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FRIDfly. RGB 85
Driue From Kyoto to Tokyo
SUBDRy, RGB. 87
Rehearsal andlMdouin
more than an hour. The lyrics consisted of an
entire history book. They asked Ben to join the
band. He showed them his passport, and they
groaned in disappointment
KS: We got the adrenaline going for our set
and played a pretty good show. I think the audi
ence liked us, though Japanese audiences seem to
be much more reserved than Americans. They defi
nitely reacted when Jason ran outside with his
cymbal for “Mystic New Hampshire.*
JN: Eating after the show was a surreal experi
ence. The food was truly never-ending, and the
merch money just covered our share. We were
served shuochu: soda and juice drinks. Sadabass'*
phone translator described it as “low class dis
tilled spirits." We sat at the same end of the table
as The Love Me 3and and proceeded to have an
hour-long conversation consisting of nothing but
the names of bands we liked: Patti Smith, Richard
Hell Suicide, Silver Apples, Residents, Jad Fair,
Half Japanese, Minutemen, Black Flag, Meat
Puppets, Negativland, Boredoms, Yoko Ono,
OOIOO, Naked City, more Boredoms.... The Love
Me Band leader had a MIDI version of “Super
Going" in his phone and is friends with Eye.
JN: The next morning, I taught Sadabass how
to say "Wake the fuck up!* There is no open space
in this area of Japan; six hours of suburbs, facto
ries and love motels are all there is between Tokyo
and Kyoto. Our translator Sumiko joined us in time
for dinner. The inside of this family restaurant
tooked suspiciously like a Denny's, but of course
the food was weirder. Sakamoto ordered an appe
tizer of raw squid in chocolate sauce. I decided I
wouldn't be upstaged. It didn't taste so good. It
was extremely slimy, but I didn't gag or anything.
There was no show that night; instead we went
to a karaoke bar. They didn't have “What's So
Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding,"
ruining my plan of emulating Bill Murray, but they
had "Coming Up" by Wings, on which T killed.
SRTUROfly. RGB. 86
Shoui at Club Que. Tokyo
JN: Everyone was still asleep, but someone
was insistently knocking at the door and ringing
the bell. Reluctantly I got out of bed. “What are
you going to do if they start speaking to you?"
saiJ Kay. She had a point, but I was ready for
adventure. An old postman, through a brief series
of hand gestures, had me sign for a package. I
was ecstatic!
The previous 24 hours, I'd started to feel a
little sick, like I had the beginnings of a cold.
Sumiko took me to a pharmacy. Sudafed is illegal
here, so I hoped to find echinacea. They'd never
the States. Sakamoto took exceptional care of us;
in fact, all of Elekibass lent us their instruments.
Our set was not tight We all made mistakes,
shifty tempos, fumbled fretting, botched