No excuses, and some updates

I'm not even going to try and make an excuse for the lack of posts recently, so here's some information instead. There is an event tonight in Tokyo, organised by Ian Martin:

2007 3/29 (Thu)
Shibuya O-NEST
「マスビーニューニュー(MUST BE NEW-NEW!）Vol.4」
w/ SKOOTER, ゆやゆよん, ウサギスパイラルアー, SHOOT MY DISCO,UMIBACHI
【DJ】IAN MARTIN（Call And Response）
開場18:30／開演19:00
● 前売￥2,000／当日￥2,300 ●ドリンク別

Someone's a Lot Busier Than Me...

Judging by the number of emailed press releases that are pinging up in my inbox, the JapanFiles staff are readying for a major Tet-like offensive. Firstly, songs by "trippy techno pioneers" Deavid Soul are now available for download on the JapanFiles website, as are the "high energy avante-garde pop stylings of Nagoya based Budo Grape. Finally, for anyone lucky enough to be at the South By Southwest festival this week (and if you are you probably won't be reading this poxy blog), Japanese band Mothercoat are playing at the following times:

Mar. 14

SXSW - Latitude 30

512 San Jacinto St.

Austin, TX

11:45 PM

Mar. 18

Sam's Burger Joint (w/Peelander Z)

www.samsburgerjoint.com

San Antonio, TX

6:00 PM

LiN CLOVER live in the US

For any Stateside readers:

JAPANESE ROCK BAND LiN CLOVER TO PLAY ADDITIONAL USA DATES!

Las Vegas, NV – February 28, 2007 – The powerful, dark Japanese rock band LiN CLOVER will make its USA debut at Sakura-Con 2007 in Seattle, WA, April 6-8, 2007.

Now the band has partnered with California-based promoters Shibuya Airwaves to add shows at Slim's in San Francisco (April 11) with additional venues TBA in Las Vegas, NV (April 10) and San Jose, CA (April 12).

Fans of LiN CLOVER and their founding members Ren & Nao (formerly of GacktJOB) will have their first chance to see this amazing, high-energy performance in America. Live performance video has been added to the band's official MySpace page ( www.myspace.com/linclover).

LiN CLOVER received a nomination for Best Japanese Rock Band in this year's Shojo Beat Music Awards.

LiN CLOVER appears courtesy of JapanFiles.com.

Thanks to Dave at JapanFiles for this. You know it makes sense - download the songs, buy the tickets, brighten up your day.

Still Freaky

"Do you want to go and see J Mascis?" my friend asked me. "It's a solo set and it's 2500 yen." J Mascis. The man who was in the band that were responsible for one of my top three mardy teenage anthems. The man who seemed guitar solos seem like a decent idea. J Mascis. In Tokyo. At a tiny venue. For only two thousand five hundred yen. What do you think?

Fast forward to the night of the show and things have changed a little. The demand for tickets has been overwhelming so the show has been moved downstairs to the Liquid Room's main hall. Goodbye intimate venue. Still, it's J Mascis. Maybe he'll play Freak Scene and all of this won't seem so bad.

The lights dim and the MC comes on stage. I get the main gist of what he says: it's eighteen years since the classic Dinosaur Jr line-up separated. Now they've got back together and have recorded a new album of original material which is called Beyond. Tonight, we are going to be the first people in Japan to hear this new album. Suddenly two and half grand seems like an insanely low price for this show. Not only are we going to hear the first new Dinosaur Jr album in almost twenty years (one guy near me tells his friend that he was only two when the band split), we're going to hear played by J Mascis himself. The lights go all the way down, the audience falss silent... and somewhere off stage a CD player clicks on and everything becomes clear. We are indeed going to hear the new Dinosaur Jr album, but on CD.

The new songs sound fantastic - the perfect fusion of both sides of Dinosaur Jr: the SST days of J, Lou and Murph, and the later era of Start Choppin' and Feel The Pain. I barely give a fuck though. Two thousand five hundred yen for this? Where's J Mascis? Is he going to come on at the end and strum a couple of songs before heading back to his hotel? I'm starting to get the feeling that we've all been had and this is nothing more than a glorified in-store appearance.

I need to do something about this. I want the promoters, the venue owners, Mascis himself, to know that they can't get away with this kind of shite. I have two small plastic cups and a half-full bladder. My options are limited but it's better than mute acceptance.

The album comes to an end. Just under an hour ago this venue was buzzing with expectation, but now the audience shuffles around, not able to muster anything like the same level of enthusiasm. The MC comes back on stage and launches into another spiel. "Wasn't the album great?" "Don't the band sound fantastic?" "Let's have a look at what you could have won." OK, I made that last one up but you get the picture. I decide that drastic measures need to be taken and hand the two plastic cups to my girlfriend. As I fumble about in the semi-darkness the MC says something about J Mascis and the crowd seem to be re-energised. The MC buggers off.

