Blog - November 2013 Archives

November 2013 Archives

Index

.30 Weekly revue: 2013 week #48 (November 23 to 29)
.23 Weekly revue: 2013 week #47 (November 16 to 22)
.16 Weekly revue: 2013 week #46 (November 9 to 15)
.09 Weekly revue: 2013 week #45 (November 2 to 8)
.02 Weekly revue: 2013 week #44 (October 26 to November 1)

November 30, 2013

Weekly revue: 2013 week #48 (November 23 to 29)

Outing: Spent a pleasant weekend in the countryside. Dropped by a Christmas market event at the Ibaraki Cultural Center, but a lot was already sold out. Senba lake nearby has ducks and swans, and also fake swans (some that people can ride, I guess, but the ones I saw seemed to be just robots).

Live event: I won tickets for a free event organized by fashion brand Fred Perry. There were shows by Nomiya Maki & BIBA (w/ Bravo Komatsu, Ujino and Noboru), Tokyo No.1 Soul Set and others, as well as DJ sets by Kawakami Tsuyoshi (Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra) and a surprise set by Chabe!

Nomiya Maki & BIBA's set was especially great. During the last song DJ Noboru served Fred Perry tennis balls towards the crowd, and those were signed by Maki! (I didn't get one though.) I love Ujino and he currenly has a solo exhibition at Yamamoto Gendai until December 14.

Set list: Tokyo wa yoru no 7ji (the night is still young) / Call Me (Blondie cover) / Sweet Soul Revue / Twiggy Twiggy

Another band playing called Kuroneko Chelsea was a nice surprise. They're a rock band that reminded me of Jon Spencer at times, and sometimes of Led Zeppelin, with a crazy awesome guitarist who just stole the whole show.

It was also fun to see Tokyo No.1 Soul Set live! They also did the tennis balls thing. I was happy to hear "One Day", the theme song of the "No Con Kid" 80's-gaming-themed TV series I've been watching.

Music release news: Sheena Ringo, Yoshida Rui, Akira Kosemura, Cutie Pai, akiko, Nagisa Yoko, Cornelius, Hoshino Michiru, Hanae, DJ Misoshiru to MC Gohan

Playlist: hitomitoi, Hoshino Michiru, Aira Mitsuki, Scooters, Denki Groove, Missing Linc, Chiroline ver.2, ...

This week's video:

sugar me "As You Grow"

Kuroneko Chelsea "onboro no kami no hasami"

November 23, 2013

Weekly revue: 2013 week #47 (November 16 to 22)

Food: - Fried oysters and fish at Fukutsuru, Shinjuku
- Meals at Andhra Kitchen, Okachimachi
- Dorayaki from Usagiya, Ueno
- Bread from City Bakery, Shinagawa
- Black forest waffle cakes from RL Waffle, Tokyo

Outing: Dropped by mAAch ecute, a shopping mall built inside an old defunct train station named Manseibashi. Parts of the station remain intact, with a stairway built in 1912 (101 years ago!). There's a café and observatory on top that lets you view trains pass right by.

Music events: This week I had the chance to see two great shows! Here are some mini-reviews.

- On Saturday was the 4th edition of "Nanba Tatin", an event series hosted by singer Nanba Shiho and pop duo Tarte Tatin. This time their guest was idol group Negicco. I had yet to see a full show of Negicco, and also I hadn't yet seen Tarte Tatin live even though I love both of their CDs. Lately one of Tarte Tatin's members has been having some health problems it seems, and is being replaced by label-mate Nosa Reina (a wonderful choice in my opinion!). All of these acts were great! You can see many photos at Natalie. The next (and last) event of the series will be on December 15 at Shibuya O-Nest.

Negicco set list: sayonara Music / ai no Tower of Love / sōshin sōai / Negicco kara kimi e / Negative Girls / Idol bakari kikanai de / attōteki na Style / Party ni tsuite. / tokimeki no Headliner

Tarte Tatin set list: koi suru Calendar / irideppō ni deonna / Bou-chan / keep in time / ran raran / epoch making love / chō no mai / tokyo eyes / Cyber Survivor / shōganai My Love

- The other show I saw was "Leboutet Club", organized by singer-songwriter Maika Leboutet also singer of band EA. Of course I wanted to see her show, but I was also very excited about the other bands. First on was shippai shinai ikikata, a band of 6 that sounded quite Shibuya-kei to me, though every now and then it had very noisy moments with the girl singer screaming. Great stuff!

Next was daredemo Esper, an all-star band featuring guitarist Matsue Jun (who I once saw with the Spoozys), keyboardist Hajimetal (ex-Midori) and drummer Nishiura Kensuke (ex-sōtaiseiriron). All 3 of them also sing, though several songs were instrumental. They were accompanied by a bassist. All of these musicians have amazing skills, and the sound was super tight. Their set ended with a funny voice changer pop karaoke song.

The next band was Skirt, which I was also very curious about after several friends had recommended them. Turns out that they're a really cool pop trio that reminded me of True Love Always and my U.S. indie rock fan days. Lead member Sawabe Wataru has a wonderful strong voice and is a great guitarist too. The songs were very good.

Last was Maika Leboutet's set, for which she was accompanied by Matsue Jun (his 2nd stage that night!) and two more musicians. Maika has a great stage presence and a pop star aura. She sings great and also plays keyboards and with a Kaossilator throughout the show.

