Live From Tokyo documentary trailer

Late last year I was interviewed for a documentary about the Tokyo live music scene called Live From Tokyo.

Finally a trailer is up on their site. They will be spending the next few months finishing the film to submit to film festivals. Looking good so far. Hopefully we won't have to wait too long to see it!

Check out the Live From Tokyo site for clips and info on some great Japanese independent artists.

An Experimental Evening

by liza

Just a quick post to tell everyone about some bands I saw a couple of weeks ago!

Some Sunday afternoon randomness (drinking may or may not have been involved!) led me to Shibuya's O-Nest on Feb. 8, where Lowborn Soundsystem was playing a gig to celebrate its first album. Since the band billed itself as "post-punk," I was expecting something along the lines of Gang of Four.

Was I wrong! The 7- or 8-member group (it was hard to tell with all the jumping around!) tore onto the stage, ripped up a poster of a Japanese politician and launched into a set that was more Polysics than Joy Division. There were lots of trippy electronics from three DJs/programmers -- but again, hard to tell exactly as there were condoms and maxi pads raining down from the sky, as well as a pig's head, which was real, I learned at the afterparty from the comedian cracking wise between sets.

I don't think I'd classify them as "post-punk/alternative," but they certainly have enough punk attitude to go around. Check out their MySpace here.

Before their set, I was unexpectedly treated to a performance by 30-year-plus experimental veterans Hikashu (ヒカシュー, or "Hikasu" in romanji sometimes). They're outrageous, theatrical and all over the place. How often do you get to see a theremin used on stage? I always wondered how the spooky music in B-movies was made.

It looks like their next gig isn't until April 1 at Star Pine's Cafe, and I definitely recommend checking them out. Their experience really shows in their sound. MySpace here.

(image is from Hikashu's MySpace photos)

Club 8

Fancy some Swedish pop?
Club 8 will be in Japan on April 3rd for a show at O-Nest, supported by 4 bonjour's parties and Mondialito.



Club 8 is Karolina Komstedt and Johan Angergård, also in the great indie-pop band, Acid House Kings. Since 1995, Club 8 have released 6 albums on Spanish label Siesta and Swedish label Labrador. Their sound has moved between twee, bossa-nova, electronica and shiny, happy but melancholic pop.

Their new album, Boy Who Couldn't Stop Dreaming, is out in Japan now.
Listen: Whatever You Want mp3




4 bonjour's parties is a seven piece band who play a large array of instruments from guitar to flute to synthesiser and everything in between. Could they be called dreamy chamber-pop or Belle & Sebastian meets Tortoise? However you describe them, they are definitely one of the most interesting and original bands in japan right now.



Mondialito play beautiful down-tempo, acoustic-electro-bossa. Singing almost all songs in French, you can hear the influence of Keren Ann. Their 4th album, Cher Mon Amoureux, is out now.

On The One, Tearbridge International and Cookie Scene present Club 8.
April 3rd (Thursday) at O-Nest in Shibuya.
The doors open at 6:00 and the music starts at 7:00.
Tickets can be purchased from Lawson. The L-code is 72151.
It costs 3400yen advance or 3900yen at the door.

Fuji Rock & Summersonic lineups

by craig


Some of the artists have been announced for Fuji Rock Festival `08:

NEW (April): ASPARAGUS, BEAT CRUSADERS, BEN FOLDS, BETTYE LAVETTE, Bill Laswell presents Method of Defiance, BLACKMARKET, Bootsy Collins Tribute to the Godfather of Soul, THE BREEDERS, THE CRIBS, CSS, DatA, THE DEATH SET, DOBERMAN, eastern youth, ELLEGARDEN, FEEDER, FLOWER TRAVELLIN' BAND, FreeTEMPO, GALACTIC featuring Chali 2na (of Jurassic 5) and Boots Riley (of The Coup), THE GO!TEAM, GOGOL BORDELLO, GOSSIP, GOTYE, HARD-FI, IAN BROWN, KIYOSHIRO IMAWANO & NICE MIDDLE with NEW BLUE DAY HORNS plus NAKAIDO "CHABO" REICHI, JANET KLEIN, JASON FALKNER, JASON MRAZ, KASABIAN, KATE NASH, Kicell, LETTUCE, M!NK, MELEE, MICHAEL FRANTI AND SPEARHEAD, THE MUSIC, MY BLOODY VALENTINE, MYSTERY JETS, NARUYOSHI KIKUCHI DUB SEXTET, ONE NIGHT ONLY, OZOMATLI, PRIMAL SCREAM, PRINCESS SUPERSTAR, QURULI, THE RASCALS, Riddim Saunter, RODRIGO Y GABRIELA, ROGER JOSEPH MANNING JR., RYUKYUDISKO, SEASICK STEVE, SHERBETS, SPECIAL OTHERS, SPOON, SWITCH, Tomobe Masato, TRAVIS, UNDERWORLD, WHITE LIES

Of course more artists will be announced but it looks like it might have potential. My Bloody Valentine? Yes!


