森羅万象 Tour '12 = Shinrabanshow tour 2012

So after hanging out in Tokyo with MikeyG, I rushed back to Okazaki for work and to meet up with Guillaume!!

He arrived on August 2, and for my day early birthday present, he agreed to join me to a visual kei festival, even though he was super jet-lagged, and it was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!! I originally wanted to go because I felt like I NEEDED to see Ayabie before leaving Japan, but really almost all of the bands were amazing!

ギルド

Or Guild in romaji, these guys were absolutely AMAZING! They did fun Nana chan poses, and it was super adorable - something they could only get away with doing in Nagoya. (It was actually at during the song in the video that they did the nana chan poses, but given that this video was taken in shibuya, they're not there). (watch until at least the second minute for music!!)

For those of you who don't know who Nana-chan is, you can see her in the above picture. She's basically a huge doll thing that hangs out right in front of the Meitetsu Station in Nagoya, and she's regularly dressed up in lots of different outfits - in the featured picture, she's dressed up as Naruto.
Anyway, Guild was definitely my favorite band of the night that I didn't previously know.

Oz
The lights were super flashy and all over the place, so every time I tried to look at the stage to watch them, I started getting a headache. Thus, they were super hard to watch.
They're on the heavier side of visual kei compared to what I normally like, but they were still pretty good. Much better than I was expecting.

Duel Jewel

They vocalist apparently had a throat cold and thus wasn't there. Which was. . .weird. In the beginning they were all just jumping around and having fun, and it looked like they weren't even trying to play their instruments. And then they had the singer's voice coming over a recording. It was just, as I said, weird.
Despite the weirdness, the music was totally awesome, and the bassist was maybe the cutest thing I've ever seen (but unfortunately, he seemed to know it). I've been listening to more of them since, and I'm totally into it!
I'd be interested to see them live again when they actually have a singer.

Screw

Another band on the heavier side of visual kei, they were MUCH better than what I was expecting. I'd even told Guillaume that when they came on, we could take a break, but in the end, that didn't happen. They were super fun - a little bit hard, but I totally got into it. I often judge bands by just one song, and this is totally a case of "I shouldn't have done that."

Ayabie

Of course, this was the best concert of all time (I remind people to beware of my tendency to exaggerate). I absolutely LOVE OVER ADORE them, but the show was even better than I ever could have possibly imagined. They played most of my favorite songs, and Yumehito, the singer, with the best voice of all time, was super cute with his explanations of songs and dances (and really expensive fans).
The only sad thing was that they just didn't play long enough (well that and that their t-shirt was really ugly, so I didn't want to buy it). And even though they're on tour now, I won't get to see them again before I leave Japan, because the day they play in Nagoya I will be in Tokyo seeing An Cafe.
Fingers crossed for a North American tour!

Gotcharocka

Stylized Gotcha6a.
YAY!!!! On the ticket, it said there would be a secret band playing, and I don't know why, but I kind of thought it would be Gotcharocka, and they were!!!! HAPPINESS!!!! They were playing as ハイパー　(Hyper), but it was still totally them doing their songs, and it was wonderful!
Their songs were just as amazing live, and I'm so happy all those dudes decided to get together to form a group! Pure awesomeness.

Kra

I don't LOVE Kra (which I learned this night is actually pronounced kera), but I do like them quite a lot. And that is EXACTLY how I felt about their live as well. I didn't love love LOVE it, but I did like it quite a lot.
The singer has this amazing voice that seems like it can do pretty much anything, go pretty much anywhere. And a lot of their music is really pretty.
Maybe I would have been able to enjoy them more if Ayabie and Gotcharocka hadn't played just right before them

Anyhow, it was an AMAZING concert (during which Guillaume might have fallen asleep), and I'm SO happy that I got to go!!!! It's so sad for me to think that soon it's no longer going to be so easy for me to just hope over to Nagoya to see visual kei bands whenever I want.
YAY VISUAL KEI!!!! YAY PUNK!!!! (And as I write that, I am listening to kanjani8. Awesome)

And that's all for now, folks. 以上です。

Nagoya Grampus, Shink and Jackpot Bell ROCK 豊橋(Toyohashi)!

