Family, Friends, and Grand Hallway at the CMJ Music Marathon

NEW YORK, October 22 – Based on another recommendation, I went to check out the Seattle-based Grand Hallway at the CMJ Music Marathon. They’re a sizable band with quite a few players including violinists, woodwinds, piano, and others. Playing at the small Rockwood Music Hall, the band squeezed themselves into the corner stage.

Jane Lui Double Taps New York

NEW YORK, October 22 – Based on a recommendation, I went to see Jane Lui’s performance at the Rockwood Music Hall. Lui, a recent internet phenom, has been known as one of the more notable independent musical acts in the San Francisco scene. Unlike past generations of musicians, her career was born out of the internet and takes full advantage of powerful marketing tools like youtube and social media networks. Through a spirited digital DIY campaign, she has carefully garnered a pretty loyal following making her internet famous.

Farewell to Giant Robot New York with Goh Nakamura

Right to Left: Goh Nakamura and Gary Wang
New York, September 12 – Devoted Giant Robot fans braved the harsh rain to attend a farewell event at the Giant Robot New York store. The store is scheduled to close on September 23. The farewell event began with a signing by David Choe and ended with a set by Goh Nakamura.

I rushed over to the East Village to attend the double headliner event. The delayed subway trains and the heavy rain slowed my progress. So, I arrived pretty late. I walked into the small store front and encountered Goh’s acoustic guitar. Neither Dave nor Goh were present. I overheard people saying that they went to some barbecue joint down the block. I probably just missed them and decided to hang out.

You Can’t Stop the Paperdoll

Right to Left: Steve Paelet, Chip Thomas, and Teresa Lee Chaisiri
New York, July 17 – After recently winning the Grand Prize at Kollaboration New York, the Paperdoll band played at the Crash Mansion.

According to their website, the band was planning an extensive tour of Shanghai (which has just concluded). They were scheduled to play one last performance before going to China. I heard about it at the very last minute and hastily rushed over to the venue. I wanted to see them before they embark on their overseas journey.

Meeks! Meiko at the Living Room

New York, August 29 – On a steamy warm summer night, Meiko took the stage at the Living Room. The Los Angeles based indie rockstar was a rare sight in the Big Apple, but she managed to pack the audience with fans.

Armed only with an acoustic guitar, she entertained the New York crowd with a combination of melodic songs and funny side stories. Between each song, Meiko would talk to the audience and sometimes carry on fully conversations. Filled with sass, she entertained the crowd with personal stories about love, her music career, and money. Meiko spoke as much as she sang. It kind of reminded me of the VH1 Storytellers show.

The Alfa Garcia Experience

(Right to Left) Jon McElroy, Zach Jones, and Alfa
New York, August 18 – I’ve seen Alfa Garcia perform at several venues in New York City, and they were all solo efforts. However, her performance at the Living Room included a three piece band. Band? This was an interesting turn of events. I’ve never heard the entire band perform live before tonight.

What’s the name of the band? The name on the venue’s bill was “Alfa Garcia”. So, is the band named “Alfa Garcia” too? “The Alfa Garcia Band” sounds too plain. I was just brainstorming names for her band, and I came up with a few suggestions.

The Laughin Nose at The Loft [2009 Back Post]

This post is the last “back post” from 2009. It basically encapsulates my impressions of the Japanese punk scene from my December 2009 Tokyo trip.

Laughin Noses at the Loft

TOKYO, December 27 — Before arriving in Tokyo, I heard a lot about the punk scene and the venue circuit called “Live Houses”. Live Houses are a group of venues that specifically cater to rock acts. For many punk and hardcore rockers, it’s probably the only suitable place to turn up the amps and shred some guitars.

Prior to this trip to Tokyo, I’ve never been to a Japanese Live House, so I had to visit one. After some online research, I discovered a place called the Loft. Located in the western side of the Shinjuku district, the Loft is supposedly the oldest and most well established venue for rock and punk music.

An Osaka punk band called the Laughin Noses was schedule to play. I knew very little about them but decided to go anyway.

