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..

The Okay Idea live at the Ruby Room..

Friday night's Ruby show kicked off with The Okay Idea powering through their set of electro rock/pop gems. It was the debut performance for our buddy Russell and the set also included some new material, I'm definitely looking forward to seeing these guys some more as the Summer goes on..

The Amazing Kippon..

It's not unusual to go to the park and be entertained or amused, but to be completely blown away like I was last weekend is something of a rarity. Kippon plays Beatle songs on acoustic and electric guitars, and way he runs and jumps and gets the audience clapping along with him is nothing short of incredible. Oh yeah, did I mention he's only five years old!

If you are lucky enough to catch a Kippon performance, you would do well to make sure that you: sing the right words (he'll stop and correct you); don't speak while he's singing (he'll stop and tell you to listen); and try not to request something he's already played (he'll know you weren't listening, and let you know he knows)..

Unbelievable..

Shonen Knife live @ Super Deluxe..

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the sublime cuteness that is Shonen Knife opened for The Wedding Present last Saturday night. While I'd known about this band for many years I'd never actually seen them, so to have been able to get up this close and personal was pretty darn cool. While the set consisted mainly of super-safe punk-pop tunes, and the lyrics seemed to be all about sweets (or other eating related experiences, one song was about food poisoning) the girls played super-tight, and their harmonies were glorious..

The Wedding Present live @ Super Deluxe

Indi-rock icons The Wedding Present rocked the hell out of Super Deluxe last night, it was the final show for the Japan leg of their tour, and it was a real treat to see them in such an intimate setting. I must admit to not having listened to them much before yesterday, but it only took me half a song to become a convert. Shonen Knife opened, pictures of them to come..

Trains going by..

Shinjuku station on Saturday night, there's a long train a comin..









And the rock version..

The Shirts get a drummer!

After 18 months of playing as a three piece, using sequenced tracks and/or "borrowing" drummers for live shows, The Shirts are stoked about the new guy: Rob. Rob and I played way back before squadcar in a band called Bender, had quite a large repertoire of original rock and cover songs, and did regular shows at live houses around the place. We even did a demo at M7 in Koiwa which I finally heard last week after around 6 or 7 years. Saturday saw us rehearse for the third time with Rob at Ongakukan-bis in Shibuya, and as we quietly drained the Chivas bottle supplied by the fifth shirt Andy, Kazue was kind enough to take a few pictures, of the rock!

When the music's over..

I always thought that the best thing about Yoyogi park was the bands, dancers, artists and comedians that would line Koen Dori and the footpaths of Inokashira Dori on any given weekend, providing a plethora of free and interesting entertainment, but not any more.. Towards the end of last summer there were murmurings around the park scene of the police clamping down on street lives and raves, then we saw a couple of parties shut down by police, and then by about mid-November the signs went up. Basically the signs say "On the street, the playing of instruments, and the selling of goods or food is prohibited". The result has been the effective elimination of one of the most enjoyable aspects of hitting the park on the weekend, as well as taken away a fantastic place for young artists to develop their craft.







.. and the park scene in better days..

Open mic at the Ruby..

Every Tuesday night for as long as I can remember, the Ruby Room in Shibuya has held Tokyo's premier Open Mic night. When I started going it was still around the corner, at the old Sugar High building, and while it has gone through various mutations throughout the years, essentially it's still basically the same: a great place for both wanna-be and established artists to go and develop their craft in a smoke filled room full of drinking music lovers.

I don't hit it so much these days, but whenever I do I find it difficult to leave. Here's a selection of what was going on Tuesday night..

A cool little Quartet (that didn't play any WSQ):



Dan sitting in with some of the guys from Sunset Drive:





Pat, who had more pedals than I've seen anyone slinging since Magic Dirt at Meredith in '96:



And finally, Dan and me doing some songs, both of the old and new variety, just for the hell of it:









Thanks to Tosh from Sunset Drive for taking this last set of pics..