I've still got to write about my Mie hike with Alexis, but I'll skip that for now and come to more recent things. Because I'm all fired up about last night and this night, so it's time to WRITE!

Yesterday, I met up with a friend in 豊田市(Toyota) so that we could head over to Toyota Stadium to see the Nagoya Grampus play Ventforet Kofu (I don't know if that Ventforet is supposed to be French for windy forest or what, but it's weird). We would of course be routing (have I ever mentioned that I HATE this word?) for　名古屋！！！！

Toyota Stadium was absolutely LOVELY, surrounded by trees and with two very cool bridges leading up to it on both sides.

When we got there, I felt very out of place. First of all, I was wearing blue, which ended up being the color of the opposing team. Second of all, I wasn't wearing red. And when we got into the section where we could sit, it seemed like EVERYONE was wearing a jersey - and those that weren't were at least wearing red t-shirts. In any case, certainly not blue.

See all those people with the flags up - yeah, every single one of them had on a Grampus jersey.

Miho and I were also both SHOCKED by the amount of people that there were there. The last soccer game I went to was in Colorado, and it seemed like there was practically no one there (granted, it WAS snowing, but still), whereas this wasn't even a special match, and the stadium seemed practically full. We actually had trouble finding seats.

It was AMAZING, though, because everyone was SO into it! There were people with loudspeakers leading chants and cheers and dances, and everyone was just SO into it! Miho and I have decided that we must go again, and next time we will wear jerseys and get there early enough to sit in the real "supporters" section with all of the crazies. SO MUCH FUN!

I'm happy to say as well that Nagoya totally rocked - 4 to 1. Two of the goals literally happened in a period of about 3 minutes. It was amazing!

With that super exciting experience under my belt, tonight Alexis and I headed out to Ell.Knot in　豊橋　(Toyohashi) for some awesome concert action. Five bands played, and I kind of loved all of them!

The first one was ポタリ（Potari), and, aside from one song, the music was upbeat and fabulous and exciting. The drummer (who looked like he couldn't have been more than 15) was the most adorable thing I had ever seen. He reminded me of L from Death Note, in a weird way.　　I gather from their website, though, that he's not their usual drummer. Sadness. The bassist actually started CRYING, and for someone like me, who cries a LOT, it was absolutely FABULOUS. I loved her!

Up next was 洗脳集団キミとロック (Sennnoushuudann kimi to rock, which basically means Brainwashing group, you and rock). They were SUPER fun, and I will totally be seeing them again. For serious. If I can, that is. Like perhaps Sunday when they play at Cam Hall in Okazaki.

Then was Eve. I think that I could have liked them if I hadn't seen them. The music was very screamo rock with the occasional punkish or skaish twinge, and I was into it. Unfortunately, the guys in the band seemed. . .well, ridiculous.

Then Jackpot Bell!!!! I have been dying to see them for ages, as they seem to play in Okazaki a lot, and I always just keep missing them.



They were just as amazing live as I expected them to be, and they'll also be playing Cam Hall Sunday, so really I've just got to go.

Then Shink. They were AMAZING, but I think they could have been MORE amazing. The crowd didn't seem to be all that into them, which I really just don't understand. They put on a better show this time than when we saw them last time, and still, most of the crowd just wasn't having it. :-(



i am a concert addict, and all I ever want to do anymore is go to concerts.

以上です。

Freedom Nagoya 2011

So, when I was talking to the singer dude, ちゃっせ (Chasse) of Scusi, he mentioned this free concert in this huge park right outside of Nagoya. Freedom Nagoya.

Last Sunday, Alexis, Joanna, and I decided to head over and check it out.

We headed over around 11, even though Scusi had played at 9. And of course the first person we see upon arriving, directing traffic, was ちゃっせ, who informed us that we had missed his band. We were aware. Oops. At least he smiled and waved, though, which implied that he remembered us.

And with that began an awesome day of MUSIC!!!!

