that foreign music blog🌎

This September has basically been concert-mania, so please be understanding of my delayed updates. This festival in particular was wearing; Aside from the talented musicians featured on the lineup, including big names like WANIMA and KANA-BOON, how it was organized was an utter mess. I’ll try to avoid complaining too much, but the shuttle bus system was a bit expensive, first of all. At seven hundred yen, we were restricted to the area of purchase. For example, I bought my shuttle bus ticket at Izumiotsu and, while there was a direct bus to Umeda on the return trip, which was where my hotel was, I had to go back to Izumiotsu because that’s what was written on my ticket.

I can only guess that this system was made to reduce traffic, but that’s the next point I’m going to talk about: it was overcrowded. Even though one would expect a festival to be packed, I have NEVER attended a venue where moving between stages resulted in entering a line. Not only that, but the walking paths were narrow aisles between picnic sheets, blocked off in giant squares on the grass. It sort of made me understand why Metrock banned picnic sheets outside the single designated space.

Frankly, the shuttle bus service wouldn’t have annoyed me so much had it not been for how extremely inconvenient it was to move between stages. TWO STAGES. Although, the second stage, the ATMC stage, was so small that it was almost insulting in a sense; with the lack of food courts and bathrooms on the ATMC side, it felt like the venue itself was catering mostly to the bigger stage. It was extremely difficult to enjoy both without resigning to the fact of just sitting in the middle of them, which can be really disappointing when you want to get up close for some artists.

As for the artists, I arrived at the end of KEYTALK, three hours post-departure. I was a little disappointed I’d missed kobore, as I’d worn the kobore band-tee I’d bought at their show in Fuchu. In any case, with a bowl of curry in hand, I casually moved towards the smaller stage, curious about the less familiar names that were set to appear that day. It was then that the fresh electro-beat came into earshot, my eyes landing on the two colorfully-dressed women leading the audience to dance from the stage. It ended up being hip-hop duo, chelmico, which is made up of rappers Mamiko and Rachel. They have a variety of sounds, ranging from those that are more organic like in “ずるいね” (Zurui Ne), or those that have more digitalized beats like in “Love is Over” and “Player“. They mix a bit of the electronic beats from the eighties, and piano instrumentals from the nineties, with the characteristic color of modern Japan. Paired with their charming stage presence, it was a group that was easy to enjoy.

Following chelmico, I made my way back through the narrow aisle to the food courts, dying for a drink. I was already exhausted, having woken up at seven that morning. So, as the next band began to set up on the main stage, I decided to linger towards the back. The band was the telephones, who I feel never quite left the eighties with their mix of rock and electronica. Not only that, but they seem to love the entire disco scene, given their popular songs like ‘Love&Disco‘ and ‘Monkey DISCOOOOOOO‘. Their comedic approach to their music makes for a good performance, even for first timers, with their bright colors and nonsensical themes. While I can’t say I’m the biggest fan, I ended up staying for their entire set, clapping and dancing with the rest of the brightly-clad fans. Towards the end, while checking the lineup for the next artist, I suddenly heard the fans erupt into a frenzy. There was a soon a large gap between myself and everyone else, and when I looked up to the stage, I was surprised to see, Seiya Yamasaki and Shinnosuke Yokota from quirky electronica rock band ‘Kyousonekokami‘! Donning their ‘the telelphones’ shirts, they sang with the band in the midst of the occasional hugs and friendly banter. In that moment, I began to feel my luck changing.

After the telephones, I decided to mosey back over to the ATMC stage to see The Songbards, although they wouldn’t be playing for another hour or so. I thus killed time by taking a stroll around the venue, trying my best to ignore the throngs of people moving around me. Luckily it was much freer on the ATMC side, though there also wasn’t much to see aside from the local tourist booths promoting Izumiotsu. As I continued to pass over the rows of advertisement flags, I suddenly noticed a flag for ‘JOYSOUND’, which is a large karaoke company. I amused myself with thoughts of singing karaoke at a festival, but figured the company was merely representing themselves as sponsors. However, when I moved closer to the area, I saw a small line of people standing alongside a woman with a sign. The sign was of the lineup for Saturday and Sunday, accompanied by a call to anyone who wanted to sing their songs. I then noticed the TV and the small stereo set up nearby and gaped at the notion: KARAOKE AT A FESTIVAL?

As someone who loves karaoke, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to put all my practice to use. I confidently applied to sing my best song: kobore’s “Tokyo Tower“, and was told to return to the booth at around three to perform. Stomach churning, I waited nearby, content to listen to SHISHAMO from afar and enjoy their performance from the video display. By the end of their set, The SongBards started their soundcheck. I curiously watched the four young men ascend the stage, their browns and dark blues paired with their blunt hairstyles bringing on memories from the late sixties. They even played a few era-appropriate English renditions, including “Don’t Let Me Down” by The Beatles. I was impressed by the vocalist’s native-like pronunciation, and wondered if they’d be performing their set entirely in English. However, they sang in mostly Japanese!

