Blog - October 2018 Archives

October 2018 Archives

Index

.24 Weekly revue: 2018 week #42 (October 13 to 19)
.20 Weekly revue: 2018 week #41 (October 6 to 12)
.14 Weekly revue: 2018 week #40 (September 29 to October 5)

October 24, 2018

Weekly revue: 2018 week #42 (October 13 to 19)

Food: - Curry at Tapir, Shin-Okubo
- Lunch at Matsuki, Nakano

Music event: - On Wednesday I went to Heaven's Door in Sangenjaya for the first time, to check out an event with good variety of interesting indie acts! I got there in time for World Wide Size, who played some sort of techno with guitar and drums, and very mesmerizing video projections.

Next to play was Takehana Hidetsugu, a guitarist who performs on his own and gives an impressive show that's like a toy box! Playing his guitar over a programmed track and hitting a backwards bass drum in what first seems rather minimal, his set is actually full of surprises! The mic stand has a motorcycle handle and also a tiny TV that pops out when needed. At one point that mic stand did turn into an imaginary motorcycle with real wind blowing in his and a volunteer's hair, after which there was more spectacular surprises. No time to get bored here!

Then there was a shoegazer-ish solo guitar set by a guy who goes by the name "Doro" I think. And the event finished with band Guben which had great improvised drums & wind instruments and a very vocal singer who also danced and at one point performed sort of yoga poses.

Music release news: Nomiya Maki

This week's videos:

Nomiya Maki & The Shaolin Brothers "Tokyo wa yoru no 7ji" (Produced by Konishi Yasuharu

P.O.P "Summer Back Again"

October 20, 2018

Weekly revue: 2018 week #41 (October 6 to 12)

So much went on during that week! Going to Vanilla Beans' final shows, catching Konishi Yasuharu three times, meeting up several times with a friend in visit, and more..!

Food: - Dinner at Chinese restaurant Yuge, Nakano
- Dessert at Matsuki, Nakano
- Curry at Ebisu Mumbai

Music events: - Vanilla Beans last live "adieu" at Shibuya Duo Music Exchange. That was an amazing show of most of their singles plus some more gems. Especially, getting to hear "älskar dig"—a sequel to hit song "Nicola" from album "Vanilla Beans II"—was the best treat ever! That song has been one of my favorites since the first time I heard it at an in-store event at Tower Records Shibuya in 2011 (report). Photos were allowed just for "Summer Vacation". I always loved that moment when Rena is stage left and Lisa is stage right, but Lisa sneaks behind Rena and comes to sing with her. I'm glad I could get a good picture of that! Also check out the official report with many photos at Natalie.

Set list: Say Goodbye / U ❤︎ Me / sakasaka Circus / Love & Hate / koi no Theory / Def & Def / älskar dig / toki no kakera / Choco Mint Flavor Time / hitotsu no uta / Non-Section / Muscat Slope Love / Please Me, Darlin / watashi... fukō guse / kitto ii fuchi / uchōten Girl / onna wa sore o gaman shinai / Beanius / tokeijikake Wonderland / Last Song / going my way
Encore: Tokyo wa yoru no 7ji (Pizzicato Five cover) / Summer Vacation / Nicola

- After watching Vanilla Beans, I rushed to Koenji High to try to catch CTO LAB. who were holding a special 10th anniversary show. Despite being very late (oops!), I was lucky enough to catch the end of the show! CTO LAB. have a brand new album titled "Beyond The Box" being released on November 14, and it was available way in advance at this show. The new album is really great, with a lot of fun songs and variety! Actually I had the great opportunity to write a few words for one song, "Nazo no Enban", which are sung in the best vocoder voices. Stay tuned & check it out!

- The day following Vanilla Beans' last show, there was a very last event titled "Vanilla Beans ni kanshasai" ("Thank You Vanilla Beans Festival") and held at Shinjuku ReNY. It was the last occasion for the duo to perform as Vanilla Beans. The event was presented by Tower Records' T-Palette label which released most of Vanilla Beans' works. Also featured were several idol groups from the label (Negicco, lyrical school, Up Up Girls, kolme and Tokyo Style Girls), and a very special set featuring DJ Konishi Yasuharu and Nomiya Maki (both ex-Pizzicato Five)! There was also a talk show featuring long-time supporters Okite Porsche and Yoshida Gō, and a DJ set of Okite Porsche (feat. Vanilla Beans). The event started with a speech by Tower Records' CEO, who had pointed out how rare it is that a group disbanding would be given such a farewell party after their last show.

