Concert Ozis

[PV] mudy on the Sakuban - Ozis

PV of the song "Ozis" from the post-rock/instrumental band mudy on the Sakuban. On the first listen, I actually felt that mudy was ridiculously similar to their Japanese post-rock peers te'. But, after listening to them a bit more, there can be similarities in terms of the pace of their music. But the aesthetic feel of the bands is certainly different. Oh, and I particularly got a kick out of this video due to the fact that, unlike in America, those photo booths are EVERYWHERE. I mean, they are almost as common as vending machines over here.

Okay, now onto the (highly?) anticipated report on the concert I went to yesterday. First of all, I have to say that going to a show in Japan definitely feels different from shows in America. I showed up at the venue about an hour before the doors opened like most fans do in America. It's a good thing I did, not because there was a line of people (I'll get to that in a bit), but because they started selling band merch like t-shirts right outside the venue almost a few minutes after I got there. And then they stopped like half an hour later. Another thing that is pretty different that some of you might know about already is the fact that there is no line when it comes to getting into the venue. When you buy your ticket, you are assigned a number. The venue staff will then call you up by number when the doors open. (Hooray for practicing my Japanese numbers.) Also, this might not be the same for everyplace, but the venue I went to forced you to purchase a 500 yen drink ticket upon entering, which you could use at the bar for practically anything on the menu.

As for STUDIO COAST, it looked really nice on the outside, but it really wasn't as big as I expected. The actual size of the stage/floor was about the same as House of Blues (the last venue I went to in the States), but the neat thing is they had what seemed like metal separators (to prevent moshing perhaps?) in the floor. I ended up choosing a spot in the back, as I didn't want to get sucked up in the mosh pit that I was expecting to appear. But, when the show started, it really wasn't as bad as I thought at all. I almost regretted choosing a spot in the back, because all the people in the back were barely moving at all. Everyone seemed to have their own personal space for rocking out. The actual "moshing" seemed more like synchronized jumping and finger pointing. Now, I don't want to generalize the entire Japanese crowd as tame. It might have been because the band I was seeing wasn't a real punk/metal/"rock out" band. Either way, it was really fun, especially for someone like me who gets sick of dealing with the shovers and pushers of a normal American concert.

Oh, and for fans of the band apart, being able to see them live was amazing. When I got to see/hear the transition from "higher" to "amplified my sign" for the first time live, I really couldn't hide the smile on my face at all. Plus, now I totally understand the reason why bassist Hara Osakazu is such a fan favorite with his antics and sense of humor during his running dialogue with the crowd between songs. Getting cheered on for chugging water bottles sums it up pretty nicely. The ending of the first set was pretty cool too. Hara and drummer Kogure Eiichi did a fun little switcheroo during the outro of "beautiful vanity". The final encore of "K. and his bike" was also a nice touch.

Needless to say, I can't wait for the next show I get to go to. (Which is apparently VELTPUNCH and condor44. Nice.)

-REG

P.S. Doing much better in Japanese class now. Yay.