I took the Chūō-Sōbu train (中央・総武緩行線) to Ōkubo Station (大久保駅) and walked to the Shinjuku district. It took some looking around to find the venue, and I got lost a couple of times. I finally found the building and a sign with the Lofts’ logo (see picture above). There was a “B2” above the sign which means it’s located in the subbasement (floor underneath the basement). This place is literally underground.

I paid my admission and walked into the subterranean venue. The Loft was grimy enough to remind me of some older New York venues.


The Tokyo punk scene was a trip. They were all dressed like 70s punk rockers. I felt like I step out of a time machine, and my natsukashii (懐かしい) was in full effect. I guess the 80s post-punk period and 90s grunge era skipped Japan entirely.

When I took a closer look at their 70s punk gear, the Japanese audience had pristine shiny leather clothing. They wore the nicest punk outfits that I’ve ever seen. At New York punk shows, I’m used to seeing people wear second hand clothes from the Salvation Army. This was a completely different mindset. I guess it’s kinda like cosplay where the fans have to “dress the part.” I also saw a lot of familiar black t-shirts featuring the Ramones, CBGBs, and New York City (à la John Lennon).

According to their Wikipedia entry, the Laughin Noses have been around the Japanese punk scene for near 30 years starting in 1981. Tonight their age didn’t seem to slow them down. They were completely metal on stage and thoroughly rocked the Tokyo crowd. Belley (山崎 健) did some serious guitar work, and Charmy’s (小山 祐) vocals were pretty awesome. His vocal stylings had hints of Johnny Rotten and Joey Ramone.

At several points in the performance, the audience got so rowdy that punches and kicks were flying in every direction. Even the lead vocalist got kicked in the face a few times from overly aggressive body surfers. He continued his performance despite receiving a few blows from the audience.

The Laughin Noses played an excellent punk show.

Related Links:

• Laughin'Nose on MySpace Music
  
• Japan Live: Japan Live TOKYO LIVE HOUSE GUIDE
  

Alfa at Best Buy: Hurry While Supplies Last!

NEW YORK, February 11 – I’ve seen plenty of indie music acts in bizarre locations. Some of the more notable ones were a shopping plaza in Kowloon, the tiny back room in a New York City bar, and the subbasement of a parking deck in Shinjuku. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen a concert at Best Buy (60 West 23rd Street). So, when I read that Alfa Garcia was going to perform there I was a bit curious.

I decided to go to the Best Buy to check out the performance. As I walked past the large display windows, I found Alfa in the store front. She was standing on a small elevated platform that looked strangely like a pedestal. I immediately thought she looked like a product on display. Alfa’s gone commercial! She’s sold out! (Just kidding…)

Alfa performed eight songs including “Supergirl”, “Second Skin”, and “Don’t Write Your Goodbyes”.

Regarding the venue, Best Buy didn’t seem like the best place for a musical performance. The high drop ceilings and the warehouse nature of the space didn’t seem to provide good acoustics. The noisy shoppers also didn’t help matters, but Alfa still played brilliantly.


Overall, the event had an interesting schizophrenic atmosphere between Alfa’s singing and the customers haggling over the price of HD television sets.

Related Links:

• Alfa: Second Skin « Born In Chinese (Album Review)
• Alfa's MySpace Page
• Alfa's Facebook Fan Page
• Alfa's Twitter

Raw Chinese Punk at the Ding Dong

P.K. 14
NEW YORK, November 20 – Three Chinese bands traveled almost 7000 miles from Beijing to rock the Ding Dong Lounge on the Upper West Side. The venue was tiny sliver of a New York store front, and the stage was just a six foot wide alcove in the back. It looked like a basement with exposed brick walls and the haphazardly improvised wires and sound cables. The place was ideal for a raw punk show.

The night opened with Xiao He. He performed a one man experimental techno fusion show complete with electronic beats, commercial samples, and chanting. It was a bizarre cacophony of sounds from his laptop. The music rode a wave of orgasmic peaks and valleys. It was completely trippy.


Carsick Cars
Carsick Cars followed with a post punk set. The band managed to produce an awesome sound with dueling melodies between the guitar and bass. It was eerily reminiscent of Joy Division or early New Order. Scott Schultz, writer for the L.A. Record, said that the sound reminded him of Peter Hook’s bass work. They completely rocked the tiny bar.