Grey haired and looking how a sane Daniel Johnston might, J Mascis shambles onto the stage and proceeds to play one of the best shows I have ever seen. Clouds part, the cups tumble to the floor and all thoughts of starting a riot disappear from my mind. Mascis seems to be a little confused about the running order of the evening, as he tells that he won't be playing anything from the new album since we're going to hear it all soon anyway. It doesn't matter, it just seems like the kind of thing he would say.

About halfway through what is basically a greatest hits set he plays Freak Scene. I am transported back to my teenage years and beyond, into that realm where a song is much more than just chords, melody and lyrics. Instead, it becomes a force that resonates through to the very core of your being and leads you to write overblown and overlong sentences like these in a vain attempt to convey just how good it is. I don't stop smiling for the rest of the evening and the only place I piss is in the toilet.

Freakscene

J Mascis is playing live in Tokyo next Monday and I'm going - I guess February isn't all bad. I have to admit that I don't know that much about his solo stuff but I'm looking forward to it regardless. The most remarkable thing? A Western artist whose show is only costing 2500 yen (inc one drink) - could this be the start of a trend?

Is there another way to say "Better late than never?"

It's over a week since the event, I arrived midway through the third band's performance, and had to leave before the final band had finished. I probably don't have any right to even write about the show but a blog needs posts like a footballer's wife needs Prada, so here we are.

Mir were the band whose set we rudely gatecrashed. A female guitarist in a bunny hat, blasts of Stereolab-esque pop, and orchestrated dance moves - what could possibly go wrong? Their vocalist. One from the 'screaming loudly shows my pain and commitment to the artistic cause' school of singers, he left me thinking they could have a great future as an instrumental group. Then again, I suppose credit should be given for the fact they had chosen that route instead of taking the easy way out and sticking the bunny girl up front and letting her do the best Laetitia Sadier impersonation she can muster.

For all those who now have a huge Limited Express (has gone?) shaped hole in their lives, help is at hand. Praha Depart have all the right elements: a yelpy vocalist; a sound that careers around the venue, bouncing off the walls and drilling into your brain; and a guitarist who dresses like a mujahideen while playing like he ought to be in Rage Against the Machine. It was difficult to tell whether Praha Depart play groups of separate songs welded together, or epic songs that take in a variety of different styles and time signatures. They're a band that'll grate with some people who may just dismiss them as yet another 'wacky Japanese indie band with a shrieker up front', but it'll be their loss.

After the bare bones guitar and drums used by Praha Depart, Skyfisher seemed to fill the stage with guitars, bass guitars, drums, cowbells, and a machine that went ping. To be honest, at this point the 100 yen wine that was on offer kicked in and the rest of the show is a bit of a haze. I know this is hardly professional, but then again, this is a blog and professionalism doesn't really come into it, does it? I also don't want to just make something up because if I do that it'll more than likely be a tirade (those come to me more easily than anything else) and that just doesn't seem fair on the bands. I recall wondering how the final act, Uhnellys, made the freaky looping sounds that are all I can remember from the ten or fifteen minutes I saw of them, but that's about all I can fairly say about them. The review comes to a juddering halt. If you want something proper to read, try this article about Stereolab.

Be there or be square

Call And Response Records presents:
TANZ TANZ TANZ!
高円寺２００００Ｖ
２月１１日（日）
18.00/18.30 Open/Start
￥1800adv / ￥2000door
バンド：
ウーネリーズ
Skyfisher
プラハデパート
Mir
tacobonds
バイナリー・キッド（Ｏｐｅｎｉｎｇ　Ａｃｔ）
ＤＪｓ：
dotdash (Call And Response)
HanaWaza (akacia)

Special Drink Bar: Wine ￥100!

If the bands don't make it sound attractive then surely it's worth it for the 100 yen wine??

Further behind than the slow kid at the back of the class

Just had a look on the Keikaku forums for the first time in a few days and the first thing that catches my eye is the following thread title from February 1st: Limited Express has really gone. Bugger. February has always been my least favourite month and this year is no exception.

Work sucks (and don't let anyone tell you otherwise)

Didn't make it to the SHIFT show last night. Will I ever go to another show again? By the looks of things, not while I'm in this fucking job, so I'll turn this post into a plea for help. If anyone in Tokyo hears of any jobs that are worth checking out (i.e ones that they'd do themselves but they just haven't got time to) feel free to let me know. Not only will you save my sanity, you may even improve the content of this blog (although I make no claims about the quality of it).

The nearest you're going to get to a review of last night is by reading the comment in the last post. Surely that's a sign of how desperate this situation is.

