that foreign music blog🌎

Hello~ Sorry for the delay. I’ve been super busy with work and concert-going, but at last, I have the time and some coffee to get me through another post~

Last month I decided to take a leap of faith and went to a small indie show where I didn’t know any of the artists. While I did know a few songs by the guest band, Maki, I didn’t know them well enough to be able to sing along. Paired with my fatigue from the other shows I’d been attending, I admit that I wasn’t all that hyped this time around. However, once I passed through the narrow aisle of merch booths and continued into the main hall, that familiar spark of excitement was reignited.

I was happily surprised by how small the venue was and had to take a few steps BACK at the realization that I would’ve walked right onto the stage area otherwise. The bands all huddled near their respective booths while they waited for their cues, and the bands up next could be spotted just behind the black curtain. In fact, during one of the band’s performances, a member from a different band jumped into the crowd from backstage and began to crowdsurf! This close friendship was likely due to the fact that many of the bands were part of the same label: BUNS RECORDS, which is a Nagoya-label. The bands playing that night were: SUNs, Maki, Atomic Skipper, SideChest, and moon drop.

The first act was MAKI, a three-piece band from Nagoya that is made up of Macchi (Dr.), Hibiki (Ba. /Vo.), and Keita (Gt.). Their sound is most similar to pop punk, but with a raspier approach on the vocalist’s part. They’re often compared to uprising band, My Hair is Bad, which is a band that shares the former’s loud, melodic, and choral style of playing. For most of their performance, everyone was on the brink of a mosh-pit, but the energy peaked at their fast-paced, bittersweet love song “平凡の愛し方”, or “Ordinary Way of Love” from their first mini-album of the same title. Everyone had a lot of fun screaming the lyric “どうかまた～” as it was repeated throughout the verses and chorus. Although they only played four or five songs, they set a good standard for the rest of the bands playing that night.

   Next up was Atomic Skipper, a four-piece band comprised of Miyu (Vo.), Hiroya (Gt.), Kazuki (Dr.), Toshiya (Ba.) from Shizuoka prefecture. This band emits an addictive energy that will reel in first-time listeners with their fast-paced songs. This was my first time hearing them and I was honestly the most impressed by them, particularly by how well the vocalist, Miyu, worked the crowd. It’s common for indie bands to be a bit awkward with fan interactions because they tend to lack the experience, but she knew exactly what she was doing and had even ran into the crowd to sing with us surrounding her! One of the most memorable moments from their performance was when I, being very close to the front, managed to get Miyu’s attention by flashing a ‘rock on’ sign, which she quickly signed back before gravitating to the other side of the stage. It was such a short moment, but it’d been enough to win me over as an official fan. In fact, before I left, I made sure to grab a copy of their demo, “平成のあとがき“, or “Heisei Afterword”. I’m hoping to see them again next week…if I can get the tickets.

After them was Mie-band, SideChest, who also features in Atomic Skipper’s demo. The members are Matsuoka (Vo./Ba.), Katsutoshi (Gt.), Akito (Dr.), and Tomohisa (Gt.). Being the third act, I expected that the crowd get progressively livelier, and they didn’t disappoint. The band opened with the popular song, “Green” from their mini-album “Zap”, and the audience rushed towards the front in a violent dance. While their performance was fun overall, the song that got me really moving was “半醒” or “Half-awake”, which has a  danceable rhythm that’s worthy of hip-shaking.

Heart racing from the raw energy of the preceding bands, I was a little surprised by the sentimental, folksy melodies from the next act: four-piece Mie band, moon drop.  The members are: Hyuuya (Vo. Gt.), Takumasa (Gt.), Takahiro Saka (Ba.), and Kazuki (Dr.). Once they started playing, we all forwent our impulses to mosh and swayed together to their gentler melodies like, “Orange” from their first mini-album “花東かわりに”, or “ Instead of Hanato” and “ 西大寺より”, or “Saidaiji” from their second mini-album, “Stand by You”. Despite this change in energy, the band didn’t fail to keep us engaged, the small lot of us completely enticed by the echoes from each of their respective instruments.

As the clock neared nine, I decided to leave a bit early so as to get home at a decent time. So, I followed the slew of fans out the door and bumped my way through the merch booths lined up on either side. I stocked up on CDs and left, regrettably, before the final act: SUNs.

Shou (Vo. Ba.), Tetsuya (Gt.), and Kouhei (Dr.) make up SUNs, a three-piece punk band reigning from Nagoya that has a progressive feel with their less predictable guitar work and the vocalist’s wide range of melodies. The way he wavers between notes in their rhythmic song, “ふるさと”, or “Hometown”, reminds me a bit of enka, lending it a more traditional sound. In fact, this band seems to be heavily influenced by images and sounds of old Japan, noting the samurai painted on the cover of their demo “初陣”, or “First Band”. The certain chords they choose in some of their songs bring on thoughts of the Japanese harp, as if their songs were rearranged from harp to guitar. It’s a refreshing take on rock, especially when many artists are striving to appeal to Western audiences these days. Also, given how common their name is–and how difficult it was to find their website, you can find more info here: music-scene.jp/suns/.

 Before I finish this post, there is an interesting experience I wanted to share, though it’s not exactly MUSIC-related as it is kind of cool. I’ll probably never know if it was the real person or not, but in the crowd was a young man who looked a lot like a rising actor: Yuki Yamada. At the time, I only knew his face and was EXTREMELY shocked. Of course. Given the size of the venue and how…RANDOM it’d be for him to be there, I was sure that I was just imagining things. However, after finding out that he’s from Nagoya…well…WHO KNOWS. Anyway, since the concert, I’ve been watching more of his stuff and I’ve become more of a fan in the process. Should you happen to see him one day and he’s in the mood to chat, it might be worth bringing up indie rock. If that really was him, he has pretty good taste in music. 🙂