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.