Kansai Calling - June, 2008

By JP DuQuette |

Ah, sweet, sweet plans finally nearing fruition. All the work scouring the streets of Kansai and the electronic pathways of the Internet, the endless hours writing up the myriad concerts I would never see myself, all the sacrifice has finally paid off.  For now I have the power and the pulpit to begin my domination of the Japanese underground music scene, my chance for – SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION!

Case in point. Come see yours truly DJ and play with Cell 63 bandmate Nick as he lays down acid loops and I torture my Nintendo DS, opening for Berlin’s Heian Project and local electro-geeks Oh My Cow! at Kobe’s Otoya on the 1st and at Kyoto’s UrBANGUILD on the 2nd!  Oh, crap, chances are you won’t even be READING this issue until after the 3rd...Fear not!  You can still catch my spinning between bands at the The Jack and Jim Show at UrBANGUILD on the 15th, where I’ll be supporting the likes of Ultra Bide and (gulp) Jimmy Carl Black from the Mothers of Invention?!?  Yes, I shit you not.  For the first time in his life, JP begins to feel real power! Where was I again?  Oh yes, the concert report. There are a few other events besides mine worth noting. Let’s begin at Quattro, that has Air on the 1st.  Now don’t get excited, it’s not the Frenchie loungie Air, it’s the Japanese one, but they’re not half bad as alternative rock bands go. Japanese Misfits clones, Balzac, will be whipping out the skeleton costumes on the 8th, and though I find them WAY too derivative for their own good, the show will probably be manic. Metalcore monsters Killswitch Engage will be playing on the 10th (never understood why they chose that name when there was already Seattle’s Kill Switch…Klick out there, but never mind), and LCD Soundsystem-esque Simian Mobile Disco will be keeping the dance floor squeaky with help from Tomoyuki Tanaka (Fantastic Plastic Machine) on the 13th.  Finally, for a mix of digital rock and noise, the Wrench, Masonna, SWARRRM, Vampillia show on the 21st will probably be pretty damn keen; Wrench’s brand of trance-rock is super-sick live, and it’s always fun to see Masonna throw himself around the stage, knocking over shit and scaring the children. 

Seems like Sunsui’s actually surpassed Quattro in the quality events department this month.  The Hop Ken Event on the 1st’s got samplecore diva Doddodo, the legendary Haco and members of Boredoms and Suspiria doing things on stage unlikely to win them any fans from the Music Station crowd. On the 5th you’ve got a hodgepodge of gaijin indie tunage:  sappy ballads from France’s Brooklyn,  clever Swedish pop from Envelopes and groovy girl rock from Australia’s Operator Please will probably make for an evening of fun. Then, on the 8th, you’ve got up-and-coming Weezer-wannabees Dreamboy, who, judging by their viral “What Have I Done”, will be much more expensive to see next time they come around.

Asa-chang and Junray were the darlings of the WIRE magazine crowd awhile ago, and at Sunsui on the 15th, you may see why. Their (really his) mix of table and electro-glitch is probably the most compulsively fascinating sound around, and you really should take a gander. Mika Miko are L.A. riot grrrls gone bad, and if you like your punk DIY, you probably won’t find better than their show on the 16th. Or if shoe-gazing indietronica is more your Sigur Rós- flavored bag, the UK’s Kyte show on the 19th will probably have you starry-eyed and gazing optimistically at the horizon. More into ska?  Then break out the tiny ties and checkered jackets, 'cause party band The Slackers are a-coming on the 20th, with support from surprisingly plucky locals Oi Skall Mates.  Finally, turntable mutilator DJ Baku will be delivering his abstract mix of hip-hop and breakbeats on the 21st (it’ll be good, trust me), and the 28th will bring Australian post-rockers Laura with first rate support from openers Limited Express (Has Gone?), Hosome, Doddodo and Vampillia.

Bears is a bit quiet this month (figuratively – I really don’t know how neighbors within a one-kilometer radius actually put up with the nightly racket there), but here are the highlights. Out At Bero, my favorite unsigned band of the moment, will be playing with indie minimalists Jenny on the Planet on the 4th. The aforementioned Jim and Jack Show will also be swinging by on the 14th, as will D.C. power violence purveyors Magrudergrind as they scream through their set on the 19th.

Those up for a more traditionally noisy night at Bears should stroll in when head-honcho Yamamoto Seiichi (ex-Boredoms, ROVO) duels with K.K. Null (Zeni Geva) with support from guitar strangler Solmania. My ears ring just thinking of it.  Fandango’s got some killer shit planned this month.  First, Dropkick Murpheys (yes, you heard right) will have the place pogoing hardcore on the 5th. On the 6th, they’ve got Sleep offspring OM playing with (yet again) Vampillia, but the real corker (and my pick this month) comes on the 15th when Deerhoof, Xiu Xiu and Tenniscoats come to Juso (WHY am I busy, djing this night, tell me again?)  Finally, Slunky Side will be bringing their 70’s psych-rock sound on the 19th. Big guys at Namba Hatch this month. Asian Kung-Fu Generation is still the best college rock Japan has to offer (at least since Number Girl went belly-up) and they’ll be swinging by for two shows on the 1st and 2nd.  On the 10th – holy King Crimson, Batman! – The Mars Volta will be in, and on the 20th, surf-punk-tinged Devo-tees Polysics will be rocking all you next generation spud-boys (and girls) in support of their perfectly tolerable new album.

Noon has Plastic Sex on the 13th; no it’s not the newest inflatable fetish event, it’s a new band formed with members of new wave legends The Plastics and Nomiya Maki from the Pizzicato Five. Certainly sounds intriguing. And Psycheouts Ghost, whom I stupidly termed “up and comers” last issue – they’ve been around since the early 90’s, it turns out – will be leading the dub-step/electro/breakcore event Caution on the 20th.  Final Osaka notes. BigCat has got genki-genki indie rockers Pillows and Noodles on the 3rd. Pharcyde-lovers will want to check out salmon-loving Fatlip on the 22nd. Zepp has the aging but amazing Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra on the 9th, and Clapper has indie Londoners The Brights on the 15th.

Heading up to Kyoto and – wow, UrBANGUILD actually posting their schedule this month! Let’s start there then. Mika Miko will be swinging through on the 17th as will Kyte on the 21st.  If you don’t want to head down to Bears you can see Null and Yamamoto battle it out here as well on the 23rd, with support from turntable experimentalists Busratch. Finally, the dirt cheap Happy Noise Monday event on the 23rd has Hide from Ultra Bide doing something odd, along with Hosoi Hisato (from skronky Kyoto legends Children Coup d'Etat) and the tre’ excellent breakcore grooves of MIDI_sai stalwart DJ Donna Summer. 

And final notes from Kyoto. Metro has the chilled out electronica of Nontroppo and Audio Safari on the 1st and abstract hip-hop legend DJ Krush on the 13th. Oh, and Alice Sailor and Damage Distortion will be bringing their twisted take on aging avant-pop nonsense to Yaso on the 26th.   

And that’s the way things stand during Japan’s rainiest month. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a hair-feathering and pedicure appointment I need to get to. Got to look my Dapper Dan best for all those lonesome electro-luvin’ ladies...

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