2011/06/21 & 06/29: ALTERNA JAPAN & Fender Guitar Expo
2011/06/21: ALTERNA JAPAN @ Shibuya O-East
Those of you who have been reading my show reviews for a while should already know that I love Shibuya O-East - it’s close to my house, it’s easy to find, and it’s a great venue in and of itself. In fact, I’m a fan of all the O-Group live houses - I’ve never been to one that I didn’t like. Back in the day, On Air West was an underground Mecca for the VK scene, and a lot of great bands came through that club when they were starting out. The club has since been renamed O-West, and the same company has bought up other live houses as well, which is how O-East came to be. It’s across the street from O-West, and it’s comparatively bigger, but it’s still a great place to see a show; there’s a little restaurant attached where you can sit down with a drink and a cigarette, and a nice big floor with a great view of the stage from any angle.
The bill for Alterna Japan boasted four acts, and each of them was distinctly different from the rest. Miyavi was the first one to play; he only played 5 songs, which is his normal set length for events. We kicked off the night with What’s My Name, then went into Survive, Hell No, and Futuristic Love. I’m sorry to say that I don’t remember what the fifth song was - it was either Universe or Chillin’ Chillin’ Money Blues, which are both standards for his event sets. He looked both cool and comfortable up there on the stage, sporting a black suit jacket, a white sleeveless tee shirt and a pair of grey denim capris. There were a bunch of CoMiyavi who came out to support him - including Chris, a kind, chill and funny CoMiyavi from NY! It was the first time we’d met in person, and it was great to hang out with him! I got there a bit late, so we didn’t find each other until after Miyavi’s set, but he was there early enough to get himself a great spot in the front row. As for me, I stood over to the side in a little pack with my buddies, and we made sure to put all our energy into jumping, cheering and headbanging for Miyavi’s set. In general, the Japanese CoMYVs are a bit more laid-back at shows than they are abroad, but when Miyavi is playing to a primarily non-CoMYV crowd, we all kick into high gear, hoping that our enthusiasm will spread to the other people in the venue. I’m happy to say that we succeeded - one of my friends heard some girls talking about Miyavi in the bathroom after his set, discussing both his talent and the crowd reaction. When people see us having tons of fun with both Miyavi and each other, it seems to encourage them to want to join in and become part of the fanbase. I can only hope that his performance scored us some new family members!
We all stuck around after his set to enjoy the other bands. There was an all-girl band who weren’t really my style, but who were definitely talented; they performed in go-go boots and little marching band style mini dresses, and their sound was kind of a throwback to old-style 50’s rock. There was also an AMAZING reggae artist called Ryo the Skywalker; Chris and I agreed that he would go over really well in New York. The guy is cool, confident and talented onstage, and I really enjoyed his set! Most of the CoMYVs are pretty much rock kids, and I’m not sure they shared my enthusiasm, but I’d definitely catch this guy again if I got the chance. The last band was an interesting blend - they had an old-school punk feel to them, and the lead singer was one constant blur of motion and energy onstage, zoning into his own little world. Four very different artists with four very different sounds - but combined, they made for a really interesting and diverse event, and all of them got great exposure to some fans who might have never known about their music otherwise.
There was no demachi after the show, so we all said goodbye outside the venue, and since we had some time before the last train I took Chris over to my favorite hangout in Shinjuku - it’s an awesome little rock bar called the Rock Inn Current. Type the name into google, and it’ll be the first thing that comes up. I definitely recommend it to anyone who comes to visit Tokyo - and if you stop by there, you’re more than likely to run into me! J All in all it was a great show, and a great night.
Which brings us to….
2011/06/26: Fender Guitar Expo
I Love Guitars.
My Dad is a guitarist, and the first music I ever heard came from his guitar rather than a recording. My best friends are guitarists, and most of my boyfriends have been guitarists. I was born into a life full of guitars, so it’s always been sort of a given that eventually, I’d end up being a guitarist myself. I can’t say I’m a good guitarist in any sense of the word - but I love to play, and I love the instruments, and I was in HEAVEN at the guitar expo yesterday.
We all lined up for the event tickets early in the morning - far too early, in my opinion. I am not a morning person, so I ended up being towards the end of the line, but I wasn’t too concerned - I’ve seen Miyavi over a hundred times now, and it doesn’t really matter where I stand in a venue. My favorite place to stand at a Miyavi concert is with my friends; whether we’re up front on the rail or in back bouncing around, we always have a great time. My ticket number was 286 out of 400, but it happened to be really close to the numbers that a couple of my new buddies from the Azabu-Juuban club live had, so the three of us stood together towards the middle of the pack when it came time for Miyavi’s performance at 2pm.
