Balloon Shapes By Cops » Osaka

Muse Live in Osaka 9th Jan 2010

Silentjim — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 03:12:39 +0000

Just last Saturday we went to see Muse live at Osaka Castle Hall (that’s not actually the hall in the castle, which would have been v. cool, but the concert hall about half a mile away in the surrounding park).

I remember buying the first Muse album when it came out years ago and liking it a lot, but then kinda lost interest in them. So the week before the gig we bought that album again and their new one The Resistance. Figured I should catch up.

To be honest, didn’t get the new album at first, it seemed to much of an homage/pastiche of T-Rex, Marilyn Manson, Pink Floyd’s The Wall and Queen.

However that all changed during the gig!

Muse Live in Osaka 2010

However they nearly blew it.
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Read the rest of Muse Live in Osaka 9th Jan 2010 (306 words)

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Post tags: Gig, Live Music in Japan, Muse, Osaka Castle, The Resistance

USJ and ET

Silentjim — Mon, 11 May 2009 04:03:52 +0000

We were shocked to discover that Universal Studios Japan were closing down the ET ride in May after 20 or so years!
Guess he was finally going home (ahem)

Well we had to check it out one more time – mainly for the bit near the end when he says your name (you have to tell it to an assistant at the beginning of the ride, who stores it in some barcodey card thing).

I wanted him to say “Terry Swails” – a character from A Bit of Fry and Laurie – although I’ve just found out he also does weather on the internet at TerrySwails.com.
Neat.

Anyway, back to USJ…so I said “Terry Swails” to the Japanese girl at the counter, but the poor girl had no idea what I was saying so we ended up with “Te—reee”.

Which was nice to hear EeeeeTeeee say.

The weather wasn’t too good so the park was fairly empty, just 15minutes queue time for Spiderman and the Hollywood Dream roller coaster (where you get to listen to The Beatles as you roller coaster along), but everyone was also saying goodbye to ET so that queue was about an hour.

No idea what they’re going to replace it with but hope it’s as much fun as the Munchkin Merry-Go-Round in the Land of Oz

The Munchkin Merry Go Round

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The Neatbeats Shangri-la Osaka Dec 20th

Silentjim — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 05:22:57 +0000

Last Saturday, checked out the Neatbeats at Shangri-la in Osaka (previously saw Scouting for Girls there – kinda different gig, especially in terms of numbers! This time I was definitely the only gaijin there).

For those not up on Tokyo based Rock’n'Roll bands, the Neatbeats are a Tokyo based Rock’n'Roll band. Replete with slicked back quiffs, smart black suits, skinny ties and speakers turned up to 11.

The Neatbeats

Apologies (as usual!) for the poor quality, but taken with my phone and they wouldn’t stop moving!

As I mentioned before I managed to pick up a couple of this lots cds at a market in Ashiya for about ￥100 (an absolute bargain!) – didn’t know them at the time but you have to buy an album called “Japanese Rock & Roll Attack” don’t you?!
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Read the rest of The Neatbeats Shangri-la Osaka Dec 20th (242 words)

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Post tags: Gigs, Live Music in Japan, Music, Shangri-la, The Neatbeats

Radiohead Osaka Gymnasium Oct 2nd 2008

Silentjim — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 04:49:02 +0000

The final gig of our musical month was Radiohead in Osaka last week. And marvellous it was too.

Typical though, the first time a venue in Japan has allowed people to take photos (usually banned) and I don’t bring my camera! Did have my phone so managed to take a couple of poor quality pics…

Radiohead Live Osaka 2008

This was obviously a bit different to the Scouting for Girls and Ulfuls gigs! A bit of an intense emotional set, with a stunning light show and the best use of video at a concert I’ve seen (behind the band, looking like a promo video, as opposed to the usual screens at the side).

Usually at gigs with big screens I seem to end up watching the tv more than the stage, but here you could see both at the same time. Nice.

A 2 hour set, mainly based on their later albums and the weird dance/electonica beats, but interspersed with some good rock tunes (my highlight being my favourite “Just”).

One thing about Japanese gigs (of this size) is how organised they are. We were in the standing arena, which is then segmented off with barriers into about 10 or so areas of about 4 or 5 people deep – so there is no rushing to the front! And you get the view that your ticket is allocated for. Also, usually at the end, they file people out, block by block, to avoid congestion and a rush to the exit.

Another interesting thing at smaller venues is they let people in, in the order of the ticket numbers, you buy ticket number one, you go in first. Which is nice, if a little odd as once inside (a small venue) you can go wherever you want.

Any road up, back to Radiohead. Great set, great tunes, and some erratic dancing and wit from Thom Yorke (less emotionally distraught and intense in between songs, than he is when singing).

No more gigs lined up, although Mogwai are playing in January…

Woah o wo-oh, yeah yeah yeah, we’ll see you in Osaka next year!

Silentjim — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 04:42:16 +0000

The next on our list of live bands was Scouting For Girls. A favourite of Aki, in particular “She’s so Lovely” (mine is “Michaela Strachan“), we were very excited and a bit surprised when they cropped up on the Osaka gig list.

The venue was the “never been to before but great venue”, Shangri-la, a tiny one room venue with the bar in the middle and a capacity of maybe 100.
Took me back to the days of seeing Contempo, Gene, and numerous other bands in dingy pubs in Egham, Staines, etc.

Ironically, at this concert there was only 2 gaijin (me and another English guy – no relation), although we didn’t stand out as much as there was only 50 people at this gig.

We like Scouting for Girls but have never actually seen any pictures or videos of them, so had no idea what to expect, and were a little bit shocked when 4 geeks came on, hyperactive and looking very excited at being allowed to play instruments on stage! I don’t mean to be rude, as I’m a geek myself (or otaku as they say here), but at least I’ve learnt not to tuck my lumberjack shirt into my jeans!

Anyway, the initial shock was very soon replaced by joy when a blindingly fun gig kicked off. Lots of singing along and chanting (amazingly nearly every japanese person there knew every single word! there’s something magical about hearing a room of mainly Japanese women shouting out “She’s a pain in the ass!” )

The lead singer danced like a lunatic and they were all obviously have a great time, and as one of their new songs goes as we all sang along, “We’ll see you in Osaka next year!”

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Post tags: Contempo, Gigs, Music, Scouting For Girls