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

A few weeks ago we went to see a friend of ours “perform” in his multimedia-electronica art performance duo “S.C.F.” (Click the link for their Myspace page if you want to have a listen – it’s not for everyones tastes, but I likes it – honestly Andy!).

The nights show was called “Exorcisms” and there were about 6 performances mainly dancers, all portraying in some way (some obvious, some not so) this theme.

What was this multimedia-electronica experience like I hear you ask…
Well:

SCF at the Urban Guild Kyoto

SCF Dancer

Related posts:

1. Maiko in Kyoto
2. Kyoto and the Geishas
3. Meeting Friends in Kyoto and an embarassing restaurant experience

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Post tags: Gig, Gigs, Kyoto, Live Music in Japan

It’s been a long time since I’ve written anything, mainly due to being busy doing stuff (and my parents being in Japan for about 10 days), so a quick review of what happened before they arrived.

Last month we went to see Graham Coxon at Big Cat in Osaka. First time I’ve seen him live and he was great.
Really noisy and a great guitarist. Seemed a bit jet-lagged and made a few mistakes, which added somehow to the fun. Crowd were very lively and he played a long set, and mainly loud punk songs which sent the crowd moshing.

Mind you not as lively as the crowd for Hard Fi who were the liveliest crowd I’ve since since maybe the Damned or The Wonderstuff in the 90s. The “kids” went crazy. Richard had them eating out of his hand, even though his Japanese only stretched to “Domo” (thanks), they loved it. The encore “Living For The Weekend” made the dance floor quite a dangerous place! Great fun.
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Read the rest of Graham Coxon, Hard-Fi and a Baseball Game (356 words)

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Post tags: Baseball, Gig, Graham Coxon, Hanshin Tigers, Hard Fi

Last Friday (Jan 27th) went to see the Kaiser Chiefs at Big Cat in Osaka.

My first gig in Japan, a different experience to London (or anywhere else I think).
First off, the venue is on the 4th floor of a shopping mall, and the doors open at 6 (band on at 7, earlier than I`m used to).
We got there for about 6, and had to queue up, mainly because they let people in, in the order of ticket numbers!
We`d bought our tickets late, so we were 634, 635 so had to wait till everyone else had gone in. I guess this is fairer, but going to gigs isn`t about being fair!, it`s about getting to the gig early enough to stand at the front, or hang out in a pub till the last minute and stand at the back.

Anyway, we wandered in…and had to pay 500Yen at the door for a compulsory drink. Not a problem, but a bit odd.

Then we were greeted with a wall of lockers which everyone proceeded to put their coats and bags in. Nice touch. The other thing that was unusual…the venue was sooo clean! No, dirty Astoria or sticky floors at the Brixton Academy, this place had probably been cleaned just before the gig, not once a year.

Anyway, what about the bands?
Support band were The Cribs, who I`d never heard of, but seemed to have a big fan following, and were from England.
Good, loud punky noise. As soon as they came on, the crowd immediately started moshing! Great fun.
The band were on for a little bit too long, as the songs became repetitive quite quickly, but that didn`t stop the fans (90% japanese with a smattering of Aussies, Yanks and Brits – one of the few gigs I`ve been to that I haven`t had some huge group of blokes blocking my view, Japanese fans are great, as they`re just a little bit smaller than me, so I can get a clear view ).

Then the Kaiser Chiefs came on. Fantastic! Loud, raucous and fun. Great entertainers, especially the lead singer, who got the crowd going with his attempts at Japanese. Everybody loved them, and when he ran through the crowd near the end, and was then surfed back to the stage by the audience, everybody was going hysterical.

One of my top 10 gigs I think, I didn`t stop moshing the whole time, and my girfriend loved it too (even though the moshing was a bit much for her, very lively crowd!).

Finished by about 10, so we went off to an Izakaya and had some great food, and some more beers.

Recommend the Kaiser Chiefs to anyone who likes a good, loud, talented rock band, get your moshing boots on.

Related posts:

1. Muse Live in Osaka 9th Jan 2010
2. The Test-Icicles
3. Mika Bomb and Delphian Complex

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Post tags: Gig, Kaiser Chiefs

Well, not written for a long, long time. Been busy…
had tea at the ritz, followed by seeing MikaBomb and the Delphian Complex at Islington Academy (a day of contrasts, and fun). MikaBomb were a little disappointing (second time I’ve seen them, first was much better), but the Delphian Complex were definitely a band to keep an eye out for. Some great songs, and guitar, reminiscent of the Stone Roses at time, or maybe I was drunk.

Also saw Hard-Fi at the Astoria. Great gig! True rock gods in the making
Buy their album and make them huge!

Did some other stuff, but mainly left work, and in 3 hours I’m moving to Japan to start a new life with my girlfriend, and become an English teacher. So not much then

I’ll be keeping this more regularly updated in Japan, to let everyone know the trauma and excitement of that so strange of countries.
And no doubt it’ll involve lots of pictures of fantastic food.

Next time I post it’ll be from Kobe, so wish me luck.

Related posts:

1. Kaiser Chiefs at Big Cat, Osaka Japan
2. Graham Coxon, Hard-Fi and a Baseball Game

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Post tags: Delphian Complex, Gig, Hard Fi, Mika Bomb