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Wild Mood Swings party - dance!

Wild Mood Swings is an all-new, all-night, all-mix DJ party in Tokyo, playing an unpredicatable mix of different tunes, aimed to frizzle-fry your brains! Ideal for those with short attention spans, like the guy from Memento.
It's at Hell's bar in Sangenjaya on March 21st (Sunday, before a national holiday) from 11PM 'til the break of dawn. And it's free.

The bipolar DJs are:
craig eee (Tokyo Gig Guide)
Grant McGaheran (Abikyokan)
Jake Arntson (Abikyokan)
Timebred (GaijinTonic)
Yukari (UK Sound)
Brendan Smith (Belgium Internet)
Mu-tan
Junko
Special K



Expect to hear all genres like indie, disco, dub, italo, old-skool hip-hop, electropop, 80s pop, krautrock, African 70s, Farsi pop, psychedelic, shoegaze, electronica...

On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/wildmood

On Tokyo Gig Guide: http://www.tokyogigguide.com/en/gigs/details/2420

KES BAND from Australia - Japan Tour

Kes Band, a highly-recommended psych-folk group lead by Karl E. Scullin (KES) from Melbourne, is having a tour of Japan this month with Tokyo's always wonderful My Pal Foot Foot.


Wednesday 17 March @ U.F.O. CLUB, Tokyo
KES BAND, Suishou No Fune, 20 GUILDERS, Eiji Mitomi and MY PAL FOOT FOOT.
Details on TGG

Friday 19th March @ UrBANGUILD, Osaka
KES BAND, MY PAL FOOT FOOT, maruo maruko, Suzmenba

Saturday 20 March @ Chika-ikkai, Osaka
KES BAND, MY PAL FOOT FOOT, jenny on the planet, jugz

Sunday 21 March @ HELLUVA LOUNGE, Kobe
KES BAND, JUG JUG FOOT FOOT (MY PAL FOOT FOOT + jugz), Eddie Marcon, sanmasimesaba

Monday 22 March @ K.D Japon, Nagoya
KES BAND, MY PAL FOOT FOOT

Thursday 25 March @ Nana Hari, Tokyo
KES (solo), Tetsuya Kurabayashi, Thomas Kyhn Rovsing Hjørnet, Pickle Pockle
Details on TGG

Saturday 27 March @ Penguin House, Tokyo
KES BAND, MY PAL FOOT FOOT, PUKA PUKA ((Ueno, Saya, Kiyonari, Ono, Yamazaki)
Details on TGG

More info: suhaak-haaksu

Uniqlo selling Domino Records T-Shirts

Expect to see more people walking around in band T-shirts of bands they don't know as Uniqlo T-shirt (UT) has released a range of Domino Records T-shirts.

A number of Domino artist T-shirts are represented such as Mouse On Mars, Palace, Quasi, The Kills and Clinic.

They will be sold for a limited time and you can get them at the Harajuku UT store for 1500yen.
http://store.uniqlo.com/jp/store/feature/ut/dominorecords/

Tokyo Gig Guide in Best Japan-Related Websites 2010

Tokyo Gig Guide was included in Japanzine/Seek Japan's Japan on the Web 2010: Best Japan-Related Websites list.

Here's what they had to say:
Tokyo Gig Guide (tokyogigguide.com)
A wonderfully in-depth, user-driven guide to live events in the capital, kept bang up to date at all times. No real commentary here, but as a pure information resource it's invaluable.

You can see the article here. There are some great sites on the list.

It was previoulsy included on their list in 2008.

When the venue makes the band -- Stellar Ballroom vs. Liquid Room

by liza

I kicked off 2010 by seeing two fierce, female-fronted bands I've wanted to see for a long time: The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, on Jan. 16 at the Shinagawa Stellar Ballroom, and Gossip, at Liquid Room in Ebisu on Feb. 8.

I was really stoked to see both shows but man, the venues made for two totally different experiences, even though the two bands really have a lot in common. Karen O and Beth Ditto are lauded for their fashion sense and are both really refreshing and raw in the pop landscape of generic cookie-cutter types. Both bands' guitarists are great too, really cutting and unhinged.

The Stellar Ballroom seemed like a special place to see a band like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. It has a standing capacity of about 1,800, which isn't too bad. But outside they were letting people in by ticket number, and moving very slowly at that. Crowds of people were still waiting to get in at the show start of 7:00pm, and it was freezing outside too!

