FIVE DAYS FORTY BANDS End of the Year Lives @ Shimokita Era - Day 4 (12/29/10)

LINE UP:

the SHUWA /
Christopher Allan Diadora /
pocketlife /
wozniak /
wah-wah /
ボナンザグラム /
kowloon /
wooderd chiarie /


I wanted to see wooderd chiarie but... I think i didn't stay till their set.

It was a little confusing who was playing when... The line up did not follow the way it was listed on the site so I had no idea who was play! ahahahaha

But I do remember pocketlife's show and also... Christopher Allan Diadora..

Christopher Allan Diadora............................... WTF.
The lead singer was like a TOTTTTTTTTTTTTTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLL Liam Gallagher wannabe... only he's NOT! geh.

FIVE DAYS FORTY BANDS End of the Year Lives @ Shimokita Era - Day 1 (12/26/10)

SO!! I decided to go for the lives because it was VERYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY cheap!!! (1000 yen for each day only!) and I thought I shouldn't waste my time, since I was on holiday and I should go check out some bands since Era is nearby too! Plus, there were a few bands I was interested in checking out as I've heard of them.

So Day 1's bands were:

夕暮レトロニカ /
DOOKIE FESTA(from大阪) /
discord /
For Less To Lake /
mamo /
COATREAL /
after the greenroom /
EDo-REPORT /


I wanted to check out after the greenroom, been hearing about them from Wild Gun Crazy.... POST ROCK! FEMALE LEAD!

つばき (Post Isshiki), hare-brained unity, Lunkhead @ No Regret Life presents"wonderful tonight!!" @ Shindaita Fever (12/23/10)

was gonna skip this show! Well NOT. I almost missed this show, actually, coz i didn't bother to check the time of the show and found out last minute that the show started at 2p.m. coz there was a whole load of bands lined up for this one.

I only really wanted to check out hare-brained unity, Lunkhead and of course, Tsubaki, since this was the first Tsubaki show post Isshiki.

hare-brained unity

I feel really, really, really bad because I've not been to a single HBU live since I came. I always see the bands posting on twitter about their shows and they actually play LOADS of show in Tokyo VERY frequently, too. But I just never checked them out coz I don't know many of the songs.

But I must say, their set was the highlight of the day!!!

最強！part of their set was when they actually played Disco Music!!!!! I'm not sure if this is one their usual live favourite but I didn't think they'd play it because it's like the 5th track on a very, very old album...

BUT THEY DID!!!!!!!!!!1

AND IT WAS BRILLIANT!!!

It was soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo super wonderful to sing with them...!!!! Taijuwada was awesomely coooooooooooool too!!! hahaha... He DOES rock out with his DJing and bass! ^_^;; then again, I think I am biased!

Thanks hare-brained!!! I really had fun singing the song with you and dancing with everybody... It was surreal how I'd listen to that song every morning as I drove to work on Jalan Tun Razak, and there I was singing it with you... Thanks :)


Lunkhead


They didn't play a long set, just five songs... But... Hmm... Well it was a Lunkhead set :) I've not seen Lunkhead much since coming here... I think I've seen Sekaiichi way more than Lunkhead!

But they played some old songs in the set so I was happy. They also played some new songs so it was cool to check out the new songs.... But hmmm... as you can see... Not much of a review here! haha!

Anyway, because there were so many bands playing that night, as each band played, people started leaving the pit, so I was able to get right up front (third row probably), by Lunkhead's set... So that was pretty cool.




Tsubaki

Well, Tsubaki finally went on at 6:30... (Yes, a LONGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG four hours since the start of the show!!!)...

This was the first show with Tsubaki without Isshiki... It's very natural but so weird to not have your frontman in a band, yet have the band playing the band's songs, don't you think?

But I really, really, really, really salute and am thankful to Ogawa-san and Okamoto-san for making the decision to not cancel the Tokyo shows and to go on with Tsubaki lives despite a missing Isshiki. I think it's really, really, really, really great for them to do that for the fans, and I think they're a true band for not going on a total haitus but for the sake of the fans, continuing on the band without a frontman (I mean who would have thought?!)

Anyway, OGAWA-SAN talked WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY more than usual!!! hahahaahahha!! He was MCing and explaining about Tsubaki deciding to continue and to support No Regret Life for their show... And I was thinking to myself at that time "oh my... if only Isshiki was around to witness this!! He would be soooooo pleased that Ogawa is talking so much!!!" Isshiki could never get Ogawa to say more than a few words!! hahaha.. and it had always been a running gag in the show!! haha...

Anyway, they didn't play any new song from the previous show (the Tsubaki 10th anniversary show) and they only played 3 songs, instead of 5 as the other bands did. But that was because they got a few people to come up to play with them.

So, Tsubaki's set was done by Odaka &Yamashita pair from Lunkhead. They played the same song as they did in the anniversary show, Moussoressha. Odaka, however, was very, very, very reluctant to take the stage. You can tell he felt very, very uncomfortable trying to take over Isshiki's shoes. And I think that's a true reflection of Odaka's... "humble" (???) nature... I think, it was very touching that he felt that he can't and he shouldn't even be trying to take over Isshiki's shoes.. and you could really see that in his demeanor... In the anniversary show, because he covered Tsubaki in his own set, he was much more confident and in charged of the stage... But in this Tsubaki set, you can see he was quite apprehensive to take up the vocals to sing the same song he sang in his own set two weeks before.