Is it too late for New Year's Resolutions?

If anyone is still checking back here they will have noticed that I have hardly been setting any records for posting since the start of this year. As I've explained the main reason for this has been job problems, but fuck it, that ain't good enough. This should be a labour of love etc etc. So, here we go again and let's see if I can keep it going this time. The same goes for the other blogs.

Anyway, to make this post much more worthwhile, here's some long-awaited good news (for me at least). SHIFT are playing tomorrow night at Lush in Shibuya (click on the link for a map). They are playing with American band Daughters, Saladbar, The Brixton Academy and デラシネ. Doors open at 6, everything kicks off at 6.30, and tickets are two grand in advance or two and a half on the door. If you don't believe me, it's all on the SHIFT website. I'm hoping to make it along for at least part of the show.

More predictions for 2007

Hell, two posts in one day. Whatever next? Reviews? Live news? All the things that I promised to do when I started this blog? Don't hold your breath. Today's Mystic Meg is the scandalously underrated Andrew Scott, Edinburgh based singer-songwriter and alumnus of bands that should have been big, Ellis and Zerzan. If you're in the Edinburgh area and you see his name in a listings magazine, go and see him, especially if Pete Yorn/Neil Young/Matthew Sweet/Gene Clark type stylings yank your crank - you won't be disappointed. According to Mr Scott we should be looking out for the following:

Indie chancers: The View, The Klaxons, Cold War Kids
Band Who Might Very Well Become Enormous: Arcade Fire (note: aren't they already fairly enormous?)
Bands Who Might Do An R.E.M (note: I'm not sure if this means break out from relative indie obscurity and take over arenas everywhere, or go utterly shite - I'll leave that to your discretion): Interpol, Death Cab For Cutie
Obligatory Plug for A Scottish Artist: Malky Middleton, ex-Arab Strap punter.

No shameless self-promotion for Andrew - not sure if that means there's nowt on the go or if he's just being modest. As I said, keep an eye out for him.

Some blogs that actually have updates

These are a couple of blogs written by contributors to the Keikaku site. Go forth and read (because the chances of me writing a post that isn't ripped off from someone else's work are pretty fucking slim):

This Song Is Good
Reptaro

This probably doesn't even belong here`

This is nothing to do with music but it is about Tokyo and I'm not sure what to make of it. Please read it and comment away:

Japan's mouth-watering way to denude workplace of sexual harrassment

Shukan Post (1/26)

Hot among Tokyo's salarymen at the moment is OL Shabu Shabu Shomuni, a restaurant where waitresses dress as regular "office ladies" who'll strip down and change before customers' eyes, according to Shukan Post (1/26).

The restaurant is a Strip Shabu Shabu, where waitresses start decked out like typical OLs and then remove their garments before dressing in a new outfit.

It's the latest in a long line of gimmicks involved in the serving of shabu shabu, a delicacy where meat strips are dragged through boiling water and dipped in a sauce before being eaten.

Most notable among the shabu shabu trends were the "no-pan shabu shabu," establishments where bottomless waitresses served clients made famous in the late '90s because they were the places corrupt Ministry of Finance bureaucrats liked to be taken by devious bankers looking for underhand breaks.

Now, the no-pan (no-pants) shabu shabu have largely gone, but as the Tokyo restaurant suggests, so have all the clothes, too, even if only momentarily.

OL Shabu Shabu Shomuni's waitresses feed customers by hand. Once diners have received a mouthful, they can then cop an eyeful by requesting the waiting staff slowly change clothes. All the dressing and undressing takes place in front of diners.

Meals cost 5,000 yen for 60 minutes, which entitles the diner to eat and drink as much as they can, as well as request garment changes from any of the waiting staff available. Normally, there are about 10 women (with an average age of 21, the weekly says).

The restaurant also supplies customers with hand mirrors and binoculars for those who'd like a closer look at the waiting staff, even if it means they will leer up dresses.

Waiting staff are apparently more than happy to be on display.

"We'd like salarymen who can't normally be dirty with the OLs in their office to come down and enjoy a meal with us," one of the waitresses tells Shukan Post. (By Ryann Connell)

January 19, 2007

2007 Predictions

It's that time of year where you look ahead and wonder who are going to be the movers and shakers of the next 12 months. Which bands are worth watching out for and which ones should be avoided like lecherous middle-aged English teachers attending the New Year's party at the women's university where they work? It is also the time of year when I've been looking for a new job and haven't really had enough time to do much with the blog, so I emailed a bunch of people more knowledgeable than I and asked for their opinions. First up, Ian Martin from Call and Response records and the Clear and Refreshing website.