The main floor was very flat, and it seemed like the stage was quite low, making it difficult for anyone stuck behind a tall person or not in the very front to see. Here's about my best view of it.

More gripes: only 2 lines open for booze or drinks (really long ones too!), no opener. I mean it was good seeing them and all -- they played a few tunes off their debut EP which I was happy to hear. But honestly? I kind of wish I had saved my money.

Gossip, however, were a different story! Liquid Room is about 900 capacity, and I think maybe my favorite venue in Tokyo. No opening act here either but WOW! Were they great! Beth Ditto sounds amazing live. I really think Rick Rubin overproduced their last album and really lost a lot of Ditto's vocal range. She sounded a lot more soulful at the gig, with growls and whispers and squeals. It seemed like members of Tokyo's gay community of all ages turned out for the show and it was a really nice crowd. She even came out into the audience after the show and took pictures with people.

Unfortunately I didn't get an iPhone cam shot of my view, but I found a real photo on the promoter Smash's magazine site. It's pretty much just as I saw it, from sort of midway/toward the back of the venue -- pretty great, huh?

I left that show feeling happy and hot and tipsy -- what a difference a venue makes!

Tokyo Gig Guide presents Farm Party #1 on Jan 31st

On Sunday January 31st, Tokyo Gig Guide will hold its first music event.
It will be a bit different than the usual Tokyo gig though.
Tokyo gigs often have heaps of bands playing straight after each other, but at this event there will be three bands spaced out through the evening. Between bands, DJs will be playing some eclectic sets.
Also, it won't be held at a typical livehouse, but at Gamuso, a fun bar/gallery in Asagaya. Gamuso has a bar downstairs and a small live music room upstairs. You can read about it in this Metropolis article.
It will be cheap too, just ¥1000, plus ¥500 for a drink.

The bands playing are Abikyokan, Walkie Talkie In The Cornfield and PSOCASE.


Abikyokan formed around the core trio of Jacob Arntson (Seattle, USA), Grant McGaheran (Sheffield, UK) and Tatsumi Ochiai (Chiba, Japan) in Tokyo in 2004. The band pool a wide variety of influences to create a new avant-pop sound.


Walkie Talkie In The Cornfield is a two-piece Irish/Australian lo-fi experimental electro-pop group which formed last year.


PSOCASE is a Japanese experimental lo-fi duo which combines electronic sounds, guitar, sax, vocals and keyboards. The wonderful Eri Makino will join them for a song.

DJs on the night will be Jake and Grant from Abikyokan, DJ Timebread, and dj craig eee who will also be providing video projections.

The party kicks off at 7pm.

Details here: http://farmparty.tokyogigguide.com

Don't worry by the way, although it's called Farm Party, there won't be any chickens wandering around and there (probably) won't be any barn dancing.

You can dance if you want to

by liza

When a show lets out at 9 or 10pm, the excitement is high but the night is still young! What to do then?

When the usual izakaya or bar seems like a buzzkill, there's always getting your dance on. And there are definitely places that play music other than what you'll hear at a Gaspanic horrorshow or Roppongi pick-up joint.

Tokyo Indie lists these nights in English. (I suppose "indie" is now a genre instead of a way of thinking, but I digress.) I'm not affiliated with this site at all but I'm glad it's there!

This Saturday night, they're throwing a party at Hell's Bar in Sangenjaya. I went to the one in November and had a good time, even though it was really crowded and seems like it will be again. I'm sure the cover charge of "free" has nothing to do with this!

As for other bigger parties -- Hard to Explain is once a month and the location changes sometimes. It's usually good fun with more obscure music toward the beginning of the night and "classics" once everyone is good and liquored up. They used to have bands playing earlier in the evening but I haven't seen any since the night has moved to smaller venues.

Mighty Pop throws parties in different places. I've been to one at the Chelsea Hotel that had a good opener band and slightly more obscure but good music, but it was quite fashion-y. Lots of people dressed up standing around chain smoking looking bored for awhile. But they loosened up.

Parties listed on Tokyo Dandy seem to be more electro- and fashion-oriented. Haven't been to any yet.

I'm almost embarrassed to admit it, but my late-night standby when all else fails is the Rock no Cocoro bar in Shibuya. The music is not especially "cool" but the people and staff there are usually really nice and like to party. (plus there's no cover!) Stay away from the food though...

Anyway those are the bigger ones, am still sussing out the smaller ones so let's hear it if you know a good one!

