that foreign music blog🌎

As the summer heat fizzles into autumn, I figured it’d be a good time to AT LAST…write on the show I went to during Obon vacation this year. For those of you not familiar with Japanese culture, Obon is a tradition where families welcome the spirits of their loved ones. One famous sight during this time of year is to watch the giant illuminating 大 symbol on Kyoto’s 大文字山, or Daimonji Mountain. It usually coincides with summer vacation and, for many companies, ends up being the only vacation that they get. This was the case for me, but a week off is still a week off.

I left for Tokyo the morning of the 9th, feeling excited to be getting far out of Nagoya for the first time in a while. I chilled in my hotel for most of the day to be honest, though, flipping through channels with my convenience store-bought chocolate and coffee mix. After all, I’d seen the busy streets of Shibuya so much that I had the area memorized, centering myself between the famous Shibuya crossing and the iconic department store, 109. The venue, however, was nowhere near Shibuya, despite the fact that I’d reserved my hotel there. It was in a sort of far-off, residential area called Fuchu, which had a statue at the station that was commemorating the local rugby team.

Finding the venue itself was relatively straightforward and, on the way there, I passed by Shimokitzawa. In noticing the familiar alleyway of Japanese bars and cramped live houses from the train window, I turned on my favorite song, “Under North Swamp” to bask in the memory of my first encounter with Yutaro Furutachi of band, 2, almost two years ago. While I haven’t seen them live in a long time, I still consider the band one of my favorites because of the good memories attached to them.

Anyway, the train ride was about forty minutes from Shibuya. It might’ve been easier to get a hotel near the venue, but after arriving at Fuchu and seeing nothing but dusty roads and houses, I was happy I’d decided to stay in the main city. The venue was about a ten minute walk from the station, though, and was easy enough to find with Google maps. It was hilariously small, and we were all organized in a line that weaved around the side of the building, where a man seated in front of the storage area greeted us with a casual smile. While we slowly filed inside and down the narrow steps to the main stage, I kept a keen eye out for any familiar faces, and came to realize later that I may have spotted members from opening act, Bacho.

Bacho is a four-piece band consisting of Kinya Kitahata on vox and guitar, Tomoari Ito on bass, Yoshito Miura on guitar, and Kazuyuki Takanaga on drums. I didn’t know anything about this band beforehand, but noticing the older aged people in the audience, I guessed that they’d be a bit older, too, appealing to more old-school punk-rockers. I wasn’t totally off, either, as the vocalist came out on stage with a towel wrapped around his head like a bandanna. They played power anthems that pulled our fists up as Kitahata shouted heartfelt encouragement into the microphone. Although the lyrics were actually too fast for me to understand, each rhythmic pause they made, letting the echo of the guitar fade to the vocalist’s chant-like singing, I could sense the intention behind his words. A few people had even broken into tears, the vocalist warmly pointing out to them that ,”I cry when I listen to music, too. It’s okay.”

During one of their popular songs, perhaps this one: 夢破れて, the vocalist actually asked the audience if anyone could sing. A handful of people shot up their hands, but the stage lights eventually focused on a tall boy in the back. He was then challenged by the vocalist to sing the song’s intro on stage, which the boy agreed to with a confident nod. He was shockingly good, surprising even the band with his impressive stage presence before diving back into the crowd. I later spotted him in the line for beer after the show, and praised him for his bravery.

When Kobore came up next and began setting up their instruments, the audience shifted to women and girls from their mid-teens to early twenties. I awkwardly stood in the middle of them, quietly laughing to myself at the obvious fact of the band’s eye-candy. I can’t deny how precious they are, though, my favorite point of the band being how smiley they are despite their emotional lyrics. This Fuchu-based, emo-rock band is made up of Takeru Sato on vox and guitar, Taichi Andou on lead guitar, Sora Tanaka on bass, and Katsuki Ito on drums.

They played a lot of songs from their album “零になって”, as well as some new songs from their newly released EP, “音楽の行方”, which features their upbeat pop’punk song, “Diamond“. Seeing Kobore reminded me why I love indie bands in the first place; music aside, their authenticity on stage was extremely attractive. For example, as Takeru stopped between songs to catch his breath, he suddenly began crying out for a beer. After another song, the four of them were suddenly presented with cold beers on stage, which they jugged down and finished with a satisfactory breath. I half-wished the crowd moved the way they had during Bacho, but I knew that with the majority of the fans being women, the experience would be more gentle. Still, we swayed to their airy melodies like “Night Wonder” and rode the vibrations of their energetic anthem song, “君にとって” or, “For You”. A lot of their lyrics address the listener directly, giving people a familiar lens to see through—feel through, even.

Once they wound down to their final song, 爆音の鳴る場所で, the room shook at the explosive sound that followed Takeru’s intro. We then crammed ourselves at the front of the stage and reached towards the members as we sang together. Still tingling with excitement, we naturally called for an encore, but because they weren’t the only band that’d played that night, they humbly refused to play more songs.

While I was a bit disappointed by this, I left the venue that night–new shirt in hand—with more respect for the band. Despite their youth, they displayed a level of professionalism one would expect from seasoned performers. Although, it turns out that they’ve already played over fifty shows since their tour last year! I was happy to have finally seen them, too, as it’s a band I’ve struggled to see since buying their album. They tend to play on week days or Saturday nights, none of which fit with my schedule, so getting to see them in Tokyo was extremely lucky.

To finish, disregarding my sweat-soaked clothes and the lingering scent of cigarettes, Fuchu Flight was an extremely refreshing experience. I not only got to hear new music, but I could see a quieter part of Tokyo. If you plan to go to Fuchu for a concert, I honestly think that staying in Shibuya was the best choice. There, or Shimokitazawa for an even more direct route. Even though it was a long way back, I could enjoy Tokyo’s nightlife without worrying about trains, since my hotel was within walking distance from several pubs. Full of that post-concert energy, I needed a moment to let it all out, too.