The first band we saw was Banbi, and while I don't really remember them at all, I put a star by them, which means I must have liked them. Then we saw Misty and 太陽族　(taiyouzoku), both of whom were quite good without being overwhelmingly awesome. I didn't get to see more than a song or two of 太陽族, though, and I think I really could have loved them.　

Next up was Yum! Yum! Orange, a ska band from Osaka, I think. I'd heard them a couple times before, and I was psyched to get to see them.

Unfortunately, pretty much before the first song even began, the singer tripped over the speaker and fell in an extraordinary show of klutziness that impressed even me. Later, I read in her blog that she doesn't know how she'll ever be able to get excited about a show again without first falling. :-P In any case, they were wonderful. The perfect blend of pop and punk and ska with great female vocals.

Up next, ソライアオ (Soraiao), who according to my memory and their lack of star on the schedule, pretty much did nothing for me.

The the Gelugugu, who, well. . . I don't know how to describe them. They're ska, but also a little hip-hoppy, and while it's weird to say that music is Clockwork Orange-influenced, they totally were, not only in their style, but also in their sound (which isn't to say they sounded anything like Beethoven - they didn't).

I liked them, but I'm still not sure if I loved them. I think I would need to see them again doing a one man live (which is what they call it here when a band plays a show with no other bands). I gather they're fairly popular.

And then after the Gelugugu, SKULL CANDY!!!!

I have now officially seen them three times, and each time was pure awesomeness. Seriously. I said that Yum!Yum! Orange is the perfect blend of pop, punk, and ska, but their perfection pales in comparison to that of Skull Candy. And the female vocalist is just the cutest thing since. . . I wanted to compare her to sliced bread, for some reason, but that's not really all that cute. . .so, insert something super cute.

They're playing a one man this Saturday in Nagoya, and if it wasn't the Okazaki Fireworks festival, which I unfortunately had to miss last year, I would SO be there!

After Skull Candy, we saw Sim, who was mostly boring despite drawing the largest crowd I saw the whole day, and then Feelflip, who I apparently liked but not enough to have remembered them if I didn't have the schedule in front of me right now.

Then　Misspray, who was awesome.

And awesomely adorable - they're playing in Nagoya at the end of August, and I'm thinking I might have to go.

Then Fatprop, who were relatively boring, which was okay, because they were followed by the Skippers, who ended up being on of my two favorite bands of the day (that I had never previously heard of). They were seriously AMAZING!

Downright straight up punk, and absolutely perfect! And I can't find their albums anywhere, so I might have to get a Tsutaya card so that I can rent one.

Then Eddy, who were okay, Crossfaith, who were terrible, and Each of the Days, who were also terrible. Then Last Gasp, a band from Okazaki (I think). I like them on CD, and I liked them live, but I feel like there's something missing about their sound. They're rock, and there's nothing to make them special to make them anything more than just another rock band. Still, they were fun.

And then Egg Brain! Along with the Skippers, my other favorite previously unknown band of the day. They were like doofy, nerdy pop punk, which is totally my favorite kind of pop punk.



I liked them so much that I have to include a video, even though I promised myself no videos today. I've pretty much been listening to them nonstop since.

Then Astral Mess, okay. Then Backlift and at Anytime, who were AWESOME!!!!

But not awesome enough, apparently, because I forgot about them when Hey Smith came on.



The whole day, we'd pretty much been sitting back and enjoying the bands over people's heads, but for Hey Smith, Joanna and I decided to join the crowd, and we danced and skanked and pogoed, and seriously - Hey Smith knows how to rock!

Then music was over, and it was time to go home, and I was sad, because I was SO not ready for music to be over. It felt SO good to hit up an outdoor summer music festival again. I went to one in France, but there was only one band I liked, so mostly, that doesn't count. It's been FAR too long since my last Warped Tour, and this TOTALLlllllllllllllY made up for it!

So that was Freedom Nagoya, and it was fabulous, and it was two whole weeks ago now, and I already feel like I'm going through concert withdrawal. I'll have to find another one soon! :-)

The end.