Tweeting from Tokyo Gig Guide

Did you know you can automatically tweet anything from Tokyo Gig Guide including gigs, livehouses and forum posts?
I've moved the icons up to the top left of the page and changed them a bit. You'll see Twitter, Facebook and 'plus' icons.
Click the twitter icon and it will bring you to Twitter with your update already automatically filled out for you tweet.
Click the Facebook icon and it will bring you to Facebook with a post already automatically filled out including a thumbnail.
If you want to use any other social networking, sharing or bookmarking sites, click the plus icon and you will have a choice of over 200 sites.
Speaking of Twitter, if you want to keep track of the latest gigs added to Tokyo Gig Guide, they are automatically tweeted at tgg_latest.

New Year's Resolutions & eplus

By Liza

Last year, I made a New Year's resolution I had no trouble keeping!

It was simple -- go to at least one gig a month, be it a major international act, bratty teenage garage band or a non-routine DJ set. And I succeeded in my mission!

I felt good about this because I missed my days of living for shows, before I moved to Tokyo. In my native Florida, gigs are super cheap and start well after work. Plus, there's no language barrier keeping me from discovering new acts (unless you count Spanish!)

However, in Tokyo I found myself working too late for the early-starting shows, and too broke after drinking away my hard-earned yen while lamenting my glorious rock and roll days.

No more! With the help of this site (and a job change!) I'm back on track. Learning a bit of Japanese has also helped, and I discovered the glory of pre-ordering tickets.

As dorky as it feels to buy gig tickets often months in advance (like I did with the Pavement reunion show in April!) it's much better to know I have my tickets to see the bigger international acts and don't have to scramble to a ticket machine on a weekend morning.

Here's a little info on how to use the eplus presale system. You'll need to have a bit of Japanese ability but with the help of a friend or Google translate it's not too difficult.

1. Open up an account with your e-mail address. (it's free)
--Click the "はじめての方" button next to the "Top" button near the top of the screen.
--Scroll down to "会員登録" button on the bottom left and click.
--Hit the yellow button to agree to the terms of service.
--Enter your info. You can pick how you want to pay for tickets. I had trouble getting it to accept my (American) credit card, so I selected the option to pay for and pick up tickets at FamilyMart. (more later)

2. Find the show you want to see. The search bar at the top left of the screen will search by artist, and I find that the names of most foreign artists are in English, not katakana.

3. It will list all the shows for that artist in Japan. Click the yellow button to pick the one you want.

4. Here's the page for an upcoming show of the very excellent Shibusashirazu Orchestra (渋さ知らズオーケストラ). You can see the venue (with venue info button underneath) , then the date, then the info we want: the pre-order period ("プレオーダー" is the magic word), and then the public on-sale date. Looks like this show is available for pre-order Jan. 22-28, and general on-sale from Feb. 13.

5. Now here's where you'll have to take my word on things. Click the yellow button to select this show. You'll only have the option to do the pre-order during the designated period, exactly at the times listed.

6. Click the button to say you want to pre-order, and you'll be prompted to log in (if you haven't already, sometimes it asks you earlier!) Log in, enter the number of tickets you want and confirm.
-- What you're doing now is entering a lottery for a set number of pre-order tickets. You'll get an e-mail confirming this -- make sure you get the e-mail or you haven't entered!
--The e-mail will tell you when you can check the site back to find out if you got the tickets.
--There's a fee of probably 210 yen a ticket when you do the pre-order, along with some "service" fee.

7. You'll get another e-mail telling you if you got the tickets, or you can log back in to eplus at the customer page to see the status of your application. ("会員の方" button at top menu bar, then the ">>申込み状況照会" option.)

8. Pick the show, and you'll see the price info. You'll also get a date when the money is due, if you're paying at FamilyMart like I did. Here's the tricky part: you'll need to click on the bigger yellow button at the end of the show info, and this should go to another screen showing the name of your chosen payment convini chain. Click the yellow button next to it.

9. I recommend printing out this next screen. You will need to enter this number in the convini ticket machine in order to pay for the show. The bottom of it shows the screens to touch on the machine in order to get to your personal payment screen -- you can't just enter the number in the regular ticket lookup number section. The convini clerk can help you.

10. Pay for the show at the convini. The clerk will give you a receipt, but you probably can't print out the tickets just yet -- it seems like you have to wait until the general on-sale to print them out.

