Yeap, really scraping the bottom of the novelty barrel here. Never lose your umbrella again with Japan’s latest novelty product, it makes you happy and it’s even ………. a little bit stylish. Not too stylish though. The woman in the 3rd picture looks disgusted with her new accessory don’t you think? Get yours now while stocks never run out.
“eye-ru-lawn-de?” is what I hear muttered near me moments before Adebisi Shank start their set. Quite a proud moment I have to say. One of Ireland’s best Irish bands (if not the best) are playing at 7pm sharp and I am surrounded by about 300 eager punters and even Satomi and Greg from Deerhoof came in to show their support. Adebisi are no strangers to the Japanese gig scene and this tour makes it their 4th Japanese tour to date (I think) – quite impressive if you ask me. Tonight’s line up consists of 5 bands, almost 6 hours long which made it more of a festival than a gig. Unfortunately, not playing to the full house that headliners tera melos got, Adebisi get the opening slot but for once I think this is a good thing. People are excited and the sound is crystal clear and not the muddy mess that can happen late into gigs. For me, headliners tera melos had a tough time dealing with a somewhat weary crowd.. 4 bands prior to their all important headline slot was probably not the best idea in the world especially when two of those bands are LITE and Adebisi Shank. The (almost) 6 hours of standing around doesn’t help much either. I got three HD videos (sound quality not the best) of Jump cut, new song Ohio and the brilliant latest release Oyasumi (although no trumpet section!).
Also, their Dublin shows in December are their last for a good while. Do yourself a huge favour and go! I recommend this one.
“What’s that noise?”, “Is that a guitar?”, “How do they do that?”, “Is that Karen O yelling in the background?”, “I wonder how they recorded this?”, “I love the Lips, why the hell am I talking to myself!?”… these are some of the questions I ask myself as I lie on my bed in the dark at 2am listening to the new Flamings Lips album on headphones before I go to sleep (maybe not the best time to listen to this as it will probably give most people nightmares)… I rarely analyze music so much but the Flaming Lips really intrigue me with their refreshing colourful approach to pretty much everything they do. I was quite excited about this release as I heard their new direction was somewhat surprising. They are still as energetic as ever on this but the mood is definitely a dark one. It makes me wonder if the happiest man on the planet is actually OK. The extended jams throughout Embryonic are just brilliant and I love getting completely lost amidst all the noise, the samples, the gritty psychedelic guitars and the strangeness that is coming into my head. A wonderful, refreshing album I think and a nice change from their overproduced-squeaky-clean-but-still-very-good recent releases. Top notch! Now fingers crossed for a Tokyo show.
Here are some other things I have been listening to (some old favorites and some new):
I completed my Kyudo beginners course last week through Japanese in Nakano/Tokyo (9 two hour lessons over a 3 week period). To say it was challenging would be a big understatement! Some would say it was a bit stupid me doing this through Japanese, but I think I made the right decision; Jumping right in the deep end and getting a real taster of Japanese Kyudo. Despite the huge language barriers, I managed to understand and learn the complicated routines, unusual postures, bowing techniques, awkward arm and hand tilts, not kill anyone and follow the stringent rules (although Seiza was one rule I physically could not follow and many of the Japanese seemed to struggle with. Prepare to hear cracking bones – ouch!). I was the only foreigner there out of the 18 people who signed up so the English banter wasn’t exactly flowing but I really enjoyed just taking it all in, listening to conversations around me, having some bad Japanese conversations with some of the students and people addressing me as………… Urin (registration error). The words eetie (painful), muzokashi (difficult), omoshiroi (interesting), scaretta (tired), wakarimasen (I don’t understand), daijup? (OK?) were my phrases of choice for the 9 lessons. I got some photos of the Kyudo hall, classes in progress and me receiving an agonizing Kai Raku Chinese massage from a nice blind man who attended all the lessons with his wife. It looks like he is assaulting me, but he is not, no really he’s not.
me, a 7 foot bamboo bow, a fan
ko-ri-n (ireland) - 3rd column.