The band had a huge pedal set-up for guitar and vocal effects. The venue was not set-up to handle the incredible amount of equipment with the sound cables passing thru so many devices. In one of the songs, an effects pedal completely cut off the microphone, and the band basically played the rest of the song as an instrumental rendition.


P.K. 14
The headliner of the night was P.K. 14, an older Beijing punk group. They have been pioneers in the Chinese music scene with the promotion of a harder punk influence. Their sound was more straight punk with driving beats and simple melody. Yang Haisong’s vocal range and timbre are very similar to Ian McCulloch of the Echo and the Bunnymen. Some of their more radio friendly songs reminded me of the Talking Heads. They had a strange quirkiness. However, their straight forward hard punk tunes were the biggest hits with the small local punk crowd.

It was one of the most thrilling nights of raw punk music in the city. P.K. 14 and Carsick Cars completely rock the Ding Dong Lounge with a sound reminiscent of the late 70s post-punk sound.

Related Links:

• P.K. 14 - Asia's Best Bands - TIME
• Carsick Cars, PK-14 & Xiao He are coming from China - 2009 Tour Dates (6 NYC shows) - BrooklynVegan
• Carsick Cars on MySpace Music
• Weekly Popcast: Wale, P.K. 14 and Carsick Cars - ArtsBeat Blog - NYTimes.com
• Live: PK-14, Xiao He, and Carsick Cars Bring Chinese Experimental Rock to Brooklyn - New York Music - Sound of the City
• Carsick Cars and P.K.14 at powerHouse Arena, Glasslands and Santos Party House - Concert previews
  - Time Out New York
• Carsick Cars (carsickcars) on Twitter
• Holy Warhol Maos! China's Carsick Cars Cover the Velvets' "Sunday Morning" - Los Angeles Music - West Coast Sound

The 6th Annual READ Philippines: Kill All Robots!

Warhol Soup
NEW YORK, November 5 – I originally walked into the Nightingale Lounge expecting to see Alfa with an acoustic guitar singing her tunes. Instead I unexpectedly entered a Filipino literary benefit called The 6th Annual READ Philippines. It’s an organization promoting Filipino writers in schools, libraries, and other public venues.

The event featured performances by: John-Flor Sisante, M. Josephine, Bonnibel Fonbuena, Warhol Soup, and Alfa Garcia.

Sisante started off the night with some acoustic ukulele songs. What is the whole Filipino ukulele connection? I know three Filipino acts that use the ukulele. Maybe it’s a Pacific Islander thing. Sisante did an interesting political tune called, “Lovesong of a Palin Presidency”. He started stomping and motivated the crowd to clap.

He was followed by M. Josephine, an R&B vocalist from Jersey City. She performed a few songs over a pre-recorded music track. Her husband joined her for a Hip-Hop/R&B duet.

An interesting addition to the line-up was Fonbuena, a Texas Filipino spoken word artist. She was off the wall fun. She did really interesting pieces about life, her nephew, and robots. Fonbuena proclaimed, “kill all robots!” She also did a humorous piece about her feelings of pride over Manny Pacquiao’s boxing career. I thought she was going to call him the real, “Thrilla in Manilla”. She didn’t. Fonbuena was so hippy and chill. I absolutely loved her stuff.

Warhol Soup, a New Jersey Filipino funk band, took the stage with some very funky songs. They even managed to do a cover of Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror”. I also enjoyed the funky madness of “Adobe Funk” and “Felicia”.


Alfa
The night ended with Alfa as the headliner. She stated that the headliner role was a surprise and the pressure was on. She performed amazingly as the evening’s closer. The highlights of her performance were “Love as Tragedy” and “Second Skin”. I think that she is one of the most exciting young voices in the New York indie music scene today.

Overall, the benefit was an interesting accident. I enjoyed all the performances by the local Filipino music community.

