In search of blues bar but was defunct, however some strange names for bars
this tall building is self sufficient Eco building, actually generates enough solar power to sell to surrounding buildings as well.
Outside in the plaza is a strange giant spider sculpture, perhaps in wait of any remaining Leihman Bros execitives crawling about, last known haunt for them.
Last night went to another local gig in Shimo, "The Shelter" packed as usual. 200 people crammed into a tiny area.
The very first band on the bottom of the bill,"Winnie", would blow most Aussie power pop guitar bands right off the stage with their first song. My jaw was hanging on the ground for the first 3 songs, The rest of the set I was just smiling, wondering how any band could follow this act. Imagine Teenage Fanclub meets The Posies on nitro-fuel with 10 hit songs in a row. A powerful hi energy unit, great all original song rep. All sung in English with lots of deadly accurate 3 part harmonies, tight as hell imaginative guitar arrangements, powerhouse bass and drummer, lead guitarist could stand with best in the world. 4 boys, one girl on rhythm guitar (suitably cute) gave them a great vocal sound, no accents btw. Very original sounding act that could obviously tour the world and impress anyone.
2nd,band on, "Forget Me A Knot" was an even more hi-energy act, more of a mosh-pit thrash thing, but still a pop and melodic sensabilty underneath. The audience erupted immediately, crowd sufing jumping to the ceiling (which was padded), however no stage diving as it is considered rude to invade the artists performance space. They did however have a couple of guys at the edge of the stage to turn back anyone who accidentally got rolled to close to the monitors. The tiny female gtr player in the trio was very competent and held the whole thing together at all times with her Gibson hollow body guitar and Marshall amp issuing solid funky metallic sounds, rhythms and chord riffs so tight you couldn't jam a knife between them. bassist was a melodic player and a good voice too, he did probably most of the lead vocals as guitar player had her hands full. No ballads from these guys.
Didn't stay for 3rd band as was getting too much for in the venue with moshing and heat. Don't imagine 3rd band was gonna be any less enregy of softer LOL
Overall standard of both bands astounding. As usual with Shimo gigs no matter how small, always a star band on amongst the bill. 2nd band on last night, "Forget Me A Knot" are booked to plat Budokan tonight, so no wonder it was packed. A very scary thing for a western musician to see these sort of bands. No warm ups, no chill outs, just straight in at 110% first notes, except for a designated time in the set where the band talks to the audience and jokes around, to build a bond perhaps, but also to tell them of their next shows. All the while the audience is silently listening, so quite in fact, that you can here band tuning there guitars with out the amps on. Good value for mony gig even if just for the firsst band "Winnie" who were frightenlingly good and instantly likeable. I will be following this band on the net for sure and will be at the front if they ever come to OZ
Read more: Rappongi music review & other oddities - Mr Wizard checks out some more music!
Some more art in Shimo, lots of these figures around , some more lifelike than these walking upstairs , looking at billboards etc. Meant to ecourage people to enter shops etc ?
Back on the Yamanote line 3 years after our song. Now you keep rail pass in your wallet , just touch it on the sensor with out opeing it, and you are in. Use these smart cards for drinks and in quite a few shops as well. going to a gig is about only place you really need hard cash, use your phone to pay a lotta stuff too. even small thining like drink machines all have 3 electronic ways you can pay.
(EDITOR's Note - Love the hat! Mr Wizard wandering around in this must make the locals think 'Boy, those foreigners sure are hipsters)
Station platforms often have a noodle bar.
Took a monorail (driverless) to Daiba an artificial built in Tokyo Bay, quite large bigger than Sydney CBD.
Strange shaped bulldings there.
One with sphere, TV station production area s inside the sphere.
Is the ultimate display of Japanese honesty, someone left their bike parked for obviously a long time....are they overseas?....deceased?....got rich and don't care? ....OR .... IS THIS ART ? in Shimo..... you never know !
Had a yum lunch at"traditional" noodle ....but you buy the meal at a vending machine and give the ticket to the bar attendant ... thats the way it is n Shimo mxture of old and new ways. e.g A level crossing in the middle of Shimo town, wait for the express trains to rush by then cross railway line walking around I met a couple of nice guys who run a guitar shop down the road, tried out a $5000 Les Paul I can7t afford, and they gave me the low down on a couple of venues might suit Stormcellar and offered to introdud\ce me to operators. Will check one out tonight called YANEURA ( trans The Attic) that has all genres of music and OS bands as well. 6 bands tonight will head down as gigs start at 6.30pm straight after work...how practical they are here.
