The Mississippi Cookout..

As the flyer said: Grilled meats and beats by the river. I'd actually never made it out to a party on the Tamagawa, the lure and convenience of Yoyogi always having had won over any temptation to head out there, but this time I was very glad I did. A small but dedicated group of party goers were well into their day by the time I arrived, and despite a couple of visits by the boys in (dark) blue, the party went on until mid-evening. Will definitely be hitting the next one..

Hells Bar..

Last weekend Sangenjaya's Hells Bar bar had one of the best parties I've been to in a long time. It was the official launch party of new event Cafe Kitsch, as well as the birthday celebration of Tokyo's very own resident Spyderman, and despite them not being able to turn up their bass bins (a residential thing), and the star dj not showing up (a night before thing), this little place kicked and sparkled in fine style.

The bar staff were going as hard as anyone there, and that's saying something..







The unisex toilet certainly gave credibility to the kitsch factor, with that big old vinyl sofa and an old school beatbox playing Bob Marley on entry..





Elmo was an early casualty..







And here's Jonny!



Finally, for those in need of a little bedtime story, a promo vid that Jonny put together..

Dachambo..

Their myspace intro comment says "Don't think it, feel it", and that pretty much sums them up..

Dachambo had a whole herd of people dancing and blissing away on the edge of the park post-hanami last Sunday night, and were completely blowing everyone away. Their amazingly super tight twin drummer set up, combined with a pulsating bass and swirling psychedelic tinged guitar lines, somewhat reminicent of Phish, or maybe even a dancey version of the Grateful Dead, provided the perfect soundtrack to the end of what was easily the best hanami weekend I've had the pleasure of enjoying in a long time. These guys are touring about quite a bit in the coming months and would definitely be worth catching if you have the chance..

Yoyogi Hanami 2009: Redux..

I have to admit to being just about over hanami this year, but what turned out to be a long wait for the fluffy little flowers, certainly exploded into fruition last weekend around Tokyo. There are always loads of people enjoying sunny days at Yoyogi, but this little celebration was something else..

The trees were finally in full bloom and practically every area within a frisbee throw of the white petals was both groundsheet covered and occupied..









It's well known that hardcore hanami enthusiasts arrive very early in the day (or even the night before) to secure their prime position, all this preparation can make one pretty tired as the day rolls on..





Nothing like a suit and tie (and theramin) to top off the hanami experience..







Milk Suzuki from the Tokyo Milk Babies was ready to rock..





And good old Spiderman was on hand to save the day..





Until next year..

Post hanami: Parklife vol. 7

The Parklife party took a little while to get going, but once it did, driving beats provided an apt soundtrack to the post-hanami daze that it had all become..

Hanami 2009: Yoyogi Park..

Yoyogi is always one of my favorite places to hit for hanami, and this year's (first) Saturday session was just as fun as ever. While many were killing time waiting for the Parklife party to get going, the bulk of the people that filled the more flowery parts of the park enjoyed their afternoon drinking to excess and letting it all hang out..