Kudos, Odaka. I think you're stepping back up on my book.

Anyway, the second song was the same, the EVER BOUNCING OFF THE WALLS, Masuzawa-san took the vocals to cover Brown Sugar Hair... He was not sooooooooooooooooo crazy this time as he was the previous time but still crazy enough!! The difference between this set and the previous was that... Isshiki played the guitars previously. This time Odaka &Yamashita did the guitars while Masuzawa sang...

Masuzawa Brown Sugar Hair!!!!!

HERE IT IS!!!





Finally, the third song was covered by No Regret Life's singer... He did quite okay with the vocals but やっぱり、つばきの歌はつばきの歌だ。Lol... Tsubaki's song is Tsubaki :) And that's the way it should be, probably.

The Challenge @ Shimokita Garage (12/18/10)

SO LUCKY!!! After the previous show, I really, really, really wanted to see The Challenge again and just 2 days after that Sawada-san announced that they were having a show at Garage!!! And thankfully, I hadn't put in any lessons for that night, so I could go!!!

I really, really wanted to listen to and RECORD Ogenki Desu Ka because at Koenji, it was such an amazing song!!!!!!!

Anyway, they also gave us a SECOND free CD today!! A different title too!! So, Thanks The Challenge!!!

They had a really long set this time, almost 50 minutes and they were the last band on.. So that's really cool!!!

Sekaiichi @ Shibuya Tower Records Free Live! (12/12/10)

THIS WAS A LUCKY ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO IDEA they were having a show!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then I bought Step On and I had NO IDEA it came with a ticket for a free live!!!

SO THIS WAS A LUCKY ONE!!!!!

FANTASTIC SHOW!!!

SHORT

BUT

GREAT!


(oh damn, I think I really like Sekaiichi!)

つばき 10th Anniversary @ Shindaita Fever (12/10/10)

this is sad to post but.


sigh...

it has to be written.

Tsubaki's last show was really, really fun. It was their 10th Anniversary show.

It was from 7 to 5 am the next day... But actually they only played maybe 2 hours in that alloted period. There were two sessions... The first session was a double headlining show with Lunkhead. Lunkhead started and then Tsubaki closed.

This is the second time I've been to a Lunkhead/Tsubaki line-up... The first time was 4 years ago when I saw Lunkhead and Tsubaki for the first time and got to know Tsubaki that night too... So it was really a nice nostalgic touch to it... (WAHHH!!! FIRST AND LAST TSUBAKI SHOW WAS A LUNKHEAD/TSUBAKI LINEUP!!! T__T )

Anyway, during Lunkhead's set, they actually covered a Tsubaki song, Mousouressha!! And then they said that when Lunkhead first started, when they first came to Tokyo from Ehime, Tsubaki was actually their first band friend!!!!!!

THENNNNNNN... during Tsubaki's set, Isshiki said that they've played with Lunkhead countless times but it was the first time Lunkhead actually did a cover of Tsubaki.... and THENNNNNN... Isshiki said that Lunkhead was not their first friend!!! hahahaha... so sad!! hahahahaha... But for Ogawa (the bassist), he said that his third show with Tsubaki was the first playing with Lunkhead... Awwww... Anyway, Isshiki was talking that night about how when they first started out, the drummer was a friend back from Matsuyama (his hometown)... So they and Lunkhead just banded together and formed some sort of quasi team from Shikoku! hahaha...
And for the whole set, Isshiki was trying to get Ogawa to say "DOUMO!!!!" like the bassist of Lunkhead, Gouda. It's like a running joke in Tsubaki live shows, Isshiki always teasing Ogawa for not talking during lives... He ALWAYS teases Ogawa!!! hahahahaha... But it was really cute how Isshiki mimicked Gouda's "DOUUUMO MINNASAN!!!!"


Anyway... I guess the "fun" part of the show was the "party" show that started at 12am...

They had this CRAZYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY ASS DJ that started off the party! He played all these ridiculous AKB48 songs, 80s Japanese J-pop/rock songs and he was a SHITTY DJ!! He could never sync the songs to play one after another!! ahahaha but he was DAMN HELL entertaining!! hahahaha! He would dance with each track!! And when he started his DJ, he was playing some song and everyone was laughing at him and cheering.. So Isshiki came out to check what was going on.. So the DJ got him to play along to like lip sync and air guitar with the song... haahhaha.. Isshiki played along as best he could and then left...

Then the first performer of the day was a the vocalist of Fozztone. He actually has a really, really good voice!!!! BUTTTTTT the highlight of his set was actually the last song.. He did a cover of Backstreet Boy's "I want it that way" ANDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD Isshiki sang the backup!!!! ahahahahahaha!! So Isshiki was singing in English the part, "Tell me why, ain't nothing but a heartache, Tell me why, ain't nothing but a mistake, tell me why, I never want to hear you say I want it that way" haahahahhahaha... SO CUTE!! But he was hiding backstage!! He didn't show himself until the end where he came out with a PAPER in his hand that had the lyrics!! ahahahaha so cute lah!!!!