11. Bring your magic number back to the convini after the date you're told and you can get a slip for printing out your presale tickets. Don't worry if you lose the printout with your number on it; you can always go back to eplus and access your number.

12. Enjoy your show in like, 6 months' time!

Way uncool I know but better than stressing out the morning the tickets go on-sale! I've seen bigger international acts sell out small venues (like Liquid Room in Ebisu) in a couple of hours.

I hope this info has been helpful! Does anyone else have any gig-related resolutions?

New Year's Eve Guide 2009-2010

There are plenty of things to do in Tokyo to celebrate the new year. Here are the Tokyo Gig Guide recommended countdown parties

Festival


COUNTDOWN JAPAN 09/10
WHO? capsule, RYUKYUDISKO, POLYSICS, Shugo Tokumaru, GO!GO!7188, Superfly, Elephant Kashimashi, HALCALI, MOGOL800, the telephones, detroit7
On the 28th - Ryuichi Sakamoto and Perfume
WHERE? Makuhari Messe
http://www.tokyogigguide.com/gigs/details/2188

Dance



ELECTRONIC TRIBE - YEBISU NEW YEAR'S PARTY 2010
WHO? Laurent Garnier, Mixmaster Morris aka The Irresistable Force, DJ Krush, 80KIDZ, DJ Baku, Daniel Wang, Kenji Takimi (Crue-L), Calm, DJ Kyoko, Ametsub
WHERE? Ebisu Garden Hall
http://www.tokyogigguide.com/gigs/details/2197

ageHa COUNTDOWN 2010
WHO? BOOM BOOM SATELLITES, KEN ISHII, DJ EMMA, DEXPISTOLS, DISCO TWINS, The SAMOS, MYSS, more
WHERE? ageHa in Shin-Kiba
http://www.tokyogigguide.com/gigs/details/2147



AIR NEW YEAR'S EVE COUNTDOWN TO 2010
WHO? SATOSHI TOMIIE, HECTOR ROMERO, RADIO SLAVE, DJ ENDO, YUMMY, ANRI, more
WHERE? AIR in Daikanyama
http://www.tokyogigguide.com/gigs/details/2204



2010 LIQUID
WHO? Takkyu Ishino, Fumiya Tanaka, Tohru Takahashi, DJ WADA, DJ NORI, MOODMAN, more
WHERE? Liquid Room in Ebisu
http://www.tokyogigguide.com/gigs/details/2199

BLUE WINDY NIGHT 2009−2010 COUNT DOWN SPECIAL
WHO? DJ NORI, Toshio Matsuura, Shuya Okino, De De Mouse, Yama a.k.a.Sahib, Eiji Takehana, more
WHERE? Mado Lounge & Tokyo City View in Roppongi
http://www.tokyogigguide.com/gigs/details/2198

WOMB presents NEW YEAR COUNTDOWN 2010
WHO? JEFF MILLS, AKi, TECHRIDERS, OHNISHI, AKR, RYUSUKE NAKAMURA, Dr.SHINGO, SATOSHI OTSUKI, TAKUYA, more
WHERE? Womb in Shibuya
http://www.tokyogigguide.com/gigs/details/2042

Different

COUNTDOWN 2009>2010 ＠ O-EAST
WHO? Shibusashirazu Orchestra, TURTLE ISLAND, Soul Flower Union, NATSUMEN, DJ KENSEI, more
WHERE? O-East in Shibuya
http://www.tokyogigguide.com/gigs/details/2201



ENBAN NO YUKU-TOSHI KURU-TOSHI
WHO? Maruo Maruko (from Kyoto), FREAKOUT FAN CLUB, Shigehiko Matsui, Johnny Okura Daijin (Suichu Sorewa Kurushii), Fumihito Taguchi, ju sei, Kitamura Sakiko, mamimi fouksong, 2コ (eetsuu), TABATA, Suzuki Junzo, JON (THE DOG), Ritsuko Sakata (pagtas) + Saitto Elettrico, purin no tameiki, suppa band nanika, OPQ, MY PAL FOOT FOOT, Takashi Ueno (Tenniscoats)
WHERE? Enban in Koenji
http://www.tokyogigguide.com/gigs/details/2106

KAN MIKAMI COUNTDOWN LIVE
WHO? Kan Mikami & guests
WHERE? Muryoku Muzenji in Koenji
http://www.tokyogigguide.com/gigs/details/2200