Related Links:

• Alfa: Second Skin « Born In Chinese (Album Review)
• Alfa's MySpace Page
• Alfa's Facebook Fan Page
• Alfa's Twitter
• John-Flor Sisante's Twitter
• Warhol Soup's Twitter
• Warhol Soup's Facebook Fan Page
• Warhol Soup's YouTube Account

Happyfunsmile Afro Halloween Party

NEW YORK, October 30 – On the eve of Halloween, Happyfunsmile rocked the tight confines of the Forbidden City Bar and Lounge with an eclectic mix of Rock, Pop, Jazz, and traditional Okinawan music. The patrons were packed from wall to wall in the tiny bar, and they rocked out to joyous songs like the “Omatsuri Mambo”.

The band and quite a few patrons were cosplaying for Halloween. There were a lot of neko kitty ears and colorful hair pieces.

In the second set, the singers donned huge afro wigs of varying colors. Akiko Hiroshima had a bright electric pink afro wig that looked like a huge ball of cotton candy. It looked almost good enough to eat. Brian Nishii and Josh Rutner sported more traditional black afros. As they danced, the large fluffy wigs bounced around like a cheerleader’s pom poms. It was very festive.


Kossan rocking hard
The band also played a surprise cover of Yoko Kanno’s “Tank!” (Theme song to Cowboy Bebop) which really got the bar rocking.

Related Links:

• Happyfunsmile (Myspace)

Alfa, a Supergirl Rockstar

NEW YORK, August 4 – Alfa Garcia joined other singer/songwriters at the Bitter End (147 Bleecker Street) for a mellow evening of unplugged tunes. The event was called the Songwriter's Circle, and its purpose is the promotion of local indie musicians in the vein of James Taylor and Norah Jones. The format of the event was basically a round-robin. Each performer played a song and passed the spot light to the next performer. Alfa managed to perform three songs including “Supergirl" and "Isabelle".

The striped down nature of the event played to Alfa's strengths as a performer and a songwriter. Despite some of her modest comments about her own music, Alfa masterfully performed everything from a sweet candy pop tune to a rustic familial love song. Her engaging musical stylings revealed an honest emotional vulnerability which was very refreshing. In addition, Alfa's vocals are amazingly understated. They gently demand your attention and proceed to slowly envelop your senses. She was pretty awesome.

Alfa recently released her debut independent LP, "Second Skin". It is now available on iTunes and Amazon.

Check alfa-music.com for more information and performance dates. She is playing several dates in New York and a single date at the Kollaboration's Acoustic 3 Concert in Los Angeles.

Related Links:

• Alfa: Second Skin « Born In Chinese (Album Review)
• Alfa's MySpace Page
• Alfa's Facebook Fan Page
• Alfa's Twitter

Obon Festival in Bryant Park

Akiko Hiroshima sings for the Matsuri Dancers
NEW YORK, July 12 – The New York Buddhist Church held their 60th Annual Obon Odori in Bryant Park. The Obon Festival is a unique Japanese take on the Ghost Festival, which is celebrated throughout Asia.

This year's Bryant Park celebration was colorful and lively with performances by the Soh Daiko Drum Corp and Happyfunsmile. The event created a festive family oriented atmosphere with food, street odori dancing, and matsuri dancing.

I especially enjoyed the performance by Happyfunsmile. They displayed their amazing skills at getting the audience to dance. Their special brand of Okinawan pop and folk brought scores of people to the dance floor.

Happyfunsmile is playing a few Obon festivals in Los Angeles (July 25-26), and everyone should check them out. See the Happyfunsmile website for dates and times.


Related Links:

• Happyfunsmile (Myspace)
• Soh Daiko (Myspace)
• Soh Daiko Taiko Drum Corp, Last Number, NYC Obon Fest 2009, Bryant Park, Sun. July 12th (Youtube)
• New York Buddhist Church's 60th Annual Obon Dance Festival (flickr)
  

P.I.C Sounds Sweet at the Bitter End

NEW YORK, June 27 — It was busy night in the West Village. The weather was nice, and everyone was outside. They were roaming the streets looking for an excuse to party. A small group of New Yorkers found a legendary bar and stage called the Bitter End (147 Bleecker Street).

At approximately 10:30 PM, P.I.C occupied the bar's tiny stage with a sizable seven piece band. They proceeded unleash their own unique blend of ska, funk, and hip hop. A sweet infectious sound filled the room, and it was jumping. They played a strange sonic concoction that was carefully designed to bob heads and move hips. Before the night was over, they had the back of the bar on their feet.