From Tokyo:
- Worst Taste
- マヒルノ
- タイカップ
- Pink Group
- ウーネリーズ

From Osaka:
- ヨルズインザスカイ

From Fukuoka:
- Moth
- 百蚊

Not one to be content with merely writing about bands and putting on shows (I believe the next one is on February 11th - more info to follow later), the indomitable Martin-san also mentioned a band of his own, Natasha Forrest. In his own words: "We're mostly influenced by the
1910 Fruitgum Company and Einsturzende Neubauten." What else do you need to know?

Oops

Sorry, slight mistake in my earlier post - Beck is on the 16th, not the 14th. My boss is still a wanker though.

Not Quite the Start I was Looking For

Happy New Year and all that pish. Apologies for the lack of posting but since I came back to Tokyo things haven't been going too well. Firstly, after two weeks of eating in Vietnamese and Cambodian restaurants that were sometimes borderline health hazards it was eventually the so-called 'breakfast' on JAL that banjaxed my stomach, and I spent my first few days back getting to know every single line and mark on my toilet wall. Just as that finally got better a whole lot of shit hit a huge fan at work and it now looks like I'm going to be pimping myself around the job market again (there's a rant on the James Blunt blog if you're interested).

One welcome positive though. A friend emailed me this morning to let me know that Beck will be playing at the Budokan on April 14th. The big question is, will I have a job to finance concert going at that point? If anyone hears of any jobs going in the Tokyo area please let me know. Cheers.

I'm buggering off...

In about four hours time I'll be dragging my weary arse into a taxi and heading off on the marathon journey that is inevitable when going to Narita Airport. Our flight is at 10.30 but we're leaving here at 5.40, so that means I have approximately three hours in which to sleep - do you see how devoted I am to this blog?

Anyway, I'll be back in the new year and although I'll be checking this when I'm on holiday, I doubt I'll be posting anything (but if there are comments here I'll respond to them). To the lonely crofters and their dogs who make up this blog's pitiful audience, I wish you all the best - enjoy celebrating whatever it is you celebrate. Cheers.

Burgerlog

Daftness for daftness sake can be a great thing. With this in mind, have a look at the Burgerlog blog (and Burgerlog 2 - The Japan version) - if you don't leave these sites with a smile on your face I'm not sure there's much hope for you at all. You're probably the same kind of person that thinks James Blunt is a profound commentator on the vagaries of human existence rather than a talentless, charmless, ex-military goon with all the depth of a Hallmark card. Bitter? Me?

You Ain't No Picasso

Good site anyway, but elevated to god-like status for having a downloadable mp3 of Intervention, a new song by The Arcade Fire. It sounds as if they're going to continue from exactly where they left off - maybe there is a god after all.

The Psycrons

“Kyoto? That's the old capital of Japan, isn't it? The place with all the temples and shrines and Geisha and stuff? Yeah, a friend of mine went there once and said it was OK, but it got a bit boring after the fourth or fifth temple. Bloody school kids and middle-aged women everywhere too, he said.”

“Kyoto? Amazing city. The temples and shrines are beautiful and three days just wasn't long enough to do justice to the place. The city just absolutely oozes culture – it's in the buildings and the air itself. Remarkable.”

“Kyoto? Isn't that where they signed the environmental agreement that no bugger pays any attention to?

All stereotypical but plausible reactions to the question, “What do you know about Kyoto?” However, stereotypes are there to be shattered and The Psycrons ought to be the band that put Kyoto on the map for something other than its history and a toothless environmental protocol. Looking like extras who have strayed from the set of an Austin Powers film, and sounding like the last forty years of music has passed them by completely, The Psycrons are here to save the world. OK, that's just journailistic exaggeration, but The Psycrons are definitely here to brighten up the world.

The Miracle of The Psycrons is the band's second album and is out now. It careers around the touchstones of 60s music like Tigger on speed, nicking bits and bobs from all over the place: the scuzzy guitars of The Sonics, the vocal harmonies of The Byrds and a rhythm section straight out of the Motor City. The whole thing is powered by the meaty beaty big and bouncy energy of The Who and it sounds great. Standout tracks include Jetter of Love, which opens the album with a blast; and Footprints in the Winter which sounds like the mutant Japanese cousin of The Mamas and Papas backed by the MC5.

It would be easy to dismiss them as mere copyists who wish they'd been born a generation or two earlier, but that would be to miss the point. The Psycrons are a different breed to the current swathe of UK bands who are all desperately trying to be Gang of Four: their songs have a verve and energy about them that lifts them far beyond mere pastiche. Like The White Stripes, The Psycrons' seem to create more than just music. They have built up an alternative reality for themselves which they inhabit at all times. The Psycrons make no bones about their historical roots – this is who they are and that's that, and when the music's this good that's all that matters.