Punk

BURNING SPIRITS 2010 YEAR END EVE
WHO? Tetsu Array, EXTINCT GOVERNMENT, WAR HEAD, 九狼吽 (CLOWN), THE TRASH, SLIP HEAD BUTT, NO PROBLEM, more
WHERE? Antiknock in Shinjuku
http://www.tokyogigguide.com/gigs/details/2205



2009/2010 COUNT DOWN LIVE ATOMIC NITE THE FINAL
WHO? FRAGMENTS, ED WOODS, BRAZIL UFO, TOKYO-RYOZANPAKU, mohipuri, GOLGO BUTCH, more
WHERE? Heaven's Door in Sangenjaya
http://www.tokyogigguide.com/gigs/details/2203



Beat Happening SPECIAL！～COUNT DOWN TO HAPPENING！
WHO? STRIKERS, NeZuMiHaNaBi, Analogue Jidai, NaLas, Tsubaki, ELECTRIC EEL SHOCK, URBANfeti, the HANGOVERS, asunarou
WHERE? Lush in Shibuya
http://www.tokyogigguide.com/gigs/details/2207

Rock



SHIBUYA YANEURA YEAR END SPECIAL 2009→2010
WHO? PLATON, Tsubaki, Sonic Attacks Blaster, UNDER THE COUNTER, Fuzz Picks, POP CHOCOLAT, Sexy Panther, FRESUBT, BAZRA, Bob&Carnivals, Techma!, more
WHERE? Shibuya Yaneura
http://www.tokyogigguide.com/gigs/details/2038

SWAN SONG COUNCIL vol.11
WHO? about tess, birds melt sky, Far France, fukurouzu, henrytennis, hinomari, JUGONZ, mothercoat, oak, SuiseiNoboAz, more
2009/12/29 to 31
WHERE? AT SHINJUKU MARZ + Motion
http://www.tokyogigguide.com/gigs/details/1883

COUNT DOWN at Zher the ZOO 1st round ～DELICIOUS BUMP SHOW!!～
WHO? the pillows, noodles, POP CHOCOLAT, monokuro
WHERE? Zher The Zoo in Yoyogi
http://www.tokyogigguide.com/gigs/details/2025


We Jam Econo '09
WHO? Mike Watt's (Minutemen) new band brother's sister's daughter, Yuka Honda (cibo Matto) and nels cline's (Wilco) project stadium kitchen, COMBOPIANO, LITE, Qomolangma Tomato, kuruucrew, Samm Bennett, more
WHERE? ERA in Shimokitazawa
http://www.tokyogigguide.com/gigs/details/2202

BASEMENT BAR COUNT DOWN PARTY 2009>2010
WHO? SUNN, kingnurarihyong, mop of head, yuguretoronica, DEDESUKE, pocketlife, salsa, Zews, highered-girl, the highest, Creepy pop
WHERE? Basement Bar in Shimokitazawa
http://www.tokyogigguide.com/gigs/details/2206

TENSAW COUNTDOWN 2010
WHO? TENSAW (SAYBOW, Take, michiaki, GRICO)
WHERE? Showboat in Koenji
http://www.tokyogigguide.com/gigs/details/2184

Jazz


ALL NIGHT CONCERT 2009～2010
WHO? Shun Sakai Group, Takeshi Shibuya Orchestra, EMERGENCY!, Fumio Karashima Quintet, HIROSHI MINAMI Trio+1, Yoichi Murata Orchestra, Fumio Itabashi＋4
WHERE? Pit Inn in Shinjuku
http://www.tokyogigguide.com/gigs/details/2189

LiveHouse☆Map

I recently discovered a very handy website called LiveHouse☆Map which shows videos of people walking to livehouses from the nearest train stations.
Livehouses are often difficult to find and the maps are hard to decipher, so if you watch one of these videos before you go to a livehouse for the first time, you should feel more familiar with the route. Remember, you can also check Google Street View too.
LiveHouse☆Map is in Japanese but isn't too hard to follow even if you don't understand the language.
It seems to have some connection with the pop band Cosmic Airplane whose music can be heard in the background of the videos. I think the guides are members of the band too.
There are currently guides to 67 livehouses and while that is only a fraction of the venues out there (for example, Tokyo Gig Guide lists 340 venues), it is quite an achievment and includes all the main Tokyo clubs. I have added links to them on the livehouse pages of Tokyo Gig Guide.

Here is my favourite video. It's directions to Fever, which is directly in front of Shindaita station. He just crosses the road!