影分身の術: Too bad I can't clone myself like Naruto
F*ck Air Canada!!!!!My flight was delayed over 2 hours so instead of arriving @ Narita airport @ 3pm, I got there at 5:30pm. The bus ride to Tokyo proper from the airport normally takes 80-90 min but since it was rush hour it took about 2 hrs. I arrived in Shinjuku at 7:40pm and the show I wanted to go to started at 7pm. Instead of checking into the hotel and dropping off my stuff I took everything with me and took the train to Shimokitazawa... bigass suitcase and all... much to the chagrin of fellow passengers packed into the train with me like sardines. Of course the band I wanted to see (THE VITRIOL) at Shimokita Club 251 had already played as the booking agent Mr Murphy Law put them on first. Why do the coolest bands always go on first at ~7pm when most of the crowd hasn't even shown up?!! Plus they're from out of town (Hachioji). Makes no sense to me. Anyhow, I met with the band got their CD and found out they're playing again tonight right by my hotel. Shitty thing is there are at least 3 other shows I want to go to tonight!! Damn Air Canada for screwing up my 1st night in Tokyo!! So what if the plane might have crashed without proper maintenance and I could have ended up sharkfeed in the Pacific ocean.... I had a freaking show to go to! hahaha. =) Actually, the flight was pretty nice as I had an upgrade certificate for executive class. Space-age pods with fully reclining seats that let you sleep comfortably supine. Watched the movie Due Date, 3 episodes of Hawaii Five-O, and stand-up performances by comedians Tracy Morgan and Sugar Sammy.
The VITRIOL are an all-female power-pop trio similar in sound to bands like Chatmonchy and ねごと. I heard a song by them called "Super Space" last year that is catchy as hell and had been meaning to see them to see if they kicked ass live as well. I had three chances in December to see them but all their shows were in or near Hachioji which is much closer to Mt Fuji than it is to Tokyo. They're really young 17-18 yrs old, somewhat computer illiterate (they haven't updated the live schedule section on their homepage b/c they don't know how!! hahaha. I only found out about their show at 251 by fluke) and practically unknowns in the Tokyo music scene. I also think it's cool that they don't have a Myspace page, but went with the old school audioleaf: http://www.audioleaf.com/thevitriol/ Old Homepage New Homepage
Geoff is probably rolling his eyes, "Dude, wtf?! Why are you listening to that bubblegum sh*t?!!" I can't help it I have a soft spot for female rock bands. I think it's especially cool that 3 girls from the boonies, barely out of high school could come up with such a polished, tight and highly melodic sound.
I didn't stay at Club 251 for very long and on my way back to Shimokita train station I bumped into Nakano Maki of susquatch!! She freaked out when she saw me b/c she forgot I was going to be in Tokyo for the show on 2/22. She HAD to take a pic of us with her cell and tweet the news of my arrival to the other bands right on the spot. Maki-chan was on her way to the studio to teach a girl who is just beginning to play drums. How cool is that?! Mentoring the next generation of dope female drummers. That girl is lucky as Maki is one of the sickest female drummers in the world.
I ended up going back to Shinjuku so I could check-in at the hotel and drop off my suitcase and gear. Then I booted it to Higashi-Koenji 20000 V to meet up with Ryotaro and the rest of Kulu Kulu Garden. Ryotaro already knew I might be showing up b/c he reads this blog! hahaha. But Kotone was surprised when she saw me. We wanted to go out to eat and drink after the show but it ended up being too late when we finally managed to get out of the club I plan to divide my time between MARZ (the Mornings / thai kick murph / DARARS / Kaisoku Tokyo) and URGA (KKG / otori) on the 20th and we'll all probably hang out then. Ian'll be around at URGA too.
Tonight has too many shows I want to go to.
Shimokitazawa Club QUE: Tokyo Pinsalocks tour finale with Merpeoples & NACANO
Aoyama Tsuki Miru Kimi Omou: 0.8秒と衝撃 / 昆虫キッズ / Kaisoku Tokyo
THE VITRIOL @ Shinjuku MARBLE
Koiwa BUSH BASH: kuruu crew / TIALA / 久土'N'茶谷
Shimokitazawa THREE: LOVE AND HATES / TADZIO (Ian will be at this show)
Shibuya O-west: negoto / unchain / De De Mouse (with band) (bottom of the list but a cool show on any other night)
Damnit. I would love to see kuruu crew again but Koiwa is too far out of the way in relation to the other gigs. kuruu crew's music can drone out at times but their rendition of the Buzzcock's "Walking Distance" alone with worth the price of admission! It sucks that I'll likely miss them tonight. TADZIO are pretty cool but I saw them in December the same night as kuruu crew. There's a hilarious story concerning tadzio and kuruu crew but i'll save it for when I get around to reviewing that show.
I am probably going to Shimokita QUE to watch Merpeoples (on at 6:40pm). Then Shinjuku Marble for the VITRIOL (on at 8pm) Then maybe Aoyama Tsuki Miru if I can make it in time for either Konchuu Kids or 0.8 Shougeki And back to Shimokita for Tokyo Pinsalocks +/- Tadzio or LOVE & HATES if I'm lucky.
Too bad I couldn't just make f*cking clones of myself like Naruto then I could go to all of the shows at the ame time.