Most of Summersonic `08's artists have been announced:

COLDPLAY / THE VERVE / SEX PISTOLS / THE PRODIGY / ALICIA KEYS / FATBOY SLIM / PAUL WELLER / DEVO / SPIRITUALIZED / THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN / PANIC AT THE DISCO / MAXIMUM THE HORMONE / ZEBRAHEAD / AGAINST ME! / BEAT UNION / BAND OF HORSES / BEDOUIN / SOUNDCLASH / CAJUN DANCE PARTY / CRYSTAL CASTLES / FRIENDLY FIRES / JACK'S MANEQUIN / JUNKIE XL / LATE OF THE PIER / THE METROS / MUTEMATH / NEW FOUND GLORY / NEW YOUNG PONY CLUB / OLD MAN RIVER / POLYSICS / SILVERSUN PICKUPS / SKINDRED / SOUTH CENTRAL / THE SUBWAYS / THE TING TINGS / WE SMOKE FAGS / XAVIER RUDD

NEW (March 15th): 311, Lostprophets, The Fratellis, Justice, Hadouken!, The Hoosiers, Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong, MGMT, Onerepublic, The Wombats, Trivium, Vampire Weekend.

NEW (March 21st): Death Cab For Cutie, The Kooks, Cafe Tacvba, These New Puritans, The Teenagers

A few goodies but mostly fairly yawnable.

FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL '08 is on July 25th (Fri), 26th (Sat) and 27th (Sun) 2008 at Naeba Ski Resort in Niigata.
3-day tickets are ¥39,800. 1-day tickets are ¥16,800 but limited to 10,000 tickets a day. A car park pass costs ¥3,000 a car per day and a campsite ticket is ¥3,000 valid for the festival period. Pre-booking on sale now until 6/6 from Pia, eplus, and Ganban (English)

SUMMER SONIC '08 is on August 9th (Saturday) and 10th (Sunday) at Chiba Marine Stadium & Makuhari Messe.
A 1-day ticket is ¥15,500 and a 2-day ticket is ¥28,500.
Tickets will be on sale from May 24th from:
Pia (The Pia code is 287-355 for 1 day and 782-024 for both),
Lawson (The Lawson code is 77770),
eplus and CN Playguide

Shift, Melt-Banana, Yolz In The Sky, nhhmbase, CLISMS - Akihabara Club Goodman, May 1st 2007

by graeme

Most of the concerts I go to in Tokyo are fairly sparsely attended. If there are five bands on the bill there will usually be around thirty or forty people there. It seems that each band brings five or six friends and family members who have no choice but to go. Add in the small number of people who are there because they want to see the bands, and the obligatory blog writing gaijin and that's pretty much it.

Tuesday night at Club Goodman was the exception to the vague rule that I just made up. Despite this being Shift's event most of the audience were there to see Tokyo luminaries (or 'it bands' if you wanted to be unkind) nhhmbase and Melt-Banana. First up was CLISMS. Like all the bands on tonight's bill apart from Shift, this was the first time I'd seen them. Taking their on-stage moves from The Who (without the instrument annihilation), they played a lean twenty five minute set that any fan of the Nuggets series would appreciate.

nhhmbase were one of the first bands I heard about when I started this blog - various people told me that I had to check them out. I bought their first mini-album and while it certainly wasn't bad, it didn't seem that special. I was then told that I had to see them live, that the CD hadn't really captured them at their best. I've been told this kind of thing before and sometimes it's little more than a way to cover up the fact that a band aren't actually that great. With nhhmbase it IS true though - played live, their songs are have more space in which to meander and expand without ever drifting off into muso-wank-noodling territory. One downside to the band could be the fact that apparently they've been playing much the same set for the last two years - do they have any more songs in there or have they shot their bolt too quickly? Guess we'll have to wait and see.

Sometimes you go to a concert where you only know one or two bands on the bill, but one of the unknown acts turns out to be the best thing you see all night and you spend the next couple of days raving to all your friends about how good they were. Unfortunately ヨルズイノザスカイ (Yolz In The Sky) were away over on the other side of the spectrum. I looked back at my notes under I've underlined the words "utter pish" in the same way a bitter cuckold might highlight his cheating ex-wife's name in the phonebook. Musically, their stew of relentless guitar noise and frantic rhythm works well, but their vocalist fucks the whole thing up. He looks like Bruce Lee and sounds similar too, as he yelps his way through every song like a loop tape of every fight scene in Enter The Dragon. It has me scrambling for the beer machine outside in the hallway for much needed oral and aural respite. One final point before we leave the whole sorry episode behind - to the bloke who stood next to me giving the sign of the beast all the way through their set, this band is not Satanic, just diabolical (before any smart arse goes to write a comment about the meaning of 'diabolical', look here).

According to Wikipedia, Melt-Banana singer Yasuko Onuki's vocal style has been described as "a rabid poodle on speed". After their set (this was the first time I'd actually heard any of their music - am I allowed to write about Japanese music after such a confession?) I was trying to figure out what to say about them when my girlfriend trumped both my half-arsed notes and the anonymous critic cited on Wikipedia - "The music was OK but she sounds like Alvin and The Chipmunks going through teenage angst." 'Nuff said.

Shift were last on and came out to a slightly depleted audience (even if it is your event perhaps playing last after nhhmbase and Melt-Banana isn't the best idea). This was the first time I'd seen them since their show at Shibuya O-nest last year, and they seem to have left behind some of the more melodic parts of their sound. Yuki Funayama's vocals stand out above Alvin and Bruce Lee, but the band's sound wasn't as distinctive as before. Then again, maybe it was just the songs they played that night, or maybe the beer I'd downed deperately during Yolz In The Sky's set was playing havoc with my ears. Either way, Shift remain a band that everyone should see live if they have the chance.