After a year of blog inaction, I just decided to wrap everything up in a one shot deal. I saw so may amazing shows, visited so many cool places and most importantly I met so many cool people that have helped shape Pacifiction Records. In retrospect, I've followed so closely to the ideals that got Pacifiction by continuing to make cement friendships in the Asia-centered independent music world. All the while checking out some fantastic bands and attending some of the hippest Asian music events. I'll make a list of some of the coo things I've done and seen, some related to Pacifiction and others more of personal interest.
At the beginning of last year I remember seeing some great bands like Melt Banana for the first time at Club 24 in downtown Yokohama. The next big show was at Shinjuku Loft for Lolita No.18 who I've been dying to see for the past 7 years. My only regret was not catching them in NYC or better yet 15 years ago when Hang On Snoopy their staple and their sound was unpolished and truly abrasive. The same show had The Crough Patrick, a raucous Irish punk band, and Num 41 a novelty punk cover band that mixes children folk tunes to their mix and The Sect a blitzing street punk outfit on the bill.
Next up was Mad 3 at Shelter with a blistering metal, punk and fuzz riot... I can still hear the viking opera theme intro! The same show had the Baitones an insane Cramps style trash punk/ stomp rock band from Kobe and the wildest Japanese Elvis impersonator Little Elvis Ryuta! I was also excited to catch Jackie and the Cedrics at Red Cloth (another band I had been following for some time) with The Bawdies, a 60's RnB Beatles throwback band and Minnesota Voodoo Men... rock n roll at it's best with a Yardbirds cover and stage acrobatics to leave you breathless.
Later at Red Cloth I would see members of Pebbles in their new 60's pop/ garage groups with the country folk and blues band Hot Shots who invited me to check out their show with the American rockabilly queen Rosie Flores!
I caught Bawdies, Jackie and the Cedrics and Mad3 again at the Rock N' Roll Summit held at Shibuya AX along with the legendary Sheena and the Rokkits, Neat Beats, Laughing Nose and Guitar Wolf! At a similar afternoon long music fest broadcast over live-feed by Firefox, I caught Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re opening up for the great Shonen Knife kind of showing just how far Japanese indie girl bands have come today.
Towards the end of the summer, I caught up with The Vickers who I had seen several years ago at the Formoz fest in Taiwan. Around the same time, I got to see another key member of Thug Murder, Ryoko with Last Target! Playing with them was Akiakane, who I had also seen in Taiwan at the Say Yes to Taiwan festival. Both bands opened up for old school Japanese punk rockers Star Club.
In my search for some of the Japanese garage bands I knew from comps like Hodge Podge Barrage, I found a show with both Supersnazz and Great Mongoose as well as a great chick trash rocker group whose name eludes me opening up for The Basics, a retro merseybeat band from Melbourne! Also at the show was nonaX, a hip new wave band whose keyboardist hails from Chicago. Pacifiction now carries The Basics release Stand Out/ Fit In as well as Neo Wave Nastros which features nonaX!
One of the recent highlights was the Back from the Grave Screaming Lord Sutch Tribute Halloween Party at Shelter with a list of ghoulish bands that would get the morgue boppin' back to life for sure. The list of players goes: MAD 3/JACKIE & THE CEDRICS/PINKY AOKI(ex PHANTOM GIFT)＋K.N.R.S./GASOLINE/SATURNS/THE MINNESOTA VOODOO MEN/THE MIGHTY MOGULS/THE PSYCRONS/thee 50's high teens/LOS RIZLAZ/TOKYO CRAMPS. And all in costume too! Gasoline played their set in Yohinoya uniforms! Minnesota Voodoo Men frontman hung from the rafters dressed as a mummy! The 50's High Teens screeched to delight! Tokyo Cramps did a frightening impersonation of the originals! And to top it all off Jackie and the Cedrics dressed as the 5678's did a cover set in tribute!
The end of the year is seeing an invasion of classic garage and power pop bands from all over the world which started with the Stems a couple weeks ago and will continue with the Dogs, Chinese Telephones and the Fast Cars all playing with incredible local bands that I'm discovering each week.
I can't forget to write about Head Phones President, who I actually met one year ago in NYC. Throughout 2007 I saw them several times and even helped them perform in Taiwan and the US. One of the cool HPP Tokyo shows was at Club Havana with Goofy Style; I had seen Goofy Style in Taiwan at Spring Scream 2005 and after hearing HPP for the first time I thought they had a similar style. After hanging out with HPP in Japan, I found out they were pretty good friends.
While these were the most memorable shows for me because I've been wanting furiously to see these bands for a long while now, I have to mention the lesser known Japanese bands that I've struck up friendships with as well as business collaborations including Water Closet, ELMOC (who played a great set with Drunken Boat from Portland, OR), Six O'Minus and Flight of Idea. All the tons of other bands I could list but don't have time, I tip my hat you! It's been a great year of live music in Tokyo!
Stay tuned for Part Two, a list of festivals and major events I went to!
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