Some of the highlights included songs like “PB&J”, “Timonium”, and “Old Sole”.

At the end of their forty-five minute set, they closed strong with one of their best tunes, “Fonzarelli (Arthur’s Theme)”.

Related Links:

• P.I.C's Official Website
• P.I.C (Myspace)
• Riding Mower Records
  

Modern Ukulele Alt Pop: The Jack Lords Join Forces With The New York City Ukulele Meetup

The Jack Lords at Waikiki Wallys
NEW YORK, June 13 — The Jack Lords played the back room of Waikiki Wallys (99 East Second Street), a Hawaiian Tiki joint. It was a tight and crowded little venue, but the Jack Lords still manage to rock some big tunes.

The Jack Lords perform an unusual mix of hawaiian folk, pop, and alternative rock. Riley, the band's drummer, and I tried to encapsulate their sound in one phrase. After many failed attempts, we settled on "modern ukulele alt pop".

They sang all of their great songs like "Molokai", "Rayd", and "Mr Malaise". In addition, Christine, one of the band's vocalist, rocked a tune of her own. Her vocals sounded great.

The Jack Lords also performed a tradition Hawaiian hula song. This prompted the Waikiki Wally's waitresses to stop their service and perform a tradition hula dance for the audience. The waitresses were also joined by Carol, a good friend of the band. It was a pretty awesome impromptu dance performance.


The Jack Lords share the stage with The NYC Ukulele Meetup
After a few songs, the Jack Lords brought The New York City Ukulele Meetup Group onto the stage. They played a couple of songs together including an amazing rendition of "To The Stars".

The night was filled with fun "modern ukulele alt pop" music.

Related Links:

• The Official Jack Lords Website
• MySpace: The Jack Lords
• The New York City Ukulele Meetup Group
• Waikiki Wallys
• Riding Mower Records

Up Late with Budo Grape

Quminco Grape and Nagai Grape
NEW YORK, June 5 — I had a late meeting at work, which ended at 8:45 PM. As soon as I got out of the meeting, the only thing on my mind was the Budo Grape performance.

Budo Grape is a Japanese electro-pop band from Nagoya. They are best known for their sugary electronic dance beats and the hi-octave vocals provided by Quminco Grape. They were performing to support Juice!, their greatest hits album.

Budo Grape was playing at the Knitting Factory (74 Leonard Street), and doors opened at 6:30 PM. They were on a bill with several other bands, and I figured that they were going to play closer to the end of the night. I had a slim chance of catching their performance.

I rushed down to the Downtown Express 1 train with Yan, a coworker. We got off at the Chambers Street Station. After a few blocks of walking, we made it to the Knitting Factory. I asked the door man if Budo Grape finished their performance. He told me that they just started playing. My gamble paid off...


Left to Right: Matsui Grape, Midori Grape, and Quminco Grape
They were only into their second song as I entered the small room. There were about twenty people in the audience, but the crowd was filled with die hard fans.

Budo Grape played a lot of their poppy hits with vigor. They are a fun band to watch live. The band exuded a fun and wacky sense of humor. The whole place had a positive fun vibe.

Quminco, the lead vocalist, was very entertaining. She had a very distinctive high pitched voice. It was even more distinctive live. She was also jumping around the stage like a crazy racquetball. Her bouncing was incredibly infectious. After a few songs, I was even hopping along with Quminco.

Midori, the band's self-proclaimed Mushroom alien, wrestles some great synth-pop sounds from her keyboards. Budo Grape's song are straight pop, but Midori's synthesizers added a wacky fun texture to the entire sound. Her playing creates a kinda of vocal harmony with Quminco's high pitched voice.

The rhythm section, Matsui Grape and Taichi Grape, were very good. In some songs, they even got a little funky. They were very cool.

However, the hardest rocker was Nagai Grape. The man can wield an axe. He tore through the entire set with sheer force. He was definitely the power behind their live show.

The highlights for me were: "Rescue Rescue" and "Penki Nuritate".