Anyway, another performer played and then it was Yoshitaro who was just simply PLASTERED in his set. He was BARELY awake but he kept drinking. And then he was saying how when Isshiki told him that he was going to perform at 2a.m. he was like "WHATTTTTT??? 2a.m.???????".. He was barely awake!! ahahaha...
Anyway, I think Yoshitaro... really fucked up a bit... He has always been forgetful of his own lyrics and to add that with sleepiness and alcohol, I was surprised he could even play.
He started with a Lunkhead song but forgot part of the chorus, so he asked one of girls what came next and she said the line out to him. then he continued with it!
Anyway.. he was really drunk and his ass was saved by Mr Angel who came out to play the lead guitar with him on one song... He actually rejected Sou (his own guitarist in Lunkhead)... he kept saying "NOT HIM NOT HIM!!" and insisted on Mr Angel....
So Mr Angel came on stage..... Mr Angel tuned really quickly but Yoshitaro was drunk so he kept asking Mr Angel to wait up! hahahaha....
Anyway... they played on song.... Then he called out Sou (Lunkhead) and the first guy from Fozztone to join him and Mr Angel to play another song.
Then he was sooooooooooo funny, he was like "oh shit... there's still 7 minutes left..." and he kept talking and talking and talking and talking... and he said "ahhh if I keep talking then the time will pass!!" but then after awhile he checked his iPhone and went "damn! Another 5 minutes!"
Anyway, he was really drunk and could not play properly. They played Appam Man's theme song =_= But even that screwed up... At one point Yoshitaro just gave up and wanted to leave the stage after screwing up the song... He said he wasn't playing and it's just wasting time... But the others urged him to stay on and he stayed... But he turned very very apologetic at that point and started apologizing to the fans.. He said that he was very sorry and that he wasn't playing songs and it was just wasting time..
However, the pulled their act together and did Appam man again and did a great job this time... But at the end, Yoshitaro was still very apologetic.
I really didn't think he should have apologized. Actually everyone was actually enjoying themselves laughing at him being drunk. But when he started being serious and apologizing, everyone went silent. So I didn't think he had to apologize.. Fans are fans and they will love their bands regardless.


THENNNNNNNNNNNNN... it was Masuzawa from The Girlhunt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mannnn I don't know Girlhunt songs but I love this guy's performance, enthusiasm, funny-ness on stage!!!!! 最強!!!!! he is really really really really funny and a great show man!! Great showman as in like.. He really really knows how to make a set fun. Anyway, he was really cute, he kept calling Isshiki as Isshiki Kachou (boss)... hahahaha.... And because Yoshitaro went over time, he wasn't sure when his set ended.. So he was like "Can I play? Can I still play? What does Isshiki-kachou say??" and then Isshiki poped out and said "Yes, you can go on"... And then he was like "Ok, Kachou!" hahahaha damn funny... And Isshiki was really cute too =)

Then anyway, he went on playing some songs then after awhile he started talking and rambling on and on and on about some very serious subject, the whole crowd was really quiet because what he was saying was quite serious and then he suddenly said "DAMN, there's still time! I was hoping to be like Odaka dragging the set by talking till the end!" hahahahahaha damn funny!!! Then after that, Isshiki really came out and said "Owatta, owatta"... But Masuzawa was so cute, he went pouting at Isshiki to just play one more song so Isshiki said okay and then Masuzawa was like "I had two more I wanted to play!" hahahahaha.... so cute..


Anyway... After Masuzawa's set, it was TSUBAKI!!!!!!!!!!!

When Isshiki came out, of course he thanked all the other bands.. And he mentioned Mr Angel... He said like, "When Ucchi played I was like DAMMIT! He looks cool with the guitar!" and wanted to kick Ucchi (Mr Angel)... ahahahahaha.....
They didn't play for long... This time I got to be right in front and i mean RIGHT IN FRONT of Isshiki and at the time I was even thinking to myself "wow... that was a really cool how he played the guitar so well..." sigh...
Isshiki did screw up the starting of Hanabi (but I think he was tired)... He started the right chords but sang the wrong lines hahaha.. So they restarted the song and the Isshiki took the time to talk... and he went on talking and talking and talking and then AGAIN! he mentioned pulling another Odaka trick!!! hahahaha....

Anyway... for the last song, they called Masuzawa out hahahaha... And then Masuzawa was like "Ok! this is the last song" and Isshiki was like "あぁ～言っちゃった” ("Opps damn you said it")... Hahaha...

Anyway, it was really cute... Masuzawa took the microphone and was like "OK! We don't care about Ogawa, we don't care about Isshiki, they're not important, negligible... but this song is for beloved NAO-CHAN!!! (Okamoto, the drummer)" damn funnyyyyy!! hahahahahah...

Anyway, Masuzawa was really crazy through the song but... it was nice seeing Isshiki just play his own song and have someone else sing it :)

Anyway... Tsubaki of corse came back on to play an encore... The CRAZYYY DJ led everyone to clap and shout "Encore" (in Japanese it is "on-co-ru")... And then Tsubaki came back again and everyone including the CRAZYYYY DJ cheered, so then Isshiki jokingly said to him "うるさいよ！" (be quiet!) but then he thank everyone for requesting the encore...