Coincidentally, I’d seen their video for their sentimental rock song, “春の香りに包まれて” (Haru no kaori ni tsutsumarete) a few years ago, but didn’t think to look much further into them at the time. In fact, I might’ve wanted to see them because I had pulled their name from the dusty realms of my subconscious. The band integrates a lot of Merseybeat into their Japanese arrangements, their aesthetics appealing to the pre-digitalized days of natural imagery and organic, vocal effects. I really enjoyed their intimate performance, the four of them warmly welcoming us to come closer to the stage. While we didn’t really dance, noting the content expressions of the surrounding listeners, the love for the band could be felt all the same. These days, I’m seeing their names being advertised more and more, so it’s possible that next year I won’t have as many opportunities to see them so close and freely.

By the end of their set, I migrated back towards the karaoke booth and encountered a small crowd of people standing in front of the microphone. The staff called us to gather close together, pushing me to the very front. When the event started, I anxiously watched the songs tick down closer to the one I’d reserved. In the meantime, festival-goers sang familiar songs like “平成ペイン” (Heisei Pain) by go! go! vanillas and “いいから” (Ii kara) by WANIMA. During that hour, it seemed that I was the only one who’d chosen a kobore song, though I still felt confident.

When I took the microphone, everyone was expectantly shocked. As a teacher, I thought that I’d overcome my fear of crowds, but as I looked out to the forty or so people gazing back at me, I suddenly felt my voice shaking. I sang the best I could and was extremely happy I’d given it a try. Unfortunately no one approached me afterwards to talk about music, though it was cool to be able to casually interact with like-minded people.

After hearing my old favorites during karaoke, I was more attracted to the idea of seeing go! go! vanillas again, although I’d initially wanted to spend most of my time at the ATMC stage. Therefore, I decided to wait through punk band MONOEYES, a four-piece group that heavily takes after early 2000s American pop-punk. They even sing in English, though I hadn’t listened to them before. I was thus extremely surprised by the vocalist’s reminiscent voice, memories of ELLEGARDEN flashing through my head. It turns out that Takeshi Hosomi has indeed taken on a few side projects, MONOEYES being one of them! It seems that all of the members, including bassist, Scott Murphy from Allistar, are moving between bands, though.

Listening to them for the first time, I felt that I’d robbed myself of a fanbase I easily could’ve joined years earlier. Especially since I’d fallen so hard for bands like ELLEGARDEN, SHANK, and locofrank. Viewing their tatted arms and long fringe cuts, I was thrown back to high school and basked in the nostalgia of my emo-kid days. Songs “Run Run” and “Get Up” will surely rile your pre-pubescent heart.

When rock band, go! go! vanillas, began their set, I fell into my fandom at the sound of their intro song, “We are GO!” I clapped in rhythm with the rest of the audience, thickened considerably since the telephones. I could barely stand my being sandwiched between so many people, and had nearly lost my temper as one group of fans had pushed their way in front of me. In any case, once the band appeared on stage, we all dropped our grievances and sang feverishly to our favorite songs like “Magic” and “平成ペイン” (Heisei Pain). It was a bit surreal to see them at a festival this time around, too, as the first time I’d stumbled onto them at METROCK, I hadn’t been all that interested. In a way, it was only natural that I complete the circle of my coincidental life.

After all that jumping and singing, I was admittedly ready to go home. More than ready. So I got a bit more food and sat between stages to enjoy mixed pop-rock group, Mrs. Green. Apple. Slurping my yakisoba, I sang along to popular tunes like, “StaRt” and “青と夏” (Ao to Natsu), which is featured in a famous drama by the same title. The latter song always makes me think of summer, and I was happy to revisit the bright blues and yellows of July.

The last band I saw was four-piece city pop group, MONO NO AWARE. As the sun was setting, the surrounding stage lights began to illuminate the venue. When I stood up to get a better look at the members, I remember being surprised by the orange that’d suddenly come into view. Its slow passing over the audience complemented the band’s relaxing aesthetic and drew me closer to the stage, where I swayed along with the other listeners. Their progressive guitar work and even bass line are reminiscent of the late sixties’/seventies’ ‘love and peace’ era, although their themes seem to be more satirical and quirky, such as in songs like, “マンマミーヤ！” (Manmami-ya) and “Tokyo“.

Completely worn out, I bought a festival shirt and left the venue just before skater-punk band, WANIMA. I could hear them on the way to the shuttle buses and danced at the sound of their intro song, “Juice Up Theme“. With all the fatigue from the day catching up to me, it was refreshing to end the night on such an energetic note.