Another venues called "The Shelter" sonds like a good place for the Cellar to be . Ithink there are at least 10 live venues with in a 5 min walk from house i am staying in.
Also saw a Masai Market ...but not game to go inside..... Remember this is Shimo
A quiet little gig last night at Club Cue. Saw 24/7, a ska, bluebeat, reggae, jazz-blues band, They had the whole place singing and swaying, so the audience obviously knew their songs.
Next was a power rock blues band sort of Yardbids on nitro thing,.bassist like John Paul Jones, a drummer like Keith Moon, gtr player with SG like Angus, and singer like Greg Brady meets mick Jagger. Rocked the hell out the place, lots of jamming and bass and guitar swapping solo licks. They were called Okamoto`s
Last band was a well known act, Dohatsuten (trans Angry Hair Heaven), been around 25 yrs , sort of a legend, they had a the moves, lots of power songs like No Music No Life, which had lots of arms thrusting in the air to the beat, the audience seems to know just the right times to do the chanting Oi stuff and stop the moment the singer starts again. if the gtr player is going off and playing a key riff or solo well , up they start again to drive them on. Really great to see people enjoying their music so much.
Funnily too, they seemed to buy very few drinks. u get a free soft drink with your ticket ($47) and most people happy with just that.
I was surprised to see a huge line forming on the way out to by T-shirts and head bands. A great night and well worth the ticket price ($35 if you pre-paid).
Gonna scan the gig guides on line and collect some more fliers todayto see whats on. Chasing some blues clubs but a lot are outa town, an open mic night for blues is around if you can hunt it down. Will gather some clips if I can , not sure if its cool to do here yet.
Hi Sliders. Its The Whizz here, in J-Land checking out a potential Stormcellar tour, so here's my adventures so far.
This is the little street I staying in. area is Shimokitazawa. its a cool where lots gigs music people hang and live. not tourist spot.heaps of tiny little shops but some open into bigger areas with lots of different stall holders. Found some good rock n roll t-shirt in there of bands that play in the night clubs like Club Cue. Club Cue runs 7 nights a week and you can see bands there that play at much larger venues in a smaller setting, 150-200 max people. Tues night saw 3 bandsand was going off big time, packed to the rafters sold out. All 3 band were RnB old style , like Yardbirds on nitro fuel. crowd went crazy, then bought t-shirts and cds like pirahnas....lining up politely of course...
Downtown Shibuya (Shibs) , shopping for clothes good here but not of- beat stuff. not too busy cos only 11am.
Had a Maccas Beef Teryaki Burger. Yum
This a Promo Truck-u. new girl singer Becky. Saw about six different band promo truck-u driving around constantly with the music going for latest release.
I am gonna be talking to our golden roadie Carl about this when i get back. Blues Brothers anyone?
Harajuki main street or Omote Sando. Nightmare for parking tickets as meter flashes with red light when expired so parking officers zoom in.
Takeshita Street in Harujuku , my fave shopping street, lots of shops with strange names, mixture of hip hop , rock and cute dressup girl clothes (Cos Play) and even a Vampire clothes shop.Lots of African guys spruiking their shops in the street, all hip clothes. Store My Duck??? , What the ? At the end of this street is a an area near the station where all the up and coming young busk on the weekend, and their fans dress up like them, or Cos Play style.
This ominous looking building is the famous AVEX talent school where lots of singers and vocal groups are formed that dominate the mainstream.
You can buy a fire suit to keep cool in summer , its 30C plus over here , so great to be inside shops, and even the subway is cool with aircon blowing like a hurricane down the stairs. I was gonna by these shoes for Rosie but they didnt have his size.
My fave Nepalese curry shop in Shimo . They serve them gianto Naan bread. Nan Station is run by two nice Nepalese boys and so economical , 6-8 $AUD for dinner.Faces on the dish are a bonus : ) The Spinach Chicken was awesome.
Hey Sliders, I'm in Japan visiting the local Roots and Blues scene. So far no earthquakes but I am just waiting for one.
Went out to a Bar called Club Cue tonight, 200 people packed into a tiny place for three hours worth of music - best part is - no one is allowed to leave! No smoko breaks, no going outside for a phone call, you come in, listen to the music and that's it.
I took some mobile phone video but I dont know how to work the youtube thing so I will have to leave it to my pet IT slave (MJEB) to do it when I get back. Meanwhile, I'll post some more pics and such as I go visit some more rock-out places.