Budo Grape, Yan, and me
After their short set, the band spent some time with fans. They were willing to autograph anything including arms and legs. I'm not a big fan of autographs, so we just hung out with the band. They were awesome.

Related Links:

• MySpace: Budo Grape
• JapanFiles.com
• Knitting Factory
• Japanator: A-Kon '08: Budo Grape interview and concert photos by Dale North

Japan Day 2008: A Celebration of All Things Japanese

Main Stage, Central Park
NEW YORK, June 1 — On a beautiful spring day, the Japanese community of New York ran an amazing Japan Day Festival in Central Park. The festival was an all day event with tons of cool activities.

The festival began with a four mile race at 8 o’clock in the morning. I did not participate in the run. Now, I like running. On a normal day, I would have run the four mile race, but it was Sunday morning. Don’t get me wrong… I’m not religious, but Sunday mornings are sacred to me. I cherish my quiet Sunday mornings with late wake-ups and slow brunches.

At about noon, I lazily made my way to Central Park. I missed a lot of the morning programming, so I made a quick tour around the perimeter. The festival consisted of a main entertainment stage and activity booths encircling the audience area.


Go and Shogi Booth
The first booth was the Go and Shogi booth. There was a decent line of people waiting to play. I was amazed that there were a number of kids waiting to play traditional board games. I figured most kids were surgically attached to their Nintendo DS. It was cool to see young kids playing against older and more experienced players. Maybe, the popularity of Hikaru no Go (ヒカルの碁), manga and anime, has inspired younger people to play tradition board games again. I watched a few games before moving to the next booth.


Robot Battle Booth
The next booth was the Robot Battle booth. In this tent, they setup tables and small remote control robots (about 6 inches in height). The line was almost exclusively kids, and they absolutely loved it. Some of the robots were insect-like. They look very similar to mech designs by Masamune Shirow (士郎 正宗). One spider robot looked very similar to a Tachikoma (タチコマ). The line for the Robot Battle booth was pretty big.

After the Robot Battle booth, they placed a small tent with Actroid, a life sized (1:1 for you Gunpla builders) android. The robot was dressed in a kimono. It was supposed to be a very life-like human robot. Noah, host of the Ninja Consultants podcast, didn’t think it was really life-like. It was very similar to animatronic puppets found at major theme parks. Some people said that the innovation was the voice recognition and response system of the robot. The crowd of adult male geeks made it difficult to get close to the robot. I couldn’t get a good picture of it.

I continued to the last two activities booths.


Kimono Booth
The most popular booth was the Kimono Fitting booth. Women were measured and dressed in traditional kimono dresses. The line was monstrous. A festival staffer had to close the line. He held a simple cardboard sign that read "Line Closed". I guess the attraction is getting a photo in the full kimono. The kimonos were absolutely beautiful.


Hello Kitty Booth of Doom
The last booth was the most frightening sight ever. THE HELLO KITTY PHOTO BOOTH. The horror of Sanrio has a traveling road show. This line was also pretty big. It was pretty scary to see someone professionally cosplaying as Hello Kitty (ハローキティ). I will only refer to it as the Hello Kitty Booth of Doom. "CHIIZU" (チーズ)!

The main stage had some amazing acts scheduled. There were many cool acts such as Gaijin A Go-Go, Happyfunsmile, and HALCALI.


Happyfunsmile
The highlight for me was the Happyfunsmile set. Their shows are always filled with fun positive energy. They never fail to get a crowd excited and dancing. Their eclectic mixture of traditional Okinawan and modern pop music is infectious. Rodrigo Morimoto, a vocalist for Happyfunsmile, was noticeably absent from the line-up. However, the remaining vocalist (Brian Nishii, Akiko Hiroshima, and Kaori Ibuki) still managed to put on an amazing show.


Kaori Ibuki leading a dancing line
They were followed by HALCALI (ハルカリ), a Japanese pop/hip-hop duo. HALCALI is best known for their unusual mix of old school hip-hop and pop styling. I know them from their freaky music videos such as: "Strawberry Chips" (ストロベリーチップス), "Twinkle Star", and "Baby Blue". Most of their American anime fans know them for "Tip Taps Tip", a catchy pop song on the Eureka Seven (交響詩篇エウレカセブン) Original Soundtrack (OST). Most of the anime fans were waiting for their performance. They seemed a little nervous at first, but really hit their groove with “Tip Taps Tip”.

