Monday, February 27, 2006

Rawk and Rooooollllll!

Soul Power - This place is cool, the bands are amazing, the atmosphere was great, and it had absolutely everything you could wish for in a night of Rawk and Roolllll - epic guitar solos, long hair, pouting, strutting, screaming, punching the air, kicking, screaming, and sweaty drummers - all carried out with flawless efficiency; and all this despite the audience consisting of a few gaijin at the front, some hardcore friends/fans and a handful of sour-faces coming from the seats surrounding the mosh-pit. The bands all played their hearts out, as if they were playing to a packed out venue, and some (especially the Spinal Tap-esque 'Axbomber') as if they were playing Wembley Stadium in front of thousands and millions via satellite around the world.

I can't recommend this place highly enough and can't believe that the place was almost empty. Great night!

Shinto Wedding...

Had a taiko concert on Saturday morning at the Flower Festival in Asahi - which was nice. Then hopped straight on the train, suited and booted to attend the wedding of one of my eikaiwa student's sons. But this was no ordinary wedding - it was a Shinto Wedding!

Tucked behind the urban hum and drum of Nishicho - Toyama's shopping area, is the rather lovely Hie Shrine. The ceremony was only an hour, but it was a pretty amazing thing to have seen.

It's completely different from any Western wedding. They exchange rings, but there is no 'you may kiss the bride' or cheery organ-playing, instead they have a little house band who play hits from the middle ages armed with a little instrument resembling a piccolo and a shaku-hachi (Japanese flute).

As you can probably imagine it is extremely formal. From the pouring of the sake, the dancing shinto girls, to the guests entering the shrine everything is carried out in a organised and efficent manner.

The vibe is similar to what I imagine a pagan ceremony would be like. The music was folky, mysterious and rather sombre and reminded me of the soundtrack to that cult pagan movie - the Wicker Man. It is very spiritual, but rather than having a focal point, such as the cross or alter in Christian church, the spirits are everywhere in Shinto like in pagan rituals, and intermittent hand-clapping serves to dispel omnipresent evil spirits.

What surprised me is that most Japanese people found the whole experience as alien as I did! Western weddings are the thing now in Japan, and nowadays most people like to get married in a building resembling a Christian church. So in hindsight it was not surprising that the people sitting next to me were giggling at the rather funny hats that the Shinto priests were wearing. The bride's hat was the most amazing, as you can see from the picture.

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

We are the Bento Boys

The Bento Boys have released their fourth single 'We are the Bento Boys (Part I: The Rise and Fall of the Bento Boys)', featuring guest vocals from Limp Wristed.

The Boys have returned to a more flam-pop-y formula with sprinklings of bad-boy, following the hardcore sonic ghetto-fabulous excursions of late, but assure fans that they aren't selling out to the man. 'We had to try this sort of shit out, since boy band members are people too, y'know' mumbled someone related to the band yesterday.

They are currently in the studio dreaming up their follow-up single - 'We are the Bento Boys (Part II - The Fall of the Bento Boys)', which according to sources close to the band has a much darker edge (and may not be suitable for people with a sensitive disposition).

To listen to the new track please go to the Bento Boys website:

Monday, February 13, 2006

Wearing the glasses to my classes

Another weekend has come and gone... and it's been another weekend missing out on skiing. The first time it was because Rob and I had been too lazy to get up early, drove within half an hour of the Seaside and then turned back because it didn't seem worth skiing for only a few hours. This time it was because of my eye.

I was on the way to Seaside (ski resort) last Saturday when my right eye started watering uncontrollably. It felt like an eyelash so I carried on. By the time Rob and I got to Seaside it wasn't any better and I was finding it difficult to see (because of all the water!). I ended up sitting in the car whilst Rob skied.

Anyway, turns out that I have been wearing my lenses too often and the eye is slightly infected. In fact I have worn my lenses so often that my students have never seen me wearing glasses before at school and think that I've only just been given them.

I've never liked wearing glasses. They are just so bloody annoying. I always loose sunglasses when I have them, and normal glass feel like barrier between me and the outside world. But perhaps I should be a little less vain and learn my lesson.

Thursday, February 09, 2006

Out of control...

Last night a group of us hit Colare in Kurobe for a little bit of Shamisen craziness from the famous (and I actually mean that, they have a website, have done tours and everything) Yoshida Brothers.

I have to say that I have never been a big fan of the shamisen. It's a cute little instrument but have never liked the sound of it too much.

But last night, I have to say, the performance was pretty sensational. It kicked arse (there was a very high auric density). They played fast, furious, and not a note was out of tune. They were like the 'Jimi Hendrixes' of shamisen. I never thought I would say this about a traditional Japanese instrument - but it was really exciting. It was a musical paradox - they played in a typical controlled manner, but the music was out of control. Great!

In the same way, I played a koto concert last sunday. It was actually a New Year's party whereby all the koto musicians in Asahi get together round someone's house and rock the jams in their own Japanese style (in Koto terms this means play the pieces which they have been practicing ofr the last few months). I love the koto, I love the sound, but at times am not too keen on some of the songs. They are slow, controlled and lacking a form of (for want of a better word) 'oomph'. I like songs with 'oomph' and traditional forms of Japanese music such as enka are not famous for their 'oomph'.

However, in the same way that the Yoshida Brothers proved me wrong about shamisen playing (and by God they had stacks of 'oomph'), the last song played at my koto New Years party had 'oomph' by the bag load.

It just goes to show, that just when you think you have figured out Japan, you are thrown a curveball and are pleasantly surprised. Traditional Japanese instruments are not only alive and well, but packing a considerable punch in modern contemporary music.

http://www.yoshidabrothers.com/

Monday, February 06, 2006

Exit planet Japan...

It's been a funny old week. I've spent most of it getting home and then working myself up to try and leave the apartment again after getting warmed up.

However, with each day that goes by, it's one day closer to the day that I leave Japan. I can't help but end up thinking about things like how many more enkais I will go to, how many ski trips before the snow melts and so on. Since handing in my notice my head has been in a different place as I formulate some sort of exit plan.

At the moment the list is as follows:
  • Get some sort of internment at the British Embassy in Tokyo for August
  • Live in a small apartment, which will quickly turn into a den of iniquity as Rob will be my fellow flat mate.
  • Return to the UK using any means of travel other than air. Whilst I'm here, might as well head back at a leisurely pace and see some things!
  • Enrol to do a masters in International Relations/get a job. It's got to be one or the other. Don't want to get back to the UK and find myself doing the same thing that I did before I came to Japan (namely working in a call centre).

So that's what's on my mind at the moment. If you see me looking alittle lost in thought, stressed or being generally difficult to get a long with, then it's becuase I'm thinking about one (or all) of the things above.