Of course the entire show was very special and all guests spoke a bit of their memories. VB took part in Negicco's line dance in "attōteki na Style", lyrical school paid tribute with a special cover of "Choco Mint Flavor Time" in which they replaced verses by original rap, VB joined Up Up Girls on stage and had trouble keeping up with the energetic dancing, and Tokyo Style Girls who had been looking up to Vanilla Beans since elementary school were in tears. Okite Porsche raised lots of laughter by starting his DJ set with VB's longest song ever, a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven", and then he performed a cover of C-C-B's "Romantic ga tomaranai" with VB who slapped his face repeatedly as they once had in a promotion event a long time ago.

The peak of the show was a set that began with Konishi Yasuharu DJing. He first started playing Negicco's "Idol bakari kikanai de" (a song he wrote and produced) for just a few seconds and stopping it, grabbing the mic to say he did a mistake, haha! That was followed by a pre-mixed segment of songs he made and other favorites he often plays, warming up the audience for what was to come while he prepared his decks carefully. Soon after, Vanilla Beans and Nomiya Maki joined him on stage and they sang all of their Pizzicato Five covers (all in Vanilla Beans' own versions) and also a remix Konishi did of Nicola! It was very touching that Maki sang along to "Nicola", and also that she adopted VB's original dance moves for "Tokyo wa yoru no 7ji", a song they had been covering in almost all of their shows (probably the song they most sang next to "Nicola"). After "Nicola", Konishi said "I love this song!", and at the end of the set Maki told the duo "Thank you for singing Pizzicato Five so much!". That was a very moving set, a dream for any Vanilla Beans or Pizzicato Five or Shibuya-kei fan, and of course for Vanilla Beans themselves. I'm so happy I was able to see this! Photos weren't allowed, but there are many at Natalie!

Aside from all that, of course VB sang many of their own songs, even singing again "älskar dig" saying that it had been so praised by fans after the previous day's show! I was so pleased to be able to hear it again one last time! Actually for any song they sang this day, there were unavoidable thoughts of it being the last time those would be sung live. They did however come back for an encore and sang "Nicola" for the third time that day. And that was Vanilla Beans' very last "Adieu!", a greeting they had always used to end their shows.

1st set: sakasaka Circus / U ❤︎ Me / Nicola / Muscat Slope Love / Jewel Memories / älskar dig
Special set w/ DJ Konishi Yasuharu & Nomiya Maki: It's a Beautiful Day (Pizzicato Five cover) / I (Pizzicato Five cover) / Nicola (Konishi remix) / Sweet Soul Revue (Pizzicato Five cover) / Tokyo wa yoru no 7ji (Pizzicato Five cover, Vanilla Beans version remixed by Konishi)
Last set: Night on the Earth / kitto ii fuchi / Choco Mint Flavor Time / Non-Section / watashi... fukō guse / Please Me, Darlin / uchōten Girl / Summer Vacation / going my way
Encore: Nicola

- I went to an event called "9PARTY". Normally held at Shimokitazawa Three, this was a special edition at Daikanyama Unit/Unice/Saloon, and featured a busy timetable with many bands and DJs. I mainly went to see Pizzicato One—the solo unit of Konishi Yasuharu—, and also Learners as well as Emerson Kitamura.

Pizzicato One was the first band to play on the main stage at Unit, following a DJ set by DJ Holiday (very good music!). Konishi was accompanied by Ino Hidefumi on piano, and also wood bass and drums. Konishi sang all the songs himself, like the last time I saw Pizzicato One at Liquidroom. The set consisted of half Pizzicato Five songs and half other songs that he wrote for other artists. He said the set was pretty much the same as one he played last year in Shimokitazawa with the same members, but this was the first time he performed "chikyū saigo no hi". That was a wonderful set! I love hearing one of my favorite songwriters ever singing his own songs.

Pizzicato One set list: kanashii uwasa / Tokyo no machi ni yuki ga furu hi, futari no koi wa owatta. / Message Song / chikyū saigo no hi / Drinking Wine / namida morokunatta. / Stars / To Our Children's Children's Children

A bit later it was Learners' turn to play on the same stage. They gave an energetic show as usual, with their sharp rockabilly-esque sound, Sara Mary's strong vocals, and skillful guitarist Chie with her great smile. Of course Chabe was rocking all over the stage. Towards the end Sara jumped down into the audience holding her classic mic and sang along with the crowd.

After their show, I ran down to Saloon for a live solo set by keyboardist Emerson Kitamura. He played two Reface DX's with a beatbox. An exciting simple setup (yet expensive for its compact size)! For one song he featured reggae singer Rankin Taxi, and then singer/guitarist mmm (read "me my moe"). I like Emerson's keys!