This event featured all really awesome bands. There should be a 2nd "Leboutet Club" event held around spring next year and I'm already looking forward to see who it will feature.

Music release news: kaku P-Model, tofubeats

Playlist: Nosa Reina, Dorian, Towa Tei, CAPSULE, Tarte Tatin, Takako Minekawa & Dustin Wong, EA

This week's videos:

yanokami "chikyū ni notte" w/ U-zhaan, Sunahara Yoshinori, Illrime, Morishita Maki

November 16, 2013

Weekly revue: 2013 week #46 (November 9 to 15)

Food: - Yakitori at Miyazaki Shōten, Nakano-Fujimichō
- Beef soup curry & turnip curry at Tapir, Ōkubo

Photos: I put up lots of photos from our Hawaii trip on Flickr! You can see them here. I'll get around to writing a bit about the trip. :)

Exhibitions: - Toshikazu Nozaka x Usugrow exhibition at Gallery Common, Harajuku. A lot of great artwork, with Usugrow's unique calligraphy and Nozaka's wave-inspired paintings.

- Also checked out modern tea style exhibition "Enishi" at Seibu Shibuya (8th floor), with works by Kazumichi Maruoka, Riyoo Kim, and ESSU, among many others. On until Sunday November 17. It's possible to participate to a tea ceremony too!

Movie: Went to see another movie by Xavier Dolan, "J'ai tué ma mère" ("I Killed My Mother", 2009), which is showing at Shibuya Uplink until November 29. This was a good film also!

Music release news: Maki Rinka with her Sweet Hollywaiians, NeoBallad, Kimura Kaela, Tokyo Shock Boys, Moonriders, No Lie-Sense,

Playlist: Chiroline ver.2, Tarte Tatin, Dorian, Kero Kero Bonito

This week's video: No Lie-Sense "Eat Chocolate Eat"

November 9, 2013

Weekly revue: 2013 week #45 (November 2 to 8)

Food: Sunday Bake Shop

Music events: - Went to see a concert of Akiyoshi Toshiko, a famous jazz pianist based in New York, turning 84 this year. While not familiar with her music, I had the chance to win a pair of tickets. She was accompanied by a local orchestra of musicians specialized in her pieces. I liked that she often switched between playing the piano and standing to conduct the orchestra. Very nice show!

- Also I went to see a free show of De De Mouse + Drumrolls at the school festival of Hosei University. It had been a while since I had seen De De Mouse, and also I was intrigued by this formation with two drummers. I was curious of who they would be, turned out it was Jimanica and Lite's Yamamoto Akinori. Both were excellent! The only thing is that I was at the front row, so I got to hear mostly raw drums and not much of De De Mouse's sounds. I enjoyed the show though of course! :)

Movie: "Laurence Anyways" at Shibuya Uplink. This is a movie by Montreal director Xavier Dolan. I was especially surprised to see a scene filmed in the Montreal restaurant Triskell, to which I used to go every week when I lived there. It made me happy to know that it's still there. :) Good film!

New music: I hadn't waited for an album so impatiently in a long time, Dorian's 3rd album "midori" was finally released this week! I've been listening to it almost non-stop since. :) It's quite a change of direction, as he moved away from his distinct 80's-influenced disco style to exotic sampling lounge with many quieter and even beatless tracks. Some tracks remind me of Sunahara Yoshinori, Towa Tei and Cornelius. Definitely a great album, and I'm looking forward to see Dorian live again to see how this will be done. It's available worldwide on iTunes, so check it out!

Music release news: frenesi, Negicco, Chiroline ver.2, Dorian, Perfume, Taikuh Jikang

Playlist: Dorian, CAPSULE, EA, Dorian, Dorian, Dorian, Dorian, Dorian, Dorian, Dorian :)

This week's videos:

Negicco "tokimeki no Headliner"

Perfume "Sweet Refrain" (short ver.)

Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band "Bad Dancer" (feat. Cibo Matto, Ad Rock, Mike D, ...)

De De Mouse live at Hosei University Nov. 4

November 2, 2013

Weekly revue: 2013 week #44 (October 26 to November 1)

Food: - Lunch at Consequence, Shibuya
- Gingerbread latté at Starbucks! Like every year Starbucks' holiday season started on November 1st, and I went on the first morning to get my favorite. :)

Party: A friend started borrowing a café for weekends, and we went to the pre-opening party. There was lots of good food to try! There were many guests, including Sunday Bake Shop friends, and also I got to meet band EA who I had been curious about! I bought their CDs (1st mini-album "Météo" and a brand new 3-song CD-R) and got their autographs. :)
Singer Maika organizes event "Leboutet Club" with Skirt and more, on November 21 at Shibuya O-Nest. (Details at Tokyo Gig Guide.)

Magali is open every weekend Friday to Sunday from 19:00, at Café Monami (Nishi-Ogikubo). The rest of the time it's the regular Café Monami, I recommend the great muffins, and I also want to try the curry next time.

Music release news: Tarte Tatin, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu

Playlist: Nakatsuka Takeshi, Hoshino Michiru, Konishi Yasuharu/Pizzicato Five, Kahimi Karie, Negicco, YMCK, Fantastic Explosion, Naka Shigeo, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, New Castle, Vanilla Beans

This week's videos:

Maika Leboutet (EA) "YAYUYO"

CAPSULE "CONTROL" (full version)

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