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

Fuji Rock Festival part one: days one and two

DAY ONE. THURSDAY JULY 24th 2008.

After four hours of annoying people with our massive amounts of luggage on local trains, we finally arrived in Yuzawa. Then came an hour standing in the rain waiting for the bus to the festival. Rain is an unfortunate but unavoidable consequence of holding the festival at a ski resort way up in the mountains of Niigata. Rain is what caused me to get drenched on Sunday, the only day I forgot to bring my poncho, and probably why I now have a cold.



Getting there on Thursday is definitely the way to go. We managed to find an ideal camping spot near some toilets, a stream and not on too much of an angle. In the next couple of days we witnessed people pitching tents all kinds of wacky places like the side of hills, in swamps and in the trees.



The atmosphere on Thursday night was amazing. There were fireworks and surprise bands and thousands of grinning fujirockers. We mixed up some drinks at the campsite and went in to the festival. Takkyu Ishino got us dancing, and soon we were drinking more and more and making friends with almost everyone who passed, people who we kept running into and hanging out with throughout the festival. A bunch of 20-year-olds we met happened to be our campsite next-door neighbours. Despite the language differences, they had a great time with Pete drinking at their campsite until they started vomiting in their tents. Who taught Pete "iki iki"?

DAY TWO. FRIDAY JULY 25th 2008.



As it did every day, the bright morning sun woke us up way too early and turned our tents into saunas, causing us to seek alternative places to sleep. Fellow Melburnians, Midnight Juggernauts kicked off Saturday in the Red Marquee with a solid dancable set that got us in the right mood for the rest of the day.



Then it was time to explore the festival site and make ourselves familar with the location of all the stages. It is an incredibly huge place! Walking over to Orange Court took about 40 minutes and on the way we had to endure a couple of The Presidents of The United States Of America songs. Who invited them? Once at Orange Court, we only got to see a couple of songs by French hip-hop group, Hocus Pocus before it was time to turn around and start heading back to Red Marquee again to see Spoon.



On the way back we watched a couple of Quruli's songs. Well-polished Japanese indie-rock. Spoon gave us more indie-rock and I was happy that they played lots of songs from their last two albums (their best, in my opinion), and the big Spoon fans would have been happy that they played lots of oldies too. It started raining when I wandered over to get food and I heard Travis from the Green Stage very appropriately playing 'Why Does It Always Rain On Me?'

The Gossip were up next in the Red Marquee and Beth put on an amazing show that was definitely one of the highlights of the festival. She howled, sweated and announced, "Japan is so hot!", taking off a layer of clothing. The crowd loved her and went absolutely wild, especially when she came down from the stage to sing among them. They included a very punk cover of 'Like a Virgin' as well as their hits like 'Jealous Girls' and 'Standing In The Way Of Control.'

Unfortunately, the main role of the security guards was to stop people from taking photos, so it was hard to get any decent band shots.

Maybe it was partly because of Gossip's amazing performance just before, maybe it was partly because of the rain, or maybe it was because I had such high expectations, but whatever it was, although I did enjoy them, Bloc Party failed to impress me all that much.



My Bloody Valentine were everything I wanted them to be. Incredible. They played my favourites from Loveless and Isn't Anything and even some from their EPs. They even did 20 minutes of delicious noise in the middle of the last song! The fans absolutely loved them, and Pete, Meri and I were speechless for a long while after they finished. The rest of our group didn't dig them much though.



Wandering over to Orange Court, we caught a bit of The New Mastersounds who sounded as good live as they do on record. Unfortunately, Orange Court was ridiculously crowded making it impossible to properly appreciate Dexpistols and Denki Groove. We had to sit right up the back on the side of a hill trying to balance our drinks. Should have just stayed and watched The New Mastersounds.

It was time for late night hip-hop back way back at the Red Marquee. I've been really loving Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip's debut album lately so I had been looking forward to seeing them play live. This duo from England ended up being one of my highlights of the weekend. For their song, 'Thou Shalt Always Kill,' Scroobius Pip changed the words to include Fuji Rock bands.

Grandmaster Flash reminded us that he is the DJ who first made the turntable an instrument and that he is the first hip-hop artist to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame countless times, told us to put our hands in the air countless times, and continually ranted about a Japan Times interviewer who he thought had dissed him (in fact, all he did was ask why many Japanese people didn't know who he was). But he also played a fun selection of old and new songs that got us dancing, and we all loved him because, well, he is Grandmaster Flash! At one hilarious point, after referring to the Japan Times reporter yet again and boasting about how Japanese people loved him, he played 'Smells Like Teen Spirit!'
I heard that song three times throughout the festival...