During the HALCALI performance, I ran into Erin and Noah, the Ninja Consultants. They were chillin’ with the some folks on the grass. It was the first time I got a close look at Erin’s famous bronze Byzantine engagement ring. It was very cool. Erin also introduced me to Carl, the creator of the Ogiue Maniax blog. He was a completely cool cat. We hung out for a little while before getting stuffed into the Downtown 6 train.


HALCALI
I also ran into some Metro-Anime folks such as Willow, Dan, and Charles. It was good to see them again.

Japan Day was a pretty cool and laid back afternoon in Central Park. It was good to see the Japanese community showcase their amazing culture in the heart of New York City.

Related Links:

• Japan Day
• Sanrio
• Gaijin A Go-Go
• Happyfunsmile
• HALCALI
• Kokoro Company's Actroid Website (English)
• Central Park - New York City

Japan Nite 2008: A Nipponese Sonic Explosion

SCANDAL
NEW YORK, March 16 — The Knitting Factory (74 Leonard Street) was ground zero for the Japanese music atom bomb called Japan Nite. Japan Nite, a one-night Japanese rock festival, unleashed four hours of hard Japanese rock on a New York City crowd.

Performers included: SCANDAL, The Emeralds, Petty Booka, Ketchup Mania, Detroit7, and THE BEACHES.

The night started with the candy rock sound of the all girl band, SCANDAL. SCANDAL wore Japanese school girl uniforms as they got the rocked the small stage. They got the audience excited and literal hopping in waves. They sang pop candy hits like "Space Ranger" and "Playboy". It was a great start to the Japan Nite Festival.

The next act was completely metal. The Emeralds took the stage with rock attitude. The Emeralds are a stripped down three man punk explosion. They were completely filled with raw energy and a loud sound. They took the audience to another level of rock nirvana. The audience was completely lost in the aggressive rawness of songs like "Talk about Love". Akio’s drumming was awesome. Osuke was entertaining, and Kazuya was metal. They were definitely one of the best acts on the Japan Nite ticket.


Petty Booka
The third act was a little unusual. After a high spirited punk rock session, two incredibly cute Japanese girls walked on to the stage with ukuleles. They were Petty Booka. They wore matching western styled dresses and cowboy hats.

The audience looked a little puzzled. The girls began to sing country and bluegrass tunes while playing ukulele. The audience was stunned. They didn’t know how to react to two Japanese girls singing classic country and blue grass songs. Judging from the colorful Mohawk haircuts in the audience, they were probably not expecting a Japanese country act. Some people went to the bar in the back of the Knitting Factory. A couple of audience members tried to imitate a country ho-down with little success. I thought Petty Booka was a very cute and very cool musical act even though they seemed a little out of place.

Ketchup Mania, a veteran Japanese ska-punk band, was the next act to take the stage. Ketchup Mania rocked hard, and the rockers rejoined the audience. Their music is a mix of ska-punk attitude and pop sensibility. It was clearly evident that they had a strong New York fan base. I noticed audience members singing along with their signature hits like "Real Yaayo". Hiro’s vocals were amazing.


Ketchup Mania
During Ketchup Mania’s set, a mosh pit began to form, and it took up the entire floor. I’m usually a big support of kicking ass in a mosh, but it was ridiculously stupid. The Knitting Factory is a small place. The audience floor is tiny, and the mosh pushed all the non-mosh audience members against the walls. In a larger rock-only venue, mosh pit rules the floor and let the weak at heart beware. However, Japan Nite was an eclectic musical event with a mixed audience of punks, rockers, pop fans, and weeaboos. There was no place for moshing.

After Ketch Mania’s amazing set, they were followed by Detroit7. Detroit7, another veteran Japanese punk band, tore through the place with no-frills punk music. Their music is simple garage punk at its finest. The shoeless Tomomi Nabana was intense in her vocals and guitar work. The band was electrified, and the audience responded with their own energy. They definitely rocked the venue with a killer set. Detroit7 preformed hits like "Beautiful Song" and "Shot My Right Temple". They were definitely one of the major highlights of the Japan Nite line-up.