Fortunately, I had a lot of time before that to walk around the expo and check out all the amazing instruments. My friends love guitar music, but not many of them really play, and so I ended up splitting off from them and walking around all the booths and exhibits by myself. Most of the vendors there were more than happy to let the public try out the instruments, and I can’t even tell you how many different guitars I played - or how much I learned from the staff. I spent a long time in the Taylor section of the show, and met a wonderful Taylor staffer named Andy, who taught me all sorts of things that I never knew about my T5, and gave me some great tips for keeping her in good condition and getting different sounds out of her. He’s a friendly, chill, laid-back guy from San Diego, and he was excited to have someone that he could speak freely to in English. Before Miyavi’s show, we’d already made plans to go out in the evening - he showed me around my guitar, so in exchange I promised to show him around Tokyo. Full of new knowledge and beautiful music, I bounced off to meet up with my friends before Miyavi’s performance.
The hall he played in was a medium-sized square hall with an incredibly high ceiling, and subsequently it felt like being inside a big box full of music. Miyavi was, of course, wonderful - he played his standard set for events, but included the brand new song that he rolled out at the club gig a few weeks ago! It has grown since then - and it’s already growing on me. Though it’s all done using his guitar and his new effects equipment, it has a distinctly electronic sound to it that is definitely unique.
Chillin’ Chillin’ Money Blue$ was a nice break from the high-powered, high-energy set. Miyavi’s mind must have wandered for a moment, because he missed an entire line of the first chorus, and looked a little confused and surprised by it, as though wondering how on earth that happened. He made sure to emphasize that line the second time, and all the CoMiyavi helped him out, just in case.
Halfway through the song, however, he came up to the mic to talk to us - and announced that he’d be calling three people up onstage to play with him! He’d drawn three ticket numbers at random. The first person, whoever it was, either wasn’t in attendance or just pretended that they weren’t. The second kid was only 14 years old, and obviously ecstatic to be onstage with Miyavi. He wasn’t a bad guitarist, either! Not polished, but he held his own up there, and had a great time jamming out nose to nose and shoulder to shoulder with Miyavi.
Then Miyavi called the third ticket number, and up walks a short, stout older gentleman with iron grey hair and a tan blazer - the last guy you would ever expect to see at a Miyavi show. Even Miyavi himself looked a bit surprised, but dutifully dropped back onstage and provided some rhythm guitar so Ojiisan could do his thing.
I think that all of our jaws hit the floor at the same time when this little old guy proceeded to bust out with a smooth, intricate guitar solo, as though he’s been doing it all his life - which he probably has! Miyavi seemed just as shocked as we were, but pleasantly so. This guy could really play! Cool as a cucumber, he closed his eyes and enjoyed jamming on Miyavi’s T5, aloof to everything but the music - including Miyavi himself, who made an attempt to come jam out shoulder-to-shoulder with him but was steadfastly ignored in favor of zoning into the music.
After Ojiisan departed the stage - to furious applause from the crowd - Miyavi finished up Chillin’ Chillin Money Blue$, then whipped the crowd through an especially long rendition of Futuristic Love before making his own exit. Us CoMiyavi were the last ones to leave the hall; we paused for a picture with Chris, and to jokingly scream and cheer for Spike and the crew when they came out to break down Miyavi’s set.
There was still a lot left to see after that, including an amazingly informative talk by Ken of L’Arc~en~Ciel, who brought five of his custom Fender guitars along with him, and explained them in detail to the crowd - where he got them, how they’re customized, which albums and performances he used them for. A couple of my friends are L’Arc fans too, and we really enjoyed listening to his presentation and learning more about these beautiful instruments without which the music wouldn’t exist. I also ran into Sonya - who I think is the third or fourth foreigner who started coming to the shows over here, and an old-school part of the CoMiyavi crew. It was great to catch up with her and Yui outside of the venue and chat for a while before we all headed our separate ways.
Later that night, I met up with Andy, and gave him a mini-tour of Shinjuku before bringing him by the rock bar for a couple of drinks. We had a great time talking about guitars, music, traveling and everything else under the sun, and he gave me a lot more helpful tips and tricks that I can’t wait to try out on my own instrument! It was a great end to a great day full of great music. I hope they hold the event again next year, and I hope that Miyavi plays there again - most of the crowd consisted of guitarists who could really appreciate his skills and his music, and I think he made a great impression on everyone.
I’m going back to America for a month this summer, so I’ll miss the next two events that Miyavi plays at, but I’m going to ask one of the JPN CoMYVs to review them for me - then I’ll translate the reviews and bring them to you guys! Until then, here’s wishing you all peace, love and music as always!
MYV Rocks! <3