point to walk around Nagoya for the rest of the night. The last time I was here I had been pretty far from the city and barely made it a point to explore or research what it was known for. This time I strolled around downtown Sakae, near my hotel, wandered into the lively night life and red-light district, and finally ate some miso-katsu. And of course I knew exactly how to get back to my hotel by then. The cold was still bothering me but the next day I had an even more exciting gig to go to. I can't remember when I got to sleep, but I enjoyed the view of the city from my corner hotel room while stocking up on as much Vitamin C as possible.
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Chris

ハラフロモヘル ( Harafromhell ) @ 吉祥寺WARP( Kichijoji WARP ) 2015/03/22

The first show I saw on my trip was also the very last one I made plans for. Just days before I left, Steve from Next Music from Tokyo recommended harafromhell, a band who had previously took part in his legendary Canadian tour and as luck would have it, they were playing a gig the day after I arrived. Never having heard their music before, and considering all of this discussion was happening days before I was leaving might make it sound impulsive but I've never been disappointed with a band Steve recommends, especially if he goes the extra mile to bring them on his tour. I've never been to an actual installment of the tour but I've regularly made it a point to see some of the bands who've taken part in it when I get to go to Japan (much closer to Guam than Canada is!)  - susquatch, mothercoat, guumi, etc. - and all of them were superb musicians who played killer live shows while being really nice people to boot. Even if I didn't know that much about harafromhell, I was confident they would impress me like all the other bands had.

I started the day by meeting some friends at Odaiba before heading to Tokyo Big Site for Anime Japan 2015. I melted into the droves of  people eager to sample what the industry had to offer for the next quarter, with displays highlighting both familiar faces like Leiji Matsumoto and Mobile Suit Gundam, and short films by new and old directors under the umbrella of Nihon Anima(tor)'s, an initiative headed by Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno. If the weaving through endless streams of people in two gargantuan halls wasn't enough to tire me out, there was always the sensory overload: booths adorned with every moe character ever conceived, monitors looping previews of new series, films, and games, speakers booming left and right with enthusiastic characters over signature theme songs, costume clad promoters, and more merchandise than anyone could even try to afford. As evening fell I left with a big bag full of fliers, pamphlets, and a few souvenirs for myself. Hopping on the train to Kichijoji was a breath of fresh air that signaled both a departure from the never ending masses of people in the event halls but also to the whole anime/otaku subculture. I was going back to my other passion: music.

Cutting it close to harafromhell's start time, I dashed to Kichijoji Warp on foot from the station and managed to find the place quickly, coming upon the above sign in a lonely side street thanks perhaps to an adrenaline rush and no thanks to the rather vague directions I had found online.
I bolted down a few flights of stairs to the live house underneath and opened the door to harafromhell already starting their set. Warp felt just right: it was roomy enough that you could see even from the back but at the same time had just the right measure of intimacy

Vocalist Tatejima Yoko's delivery was dynamic and composed, but peppered with fits in which you could hear both desperation and fragility. She complimented the rest of the band who also had penchants for switching gears mid-song in favor of instrumental sessions that felt almost like different pieces altogether, a song writing style that kept their music fresh and the listener on their toes. They were tight yet brimming with diversity, which made for a really engaging performance, and gave both Tatejima and the band behind her great stage presence and personality. I found myself totally engrossed by the end of the slightly longer than normal set (they played for probably 45min instead of a usual 20-30). I'm really thankful I got to hear them play most of their catalog because after the show I ended up taking a liking to nearly all the stuff I heard on CD. Seeing them live was pretty different from listening to their much more toned down, folk-sounding studio recordings but both experiences are equally rewarding in their own ways (I would see Chiina later in the trip and make this same conclusion about them).

After the show I bought some CDs from the guitarist Hara Kento, who I talked to for a little bit before leaving Warp. On the way out I noticed that the first floor of the club was actually a small record store, something I had completely ignored when I was rushing down in order to catch their start time. I had never been to Kichijoji before, so I walked around a bit and stopped in a bookstore before I had to make it back to my hotel. Throughout my trip I would keep going back to their music, the all-white CD-Rs taking up a kind of permanent residence in my CD player, keeping me company during the shinkansen trips across Honshu.

I'm really jealous everyone in Canada got to see them before I did, but here's hoping the band will definitely go places from here on out.

You can check out more from harafromhell on the following:


Official Website
Youtube playlist of live clips
Official twitter account
Soundcloud



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Chris