Detroit7
THE BEACHES closed the night with their unique reggae sound. They provide the hard rocking Japan Nite with a soft landing. They jammed until midnight, and the audience was exhausted.

Overall, Japan Nite was an awesome mix of Japanese rock, pop, punk, ska, and country. Japanese music rarely gets any exposure in an American music market that is saturated with Anglo-American acts. It was an awesome night of live music.

Related Links:

• The Knitting Factory
  
• Japan Nite 2008

Happyfunsmile Unplugged

NEW YORK, February 19 — On an extremely windy night, I went searching for the Aruba Bar Lounge (100 Park Avenue) in order to attend a Happyfunsmile performance. The bar was a hidden side room in the Peking Park Restaurant.


Aruba Bar Lounge had a strange atmosphere. The place was much smaller than the Forbidden City Bar and Lounge, Happyfunsmile’s home bar. It was also very darkly lit except for the stage area. The stage lights consisted of a strange mix of candy red and yellow-orange hues. The stage light gave the whole room a reddish glow.

Aruba Bar Lounge was a tiny room with a huge horseshoe shaped bar in the center. It was strangely cramped. The bar occupied most of the room, and the seating area was thin strip between the bar and the wall. This made it difficult to walk around the bar. The customers were literally up against the walls. The bartenders had a huge work space.

I quickly found a seat at the bar and ordered a few drinks. I started looking for the band. I couldn’t find any colorful wigs or Japanese Happi coats, which have become distinct parts of a Happyfunsmile performance. After a few minutes, I took a closer look around the bar and began to recognize Brian Nishii, Rodrigo Morimoto, Akiko Hiroshima, and Kaori Ibuki. They were dressed in their normal casual street attire. I barely recognized any of the band members without their bright outfits and neon colored wigs. Happyfunsmile decided to perform a stripped down show.

The stage area was extremely small. Only a handful of band members could fit in the stage area at one time. The rest of the band hung out at the bar. The musicians had to rotate every couple of songs throughout the night. Happyfunsmile performed some amazing acoustic versions of their songs.


At one point, Brian and Rodrigo took the stage to sing a duet. Brian tried his impression of Michael Jackson a la "Smooth Criminal", while Rodrigo went into his suave crooner mode. They sang a few tunes together. During the set, Akiko and Kaori sat behind me at the bar, and they began to sing background vocals. At first, I was a little surprised at the voices coming from behind my barstool. The main band played in front of the bar, and Akiko and Kaori sang behind my chair. It created a weird surround sound effect around my seat.

The whole night was very strange. The oversized bar, the tiny room, the strange lighting, the stripped down performance, and the surround sound effects combined to create a surreal experience. The whole scene was straight out of a David Lynch film.

Related Links:

• Happyfunsmile - Official Website
  
• Happyfunsmile - Myspace
  
• Aruba Bar Lounge

The Jack Lords in Winter

The Jack Lords at Kenny's Castaways

NEW YORK, January 25 — It was a chilly night in New York City. All the New York pedestrians were dressed in long winter coats and sweaters. I crawled into a small bar with a chill in my system. I needed some hard liquor and good rock music in order to defrost my bones. Kenny's Castaways provided the Jack Daniels, and The Jack Lords delivered the rock music with extreme prejudice.

The Jack Lords played an amazing 45 minute set at Kenny's Castaways. Their unique blend of alternative rock and Hawaiian pop music filled the small bar and lounge.

This performance showcased a stripped down version of The Jack Lords. It was just six members; their full line-up usually consists of ten band members. However, the lack of numbers did not affect their bombastic sound. They still rock the stage with aggression. Micah and Sarah sounded particularly good during this performance.

Their fans also put in a good showing. The bar was filled. Seats were hard to find. J-Bomb and other members of P.I.C were also present to support their label mates.

The Jack Lords' set included "Rayd" and "High Winds" (my personal favorite).

Related Links:

• The Jack Lords Official Website
  
• The Jack Lords Official MySpace Page
  
• Riding Mower Records