Anyway... I think... the best moments of the show was actually at the end of the day... It was like at 4:30 by the time Tsubaki ended and the CRAZZYYYYYYYY DJ took over again... I think he was waiting for Isshiki and he was playing all these stupid songs!!! But Isshiki was seemed really happy... He was packing up his guitar and equipment and singing along with the songs...

And by now, Isshiki was upgraded from Isshiki-kachou to Nori-sama!!! hahahahahaha..... And the Crazy DJ kept asking "Nori-sama iin desu ka?"... Like if he could continue playing the songs... Isshiki was really cool about it and so the DJ went on and on and on playing crazy songs and DANCING.... AT FIVE AM!!!!! where does he get all that energy!!!

Anyway, finally when Isshiki was done, he came back out then he said like "Karaoke shimashou ka?" (Shall we sing karaoke?)... So he requested a Mr Children song.... He already pulled up the lyrics on his iPhone... So with his iPhone, he sang the song with everyone.... (He was on the floor at this time, where the mosh pit was).... He was really having fun and singing with everyone...
Then, after that song, he requested for another song and they tried to get the song for him.... Then he requested the Fozztone guy to join him...
Then Isshiki went on stage and sang the song...

They were really, really, really funny on stage lehhhh!!!! He was singing with his iPhone... being really passionate about it too!! ahahahahah...

Anyway.... after that, Isshiki went backstage and the DJing Continued until like 5 something and then Isshiki finally came out and thanked everyone and said that it was time for everyone to go! hahahahaha...

Masuzawa came out and took a picture of the band.... and Ogawa, Okamoto both said somethings and then they thanked everyone and left.

And that was it.

Last Tsubaki show.



I guess maybe Isshiki knew it was going to be his last show for a long time...

And I guess... maybe I can see why he never announced his condition to anyone at all that night... I can see what he meant by saying that he didn't want to dampen the mood of the night...

And I think everyone had fun.

I think he had fun.

And it's so sad to think.

I mean he got the diagnosis just the day before this show.

And I think he is very strong and brave and very dedicated to his work, to go on putting up a great show till 5 in the morning.

I guess he loves what he does, perhaps.


And I hope that we can one day sing with him again, like those lines from his song Yume (dream)

ひとりの夜もそばにいようぜ　君と僕の歌を歌おう

The Challenge @ Koenji Clubliner with The Girl Hunt and monokuro! (12/08/10)

Found this show by chance and it was very, very cool that The Challenge gave their CD out for free to whoever who did a ticket reservation through their email!!! Isn't that cool??

Anyway, actually I was really happy that The Challenge was playing with The Girlhunt and monokuro too... I've really been wanting to check out Masuzawa's band (HE HAS A BILLION BANDS, I'm confused!).. and back in Malaysia last year, I was trying to check out The Girlhunt's songs but there were nothing available.

Anyway, it was GREATTTTTTTTTTTTTTT the show had the three bands!!

I really wanted to check out Ryo-san's new band and this was actually The Challenge's third live!! So, lucky!!!


The Challenge.

They were really fun!!
They had their own dresscode!! Everyone wore black (SORTA!) and sunglasses!! hahaha...

The Challenge is also just a side band for 2/4 of their members.
If I am not mistaken, Sawada-san (Vo.) was ex-Tokyo Parade....
Ryo (Dr), of course, is ex-Lunkhead.
Taijuwada is the bassist and DJ of Hare-brained Unity
____ is the guitarist of butterflyinthestomach,
and..... is.... from.... ANOTHER BAND... ahahaha...

Actually, I was a little worried if I'd like this band.. Maybe I was hoping I would like them because I'd really like to fall in love with a new band.

And I was holding my breath all the way!!!

Actually they had pretty cool, catchy, very.... melodic pop-rockish kind of songs... Yes, like Mr. Children and Bump and so on.. They didn't have those recently emerging kind of funk rock songs, and they didn't have those typically Japanese-rock songs either.. It was overall really catchy and definitely very fun! They had some rap going on here and there, actually, I think just coming from the background of the band members.

But I ABSOLUTELY ABSOLUTELY love their last song Ogenki Desu Ka... In fact it's still in my head right now...!! I just love how the bridge goes, "Boku wa koko ni iru, kimi wa doko ni iru?" (I am here, where are you?) waaaahhhh.... I wanna say that to..... Isshiki... ahahahahaha!

Neways! They were really cool.. I like them and I will DEFINITELY check them out again.

monokuro

Wow... relic of the grunge age!!

I kinda like monokuro's set, but I just thought that their performance lacked dynamics... and smacked between two bands like The Challenge (with Sawada-san) and The Girlhunt (with Masuzawa-san), this band just fell like a brick.

It's weird tho, coz today's event is suppose to be monokuro's celebration or something, but they didn't headline...

I don't know.. I was just bored during their set. Their songs were quite okay, relics of grudge, but.. I wouldn't want to stand another 40 minutes again watching this band. Sorry.



The Girlhunt (ザ・ガールハント)

Ohhhhhhhhhh MASUZAWA-SAN!!!

Seriouslyyyyy...