- I dropped by Avandoned's in-store event at HMV record shop Shinjuku ALTA. The other day at SOLEIL's show at Rock Joint GB the DJ was Beni from Avandoned, and after the show she was giving her own flyers as people were leaving. I had been curious about Avandoned as some songs at least are produced by Chabe (with music performed by Learners) so I was glad of this opportunity to check them out! Beni and Kotao gave a fun show with their lemon head outfits, and I couldn't resist getting their new single "Lemon Peels" which is great!

Set list: After School / chanto koko ni Sign shite / Lemon Peels / Shampoo Planet / bakuhatsu suru Romance

- Caught a free DJ set by Konishi Yasuharu at Blue Books Café in Jiyūgaoka! We had the chance to get the best place to watch. Konishi-san wore an apron (as he usually does lately when DJing), and his set wasn't his recent trademark fast-paced style but rather playing songs almost in full which is probably more suitable for a café. I remember he played "Aria ou la religieuse Karia" from Nomoto Karia's first album, and something by The Hair, and also a song by Yossy Little Noise Weaver which reminded me I need to check out that band more closely. We were there about 2 hours while enjoying dinner. That was a very fun evening!

- I went to a show by La Veuve Moustachue (hige no mibojin / The Mustached Widow) at SuperDeluxe in Roppongi that was a release party for new 7" single "Zettai Renai! Count Down!!" which will be released officially at the end of the month. It was available in advance at the show! The other bands playing were Je et Georges (aka "boku to Georges", the band of idol Himeno Tama) and also Matsunaga Temma feat. Ookubo Kei (two members of Urbangarde). All were great fun! I ended up getting La Veuve Moustachue's new 7" and also Himeno Tama's Ponchak mix tape.

Movie: - Hindi movie "Tumhari Sulu" at the Indian Film Festival. The movie is about a housewife who becomes a late night radio DJ. It was very good!

Exhibitions: - Dropped by ten do ten's solo exhibition "Calligraphic Portrait Airmail" at Kata (above Liquidroom), Ebisu. The artist made pixelated artwork of musicians and other celebrities. Some pieces were pressed as picture discs and were placed on turntables where visitors could listen to a song by the pictured artist but in a special version where the exhibitor also sings chorus. Very fun stuff!

- Also randomly dropped by a solo exhibition by Kannō Maiko at AL Gallery, Ebisu while passing nearby. Very nice pieces, I especially liked the food-themed ones!

Music release news: Wack Wack Rhythm Band, Manon feat. Normcore Boyz, Ino Hidefumi, Avandoned, Francis avec Haruko, Yellow Magic Orchestra

October 14, 2018

Weekly revue: 2018 week #40 (September 29 to October 5)

Food: - Lunch & dessert at Café Mikuni's, Yotsuya

Music events: - On Sunday September 30, SOLEIL—the band of singer Soleil with bassist Sally Kubota and guitarist Nakamori Yasuhiro—played an in-store event at Tower Records Shinjuku. A new 7" of songs "My Sweet Fifteen" (lead track from new album "SOLEIL is Alright") and "UFO" (an instrumental cover of the theme from the 70's British TV series) was sold in advance that day. The 7" is only available at Tower Records. There was a mini-live of 4 songs, all from the new album! At time of writing, the 15-year-old singer is now taking a break until the end of March 2019 to focus on her studies. The next show will be held on March 30, 2019 at Shibuya WWW.

Set list: My Sweet Fifteen / Sweet Boy / The Beginning of Love / Baby Boo

- On the day of Vanilla Beans' 11th anniversary, October 3 (single "U ♥ Me" was released on that day in 2007), they held a special event on the 8th floor of Shibuya Marui. Following a mini-live, there was an autograph and photo session. Being that it was just 4 days before their final event, and also that it was their last in-store event ever, a large number of fans came to participate. At the end of the event there was also a special giveaway of photo panels and also various personal items (including wigs!). I didn't win anything, but I did have the chance to shake hands, get an autograph, and a picture taken with Rena & Lisa!

Set list: Last Song / Nicola / Choco Mint Flavor Time / Summer Vacation / going my way

Movie: - "Shut Up and Play the Piano", a documentary movie about Montréal-born musician Chilly Gonzales. Previously I mainly knew just of his piano works, and that he would also rap sometimes, but the movie reveals all about his long background that got him where he is today. He is a unique artist and this documentary was very interesting from beginning to end.

Music release news: Learners / The Skints, Learners / The Doped Up Dollies

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