Kyudo glove
a kinder egg for anyone who can understand this.. anyone?
my arrow hit the target..... kind of.
October 12th, sun, public holiday, dog with sunglasses with crazy man, rabbit on a leash, web cams, Erdinger, nice work folk, Yokohama banana beer (yum), smiles, bay, nice. Yokohama is a city 30 minutes from Tokyo.
Another visit to one of my favorite places in Tokyo but this time I decided to check out a cat cafe (neko cafe) that I have been eyeing up since my first visit back in May. I remember reading about these cafes in an Irish paper and I found the whole concept a bit ridiculous but very intriguing. They are set up for people who can’t afford to have cats in their miniature apartments. The setting is very relaxed which resembles a large sitting room with lots of cat toys and scratch points dotted around the room. Drinks are available, food can be ordered and everyone sinks into the comfy sofas with cats just lounging around them, mostly ignoring the clients that come in. A lot of the cats are fully grown, lazy and heavy sleepers. They had a menu card with all the cats faces, names, breed (my favourites were the wiener cat and the one that looks like Bungle from Rainbow below) and a description of their personalities on it. A box of toys was provided for clients to use freely and there was even a bookshelf of cat related books if you got bored of the cats. One hour costs 1300 yen (about 10 euro, free drink) for the basic package.
Food? ice cream? food? ice cream?.. This is exactly what’s going through my mind as I walk past this old traditional Japanese ice cream stall in the basement of nerd mecca Nakano Broadway. Ice cream won. It was entertaining to see people, young and old, getting really excited about ice cream and having that “did you just see that?!” look on their faces when they pass the monstrosity that they have on offer. A cone topped with 8 scoops of different flavoured ice creams. I tasted the blueberry, peach, strawberry which were all great. Sesame next time! I was lucky enough to see the monster ice cream for real as these school girls devoured it like vultures on a rotting carcase.
Flavours: Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry, Coffee, Peach, Green Tea, Blueberry, Sesame
How to get to Nakano Broadway: Get the Chuo line to Nakano. Take north exit and follow the crowds into the covered shopping area and the entrance to Nakano Broadway is at the very back.
Well, after years of hearing people rave on about how good it was I finally got to see it all for myself.
My thoughts?
Bangkok – This place is the loudest place I have ever been. It’s like Akihabra [Tokyo] but with added motorbike revs, incredibly high pitched whistling, black engine smoke pumped in your face, Thai people shouting at people and other noises that my head just could not register. Too be honest, it was all a little hard to take in. I thought there would be little culture shock going here from Tokyo but it definitely hit me. Tokyo is organised, clean, expensive and safe. Thailand is chaotic, cheap, has little security, no seat belts in cars and it’s filthy. I ended up getting a sore right ear here and I am guessing it was from all the noise and bustle. It’s not that dirty, just really really polluted. On the other hand, the temple we visited was really nice [the reclining Buddha] despite being pestered to buy water or asked numerous times did I want to take a tour. Bangkok is beautiful, polluted, loud and annoying. I’m not giving up on Bangkok yet though, I plan to go back soon.
Koh Samui/Koh Tao – Well, this was nice! Sandy beaches, great food and the peace and quiet I needed. Tokyo can get a little too in your face sometimes and it was great to get a small break from it. Don’t get me wrong here, I love Tokyo. There were many things I did not get to try on these islands like diving, hiking or even rent a motorbike so I expect to have all 3 on my next Thailand itinerary.
Here are some photos! More in my Picassa album here where I seem to be archiving most my adventures.
Some great busking in Nakano (near Koenji) and the first time I have ever tipped a busker in my life. Top notch jazz guitar tap dancing duo. Try not to smile while watching the first video.. I dare you! For you who missed my first dancing salary man post look here.
