the mornings glory, sound and fury
As soon as SIAMESE CATS finished their set, a wall of noise struck us from behind. It was DODDODO (née Namin Haku) launching a sneak attack while performing her DJ/emcee set atop a platform behind us. She initially disguised herself behind a cardboard Kabuki mask which she removed shortly into her first song. It was my first time watching her perform and it appears she's following afrirampo (R.I.P) and ミドリ's lead in toning down the volatility and insanity of past that Kansai bands are infamous for. She sang and flowed to a melting pot of breakbeat samples, keyboards and various effects as she danced behind the raised podium moving the crowd to her beat. Instead of the shock and awe tactics used in the past she compelled the crowd to appreciate her charismatic lyricism and dynamic control of the sonic landscape.
Here's another clip of a recent performance in May 2010:
In the past her performances were a lot crazier:
Actually, nevermind I found a bunch of recent clips where she's still her nutty self. I think she just showed a temporarily more mature side on Saturday since she was on Todai campus. I'd like to know that if I see her perform again there's the potential for her to go berserk. =)
Here's a PV for her song "猫がニャ～て、犬がワンッ！" (cats go meow, dogs go woof woof !") (I actually find her quite adorable in this video)
miscorner/c+llooqtortion (note: the "/c+" is silent as in "what kind of a fu/c+cked name is miscorner llooqtortion?" They sound like mouse on the keys on anabolic steroids with 2 drummers pounding away over frenetic, meandering keyboard samples. I think they rule but there's definitely the potential to zone out when watching them if you have any sort of prejudice against instrumental bands (I know one of my friends would definitely fall asleep watching them which to me is absurd).
After miscorner came what Ian Martin declared as the highlight of 9/25: Groundcover. All I have to say is: Intense.
That and "female bassist alert!!" According to Ian Martin, Sara Nagakawa was Groundcover.'s original bassist who left to play in a bunch of other bands (including saladabar) and recently returned to play with Groundcover. a few months ago. However, she's still a member of 4 other bands according to her blog.
i had been thinking about marrying these days, but i decided to form some new bands instead.
now i'm in 5 bands!!! i'll even write HIPHOP tunes for my friend who wants to be a MC.
Read more: http://blogs.myspace.com/saranagakawa#ixzz10oLQyvTi
ゆーきゃん (You Can): one of the guys who worked at Sunrain records before it closed down. He sings folk tunes with an acoustic guitar. The crowd sat down for his set. I have flexibility issues and detest sitting cross-legged with a passion. I went outside for a bit and watched the Todai student elite practicing their AKB48 dance moves. I made it back in time for.... ドラびでお (Dora Video): First of all this guy is an insane drummer and he has a patent for a system in which his drum kit is hooked up with sensors connected to a computer that allows him to control/synchronize the playback of video footage displayed on large screens above him: He pulls no punches with his political statements and I'm sure he'd get lynched if he did the same performance in the Bible Belt US. Legendary Fukuoka band folk enough went next. Although they played individual songs it seemed more like a jam session where Gt/Vo and futbol (soccer) fanatic Inoue Shuichi takes the lead and the rest of the band follows his numerous tempo/time signature changes. Ian Martin feels female drummer Sato Kaori is among the best in the world. She'll definitely get a post in the "Dope Female Drummer" thread. Inoue pulled off one of the craziest stunts of the night when he did a dizzy bat " on his guitar then stagedived while completely off-balance into an area with almost noone around to catch him. Dude could have snapped his neck! But he was alright.
outside yoshino is the solo project of Yoshino Hisahi (Gt/Vo of the legendary eastern youth ). He preferred that the audience sat down to allow a better view for people in the back since he himself would be sitting during his peformance. Goddamnit! I was trapped in the middle of the audience and it felt incredibly rude walking out once his set commenced so I was stuck for over half an hour trying to bear sitting down with my legs crossed. I have fairly massive quads and calves from sports & working out as well as jumper's knees from years of vball/bball so sitting down like that for extended periods of time is one of the worst forms of torture. Yoshino sung incredibly soulfully. His guitarwork consisted primarily of barre chords but his phrasing was intense and commanding. His performance was inspiring but the salient thought in my mind was "Hurry up and finish, dammnit! so I can stand the f*ck up!!" =)
(note: okay so mainly open and atypical chords in this clip but he used primarily power chords in his other songs)
When oustide yoshino finally finished, it was HALLELUJAH!! Not only b/c I could stand up and assuage my painful quads and knees but b/c it was time for... the mornings !!!
To tell you the truth, the crowd was larger compared to last year but the energy in the audience wasn't nearly as wild. However, the mornings would rectify that in a 1/16th note. These guys (and girl) are always the life of the party. The mornings are one of the most important bands in the Tokyo underground music scene. They've done so much in terms of revitalizing the scene giving it a much needed energy boost and fostering a sense of community. You might find their music excessively noisy and grating at first but once you see them live you can't help but appreciate the overwhelming degree of energy and passion they put into their performance.
Keika (Dr) told me she saw her "Dope Female Drummer" entry and wanted to kick my ass for such unflattering pics. =) But those were the best pics on the net I could find!! Ian told me that a photographer named Naoki has some provocative photos of Keika and tacobonds' bassist Yukiyo of a bi-curious nature that I could use to really piss her off. hahaha. Anyways I think she looks fine in the photos I used and she is definitely one of the coolest drummers on the planet. NOTE: the mornings have finished recording their 1st album !!!!! But it likely won't be released until early next year. I haven't even listened to it but it's already on my 2011 top ten list. hahaha!
There were many great performances but Praha Depart and the mornings were 2 of my favorites along with this absolutely amazing duo:
久土'N'茶谷 (Hisato N' Chitani) To quote my friend Rob who lives in the US: "They play American folk/blues better than the f*cking Americans do!!" The duo of Yamamoto Hisato (Gt/Vo) and Chitani Masayuki (Dr) comprises one of the most awe-inspiring bands on the planet. Unbelievably talented and so charismatic their performance will send shivers down your spine. Unfortunately I didn't get good footage of them (I was too busy enjoying their performance) but here's what I did get:
Here's a better display of their sheer awesomeness: (then imagine a thousand screaming fans in the background and you'll know how godhead they were at Tokyo Boredom)
I'm going to end my review of day 1 of Tokyo Boredom right here. There are still 5 bands left to cover including the AMAZING Kirihito. Here is Ian Martin's concise and informative recap of day 1: Clear & Refreshing Blog And here are some great clips taken by other people at the show:
I had to leave Tokyo Boredom during Kirihito's set in order to meet with my brother and his family. My nephew Lucas is as cute and hilarious as ever.
My intention was to go to Rinky Dink Studio in Ochanomizu to watch kuruucrew and Umi no Yeah !! at a DJ event starting at 11pm and ending at 6am. However I was so exhausted there was no way I could stay awake at the show and it would have annihalated me for Neutral Nation and day 2 of Tokyo Boredom.
Too bad b/c part of me (I wonder which part) was looking forward to:
Sigh. I am a guy after all. =P