That guy is like on a sugar high most time!!!!

He's just so brilliantly enthusiastic. Gets people going, gets people laughing, gets people rocking. Frontman 100%.

I don't know what to say about Masuzawa san's performance except that, well, you just gotta see it for yourself :)

Sekaiichi @ Shimokita Club Que (12/03/10)

Hmmm... This was by chance! Happened to check out their webpage and suddenly saw a show! haha!

Ok... This time I know more songs than before!!! But I'm not too familiar with them yet!! Ahhhhhhhh!!!

Anyway, managed to bump into Mr Angel outside of First Kitchen!!!

Ehhhhhhhhhhh was a little like stalking him, no???

I SWEAR! I WASN'T!!! I didn't want to go into the livehouse yet! So I was just standing by the road trying to check my work schedule for the next day! He happened to pass by!! I swear! not stalking!!!

But it's nice to meet him again... Not "met" him in a month or so... He uses VERYYYYYYYYYYY informal language with me... I can't understand, Ucchi-sannn~~~~

Oh and in Club Que... DON'T stand too near the stage, especially to the right... It's tempting but you won't be able to hear anything because the speakers hang overhead, and the guitar amplifiers on stage drowns out EVERYTHING.

神聖かまってちゃん (Shinsei kamattechan) @ Shibuya WWW (11/19/10)

FINALLLLLLLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY.... A show that is comparable to an US mosh pit!!!!!!!!!!

For some reason I managed to get a good ticket... Oh yes, that's because I actually went to Lawson at exactly 10am when tickets were released... So I managed to get a ticket below 50 and got quite in front.

The two girls behind me wanted to cut in when the band came on but HELL, if I survived AMERICAN MOSH PITS, NOTHING JAPAN can throw at me I won't be able to handle!!!

Or at least I think so.

Neways, they didn't get to cut in but DAMNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!! The crowd was CRAZYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!! We were crushed, screaming and crushed and screaming!! IT WAS EXCELLENTTTTTTTTT!!!

It was soooooooooooooooo incredibly refreshing to get back into pits like that where you can't in hell summimasen (excuse me) your way to the front like in the other shows I usually go for!!!

I was also really, really, really, really VERYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY surprised that I didn't have to pay the usual daylight robbery 500yen for a drink!!!

ANDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD they even gave all of us this nifty hardhat to wear!!! Oh!! and we could keep the hat too!!!!

We HAD TO wear it coz that's what noko (the vocalist) wanted for EVERYONE who were there. Even the crew, photographers and such!!!!

In the style of Shinsei Kamattechan, the whole show was broadcast live to Nico Nico and fans write comments directly at Nico Nico and the whole thing was projected at the background of the stage. So that was quite cool!!

That's when I learned that 888888888888888888888888 means "clap" in Japanese internet terms... Apparently 8, hachi, sounds like clap, pachi.... I think!

lol..

ANYWAY!

As for the band's performance.

It was actually really, really energetic (DUH) and noko was absolutely mental in throughout the show. He jumped into the pit, suffered a MASSIVE injury on his chin as a result, SMASHED his laptop to bits, COLLAPSED onto the stage, and FOUGHT with mono.

The whole experience was very, very, very crazy and power punched.

BUT.

I did think that the whole thing was staged too well...

I mean seriously, they were dragging out their fight for too long, I think it went on for like 10 minutes with noko storming off stage and mono being a jerk...

But the whole thing was really fake. I felt.

And if you're faking it.

Well, there is a time to stop and actually get on to do what you're suppose to do: sing.


I mean... I think noko, judging from all the crazy Kamattechan videos on line, is very very very epitome of "rock and roll" 's I-don't-give-a-fuck attitude... Well actually, I thought he was more of like the epitome of what grunge was, how Kurt Cobain would be completely wasted and mental and off the walls cannon ball at the threat of exploding at any second.... noko was COMPLETELY like that.

except.

it felt more like he was ACTING the part, than really BEING the part, like how Cobain was.

I swear Kurt had the SAME outfit and the SAME pose in some shot somewhere. Seriously.

So I really felt the whole show was a little too fake for my taste.


Verdict:

I think if Shinsei Kamattechan just... be themselves, and not fake anything, I'd definitely love to go for their show again.

And oh yeah, their fans just reminded me of those girl-fans of boygroups you know... So the image just completely didn't jive.

Maybe when they get back to being what they were, yes, I'll go for another show then.

The drummer is really cute tho.. If I were a guy, I'll go just to see her. ahahahaha!

ピロカルピン / ほたる日和 / カフカ @ Shimokita Club Que (11/16/10)

Hmmmm somehow, when I don't go for shows, I don't go for shows... When I DO go for shows, I go for too many shows!!!

Anyway.....................

So, I went for Kafka's show at Club Que... and so happened they were playing with ほたる日和 too! So I decided to go check them out!!

Kafka's set was quite okay.. It was nice seeing them, you know... Because I liked a few of their songs back in Malaysia and they're quite an unknown band that might be getting bigger, so i wanted to check them out.

Also, I also listened A LOT to three of ほたる日和 songs the past few months prior to leaving for Japan. So, it was really cool I could check them out at the same time with Kafka too!!!!!!


Anyway, the sets... Hmmm... Not sure what to say....

Kafka's lead singer was very quiet, so their set was very subdued.

ほたる日和 set was quite okay and they actually sang one of the songs I loved, so that was cool..

The last band ピロカルピン was quite okay (female lead)... But, serious, seriously, I REALLY just couldn't wait till the the bands changed their ありがとうございます (arigato gozaimasu) in PRESENT TENSE to ありがとうございました (arigato gozaimashita) in PAST TENSE because THEN, I KNOW THE SET WAS ENDING AND IT WAS THEIR LAST SONG...

I just couldn't help but feel... Damn... all I wanted to do was to go home.

So... yeah... So much for that.

Sekaiichi @ Shinjuku JAM (11/18/10)

woooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!! FINALLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY got to support Mr. Angel for real!!!!!!!!!!!! (although I bought the ticket 1 day before the show and it was the last 5 ticket) (SekaiichiFail#4)

ANYWAY!

Ok damn. I still don't know any of their songs =_=

But I think they played Rain/That/Something, sooooo! I know that one!!!

There's two other songs I wanna check out from their show today!!! They seem to play it a lot so ima check it out!!!!!!!! (what a waste I keep sitting on my ass!)

ANYWAY, Sekaiichi's set was really nice!!!! I think Iwasaki-san was really good at engaging the crowd and got them to do cute stuff... haha!

Anyway, I swear, next time, I'd have checked out songs!!!

Apparently the set list for today was:



1.グレース・ケリー
2.Jaipur Town
3.甘い情熱
4.ベンチ
5.RAIN/THAT/SOMETHING
6.New Pop Song Order
7.カプセル
8.Step On

And YES, I AM GONNA GO BUY THEIR SINGLE, STEP ON, SOON! I SWEAR!

(they have a song that sounds A LOTTTTTTTTTTTTTT like RHCP's scartissue!! I SWEAR!! It's playing in my head like mad!)

ピロカルピン / ほたる日和 / カフカ @ Shimokita Club Que (11/16/10)

Hmmmm somehow, when I don't go for shows, I don't go for shows... When I DO go for shows, I go for too many shows!!!

Anyway.....................

So, I went for Kafka's show at Club Que... and so happened they were playing with ほたる日和 too! So I decided to go check them out!!

Kafka's set was quite okay.. It was nice seeing them, you know... Because I liked a few of their songs back in Malaysia and they're quite an unknown band that might be getting bigger, so i wanted to check them out.

Also, I also listened A LOT to three of ほたる日和 songs the past few months prior to leaving for Japan. So, it was really cool I could check them out at the same time with Kafka too!!!!!!


Anyway, the sets... Hmmm... Not sure what to say....

Kafka's lead singer was very quiet, so their set was very subdued.

ほたる日和 set was quite okay and they actually sang one of the songs I loved, so that was cool..

The last band ピロカルピン was quite okay (female lead)... But, serious, seriously, I REALLY just couldn't wait till the the bands changed their ありがとうございます (arigato gozaimasu) in PRESENT TENSE to ありがとうございました (arigato gozaimashita) in PAST TENSE because THEN, I KNOW THE SET WAS ENDING AND IT WAS THEIR LAST SONG...

I just couldn't help but feel... Damn... all I wanted to do was to go home.

I think maybe it's just a damn very bad line-up.... Coz all three bands were pretty mellow in their songs.. And their performance too was nothing energetic nor upbeat... So just combining three deadpan bands together is just a bad mix.

Plus, my feet were killing me.

So... yeah... So much for that.

shimokita roundup3 closing - Shinjuku Tower Record (11/15/10)

THANKS PAPA-san FOR THE PICTURES!!!!!!

I missed roundup this year (AGAIN) despite being in Japan this time. However, I was really, really happy that the roundup closing was an acoustic live at Shinjuku Tower Records ON MY BIRTHDAY!!!!! It was such an incredible birthday present!!!

My father was with me at that time, so we went for the show together. I was really happy to be able to share what I love with him. And it was really, really, really, really cool that BOTH Isshiki-san and Odaka-san were playing!!!! I really, really wanted my father to meet the two man whom I love!!! ahahahahahahahahahahaha...

I DID tell my dad that Isshiki-san was the reason why I came to Japan and my father said "I'm gonna hit him with a bucket if I see him" ahahahahah


AND GUESS WHAT???

Isshiki-san walked passed my dad not just once but TWICE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Coz my dad parked himself right next to the stage blocking the way, so Isshiki-san had to excuse and get through my dad to get on stage... ahahahahahah wth!!!!

My dad didn't hit him with a bucket tho!!!


First up!

MASUZAWA!





Holycow! This was the first time seeing Masuzawa's performance and DAMNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!! He really, really, really has the charisma and SHOWMANSHIP to really get the crowd going!!! He got people to clap along, sing along, laugh and all that! EXCELLENT AWESOME!!!! To add to that was the fact that he was the first one up and probably the least known of all the 4 performers!!!!

Fantastic!!!!

My dad ranked him as #2


ISSHIKI-SAN!!!



HEHEHEHEHEHEHEEHHE!!!

Isshiki-san was sooooooooooooo cute!!

When he came on stage, he was like "oh shit... I was watching Masuzawa's performance from behind the stage and I was like "damn! how and I gonna top that?!"," ahahahahahaha... He's so cute!!!!!!!!! I think he always thinks this way!!!

Anyway, he played two songs... I forgot... I know Taiyou was one of them, the other, I don't remember but it's a new song :)

My dad ranked him #3 (WHAT??????????????????????????????????????????????????!!!!!!! UNACCEPTABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)







As you can clearly see which of the 4 I love the most... MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHA... I specifically told my dad to take more pictures of Isshiki!!!

BUTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT I think my dad does have a grudge against Isshiki!!! My dad only took ONEEEEEEEEEEEE picture of Isshiki's performance!!! T___T wwhaaatttttwhhyyyyyyyy!!! T__T


Odaka-san!!!



I think AGAIN, Odaka-san came in unprepared!!!! Seriously... Something tells me sometimes he just walks on stage without preparing...

And sometimes, he DOES show that he didn't prepare!

geh!

Neways, he also played two songs. One old one (from Tsuki to Tenohira album) and one from the new album.

My dad ranked him #4 (WHAT???????????????!!!!!!!!!)


The guy from Lost in Time (dude I don't even know his name!!!)



OHHHHHHHHHHHHH I think this was the first time I actually saw Lost in Time!!!

hehe...

My dad ranked him #1

But actually... Ok, in terms of singing.... I think he DOES have a damn good voice.

And in terms of playing the acoustic guitar, he DOES play it damnnnnnnnnnnnn well..

But then again, if i recalled correctly, Lost in Time's songs are quite acoustic based... SOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! OF COURSEEEEEEEEE he'd have to play with more technique compared to Isshiki-san and Odaka-san!!!!!

井上ヤスオバーガー@渋谷HOME (10/11/06)

(this is not the actual pic from the live because i was to chickenshit to take a pic!!)

Anyway, Inoue Yasuo Burger!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had waited a whole year to see this dude live!!!!

I had randomly picked up his album from a store in Kyoto that featured local indies band. I really, really liked some of his songs especially his song, イマボクニデキルコト (Ima boku dekiru koto)!!! In fact his songs still reminds me a lot of last years trip to Kyoto and the feel of it.

So finally this year, I managed to catch him at Shibuya Home.

The show was REALLY, REALLY awkward because it was in a small little... cafe/bar... Everyone was SEATED.

I went with my friend Adrianne and when we got in, everyone was just sitting on chairs watching a clip on a projector!! WAYYYYYYYYYY weired...

And for the opening act, it was a ventriloquist with an obaasan puppet!!! WTF right????????? And to add to that, the MC of the day was a guy... urm... was a drag queen!! SERIOUSLY WTF!!!


Anyway, Inoue Yasuo Burger was the second act of the night and I was surprised he played quite a few songs! The first song was actually a song I recongized, and later on he also played Music, which is a song I quite like veru much too!!

Inoue Yasuo Burger is a really funny quy. Funny and a little weird!! He liked to say "Alrite~~!" hahahaha... Seriously!!!!

But is a very good performer on stage, sings really well and puts on a good entertaining show! Being just a one man band!!!!

Overall, a very entertaining set! I would definitely love to see him again after I've known more of his songs! WOuld be really great to be able to sing the songs along with him!!!

Oh yeah, that night, the main act was a man named Kenjiro... He too gave a fantastic performance. I mean the crowd was REALLY rockin it out!!!!! He has that weird 70s hairdo thing but he was indeed a really, really charismatic and engaging performer! His crowd DEFINITELY love it!! To the point that one fan even burst into tears!! WOAH!!! SERIOUSLY!

This is Kenjiro

Sekaiichi @ Shimokita Roundup3 @ Club 251 (11/03/10)

OK. THANKS TO MR. ANGEL I GOT INTO THE SHOW. SORRY, UCCHI-SAN!!! I REALLY WANTED TO SUPPORT YOUR BAND! I DIDN'T THINK IT'D END UP BEING SOLD OUT! ごめん！

So yes, I wanted to show my support for Ucchi-san since he had been so nice to me..... But ended up having to rely on him to get into the show. wth. fail. wth. seriously.

Anyway, yes, that was solely the reason why I came for the show.

I had training at work and thought I couldn't make it for shimokita round up at all.... SOOOOOOOOOO I didn't bother to buy tickets so I could NOT see Tsubaki and Lunkhead who were playing in Garden. I decided to opt for Sekaiichi at Club 251, since I thought I saw that Club 251 was not sold out yet. But when I got there, it WAS sold out...

So, damn, i should have gone home but Ucchi-san came, so I said hi and somehow PERHAPS, my Japanese got mistranslated (fail#2), so he said he'd get me into the show. Which he did. GOMENNNNNNNNNN!!!! So much for supporting sekaiichi!!!

So anyway, since I was too early to get in, i decided to walk around Shimokita... Then finally go for the show.

I don't know Sekaiichi songs well... In fact, I really only listen to 2 of their songs out of their whole  repertoire (fail#3)... I SWEARRRRRR I AM GONNA GO CHECK OUT THEIR SONGS!!! I MUST I MUST I MUST!!!!!!!


So yes, that's so sad... The FIRST TIME i am in Japan during Shimokita Roundup but... I missed it once again.... At least I got to see Sekaiichi...

Oh, the fans wanted an encore but there wasn't one..... Iwasaki-san injured himself too, coz i saw him being escorted out, limping.

Hope he'll be okay.

つばき Tsubaki @ 代官山Unit (10.30.10)

(photo by Mai OGAWA from Tsubaki Blog :) )

HOHOHO!!!!!!!!!!!!! My first show in Japan (after moving here) ^_^

Glad it's TSUBAKI!!!!!!!!!!! (again, biased, I see hmm hmmm)!

What can I say about this live???

IT BLEW ME AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I must say, of all the Livehouses I've been to, Daikanyama Unit has the BEST SOUND SYSTEM. Seriously!

Why was I so incredibly impressed with this show was because, actually, I am totally unfamiliar with Tsubaki's new songs because of the lack of listening to the songs.

However, when they played it during the live, it was just ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.
The way the songs translated, it was like Tsubaki x 1000!!!
Seriously.

Just absolutely beautiful and BRILLIANT.

Not only the power and energy of Tsubaki's songs were so well captured, but also the beauty and refinement of the songs (which are often lost in the "loudness" of lives) were also preserved and amplified! Really, really, absolutely awesome, Tsubaki.

I especially loved it when they played 僕だけの季節 and 声の行方... At that time, when I heard the opening electronic sounds of 僕だけの季節, I thought to myself "Oh shit, Tsubaki, don't go INDIE ROCK on my ass!!!!!! TOOOOOOO many good bands went to shitz that way NOT YOU TOO!!!"... i was so fucking worried... THENNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN BLOODY HELL, Isshiki plunged into his MIGHTY KICK ASS guitar riffs and SAVED THE DAY! which, if you listen to the album, the rocking parts flows in... in the live THAT POWER just KICKS YOU IN THE ASS! BLOWS YOU AWAY! INCREDIBLEEEEE Isshiki, INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Same goes for 声の行方, バス停前, いたい... You really think they went indie rock for a second AND THEN they punch you in the face with those INCREDIBLE rock tracks Tsubaki is SOOOOOOO fucking amazing AT!!!!!!!

AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME.

The show had DEFINITELY made me LOVE LOVE LOVE the album wayyyyyyyyyyyy more.

They really managed to take the power of the songs in the album and just exploded it in the live.

KUDOS!

SET LIST
1.太陽
2.ブラウンシュガーヘア
3.いたい
4.秘密
5.スタイル
6.アセロラ
7.雨に涙目 　　
8.夜更けの旋律　
9.バス停前
10.夜が明けるまで　
11.震える手、光射す部屋
12.街風
13.バタフライ
14.めまい
15.春の嵐
16.亡霊ダンス
17.覚めた生活
18.声の行方

Encore
En-1.悲しみの中からはじめよう
En-2. 昨日の風
En-3. サヨナラ

Double Encore
WEn-1.僕だけの季節
WEn-2.光～hikari～


Here's for a more detailed review of the show (in Japanese): http://lucka.jp/1026

つばき － 夜更けの太陽

Tracklist:

1)太陽
2) 声の行方
3) いたい
4) 震える手、光射す部屋
5) バス停前
6) 秘密
7) 雨に涙目
8) 夜更けの旋律
9) 夜が明けるまで
10) 僕だけの季節

Ok, obviously I am gonna start with Tsubaki!!! (BIASED!!!!)

This album is FAST, FAST, FAST, FAST becoming my favorite Tsubaki album of all time!!!!!! Before this album, I would definitely vote Portrait+ to be their best album. But now, I think 夜更けの太陽 rocks it all!!!

I must say, I am completely in love with the type of rock sounds that Isshiki creates. In-cre-di-ble!!

The songs in this album definitely reflects the sounds of Tsubaki's older songs (in their Indies era) but much, much, more refined, expanded, grown. (I guess bigger budget and signed to a major record label helps??). Like the old albums, this album contains SOLID rock riffs, powerful percussions, driving bass lines. It's like what Isshiki said in their Daikanyama show, that when they were recording the album, it really felt like back when they first started because it was just the three of them recording again.

However, the beauty of this album is the way the rocking out riffs of old Tsubaki beautifully blends with their newer more electronic/acoustic-based sounds as reflected in the tracks, 夜更けの旋律、バス停前、太陽,いたい, 声の行方 .As for tracks that sound more like their newer stuff, the rocking riffs of old Tsubaki is also perfectly crafted in a fine balance into songs like 夜が明けるまで, 震える手、光射す部屋,雨に涙目.

All I can say is INCREDIBLE, Tsubaki, INCREDIBLE. Well done! A really, really, really great and well-mastered fusion of all the great sounds of Tsubaki, old and new. Can't say enough! Blew me away again! Perfectly crafted balance.


Recommended tracks: (a.k.a. I DAMN love these tracks! BLOODY GREAT!)
夜更けの旋律, 声の行方, バス停前, いたい, 太陽, 震える手、光射す部屋
ok just get the WHOLE album, coz that's more than half the album and these are all INCREDIBLE tracks!