Girls Rock

After Sakae Spring, I was feeling very concerty. I saw some AWESOME bands, and I was feeling like I needed to see them again.

Lucky for me, Alexis was feeling the same way, so we headed back to Nagoya the Saturday after term ended (it was a very burn outy term, and I feel like I didn't really learn all that much, but I still managed an A+, so I get to move on, and this term I plan to be totally studious and Japanese-learny!), we headed over to the Girls Rock Magazine Fest!

It was AWESOME! We left after I got off work, and the first band we saw, 桜華(sakura hana), was unfortunately not good. They seemed a little bit too put on, and the singer annoyed me more than anything else. I was therefore worried.

Next up, though, was Shink, and my world was rocked.

They were vibrant and exciting, and they put on an AMAZING live show. Alexis also thought so, and we might go see them again when they come back to Toyohashi.

Then was Hysteric*Flavor.



I really, really, really wanted to LOVE them, as all of their merch was pink and punk looking and fun. And they were super cute! Unfortunately, they didn't blow me away. I think a lot of that could be because the vocals were so low that I couldn't hear them at all. Listening now, the youtube song is WAY better than their live was.

Then came Scusi, who, aside from the obvious (Skull Candy, to come) was by far the best band of the night. They were totally Less Than Jake style with two singers, and it was pure awesomeness. I was shocked to find out that they're a newish band.



I was also psyched to find out that they're from Nagoya - I totally plan on going to see them again (and maybe again and again and again). I was talking to the male singer later, and he seemed super nice. Even if he didn't seem to really be wanting to talk to me. And even if the bassist (guitarist?) was sitting far away on a couch and kept being shocked that he was talking to the white girl. All like, "You're talking to her? What'd she say, what'd she say?!?" I felt very zoo-animal-esque.

After Scusi, Bunny the Party.



I love Bunny the Party, so I was super psyched to get to see them, and of course, they were awesome. Unfortunately, when I was first talking to the Scusi dude, I totally thought he was the Bunny the Party dude, and it took me a minute to figure out why he was looking at me like I was crazy. He had to explain. I was embarassed.

Then Hybrid Statice.



They were fun, but nothing overly special. I wasn't surprised to learn that they're a new band, and I think that once they get their sound figured out, they could end up being awesome (especially as I'm really digging the song in this video). This whole Nagoya seeming to have a newish music scene full of the kind of music I love is more than exciting!
The drummer pretty much begged me and Alexis to come to their next show, and I really do want to go. But unfortunately, it's July 17, and I've already got a ticket to see Special Thanks (YAY!!!! I don't even know how to contain my excitement about the fact that I'm going to get to see them!!!!), so no can do. :-(

Then came the ハイファイコーヒーズ (Hi-Fi Koohizu). Unfortunately, at this point, Alexis and I had begun to wonder why it was SO hot. Turns out the air conditioner had broken, and as their set progressed, it just got hotter and hotter and hotter.



The singer was hilarious, and it was SO obvious that she really did NOT want to be performing in that heat.
After the Hi-Fi Coffees was Skull Candy, our reason for going.



They were, as they had been at Sakae Spring, AMAZING! Seriously. This band knows how to rock, and I hope to get to see them lots more times before I leave Japan.　　Despite the broken air conditioner, I barely noticed the heat.

By the time they were over though, both Alexis and I were sweating maybe more than we had ever sweat in our entire lives. Our clothes and bodies were literally so drenched with sweat that it was as if we'd jumped into a sweat swimming pool. Delicious.

This made watching the last band, fly sleep fly, rather difficult.



I'd downloaded their album the week before and had been listening to and enjoying them, so I was psyched to get to see them.
We ended up having to sit outside for most of their set, because it was just too painful to be outside. 超ー暑かった！　　And what we did see ended up being impossible to enjoy because it was just, so, well, HOT!

So there we go. . .my second music fest in Japan, and aside from the broken air conditioner, I think it might have even been better than the first. Sheer awesomeness!

Next post, no music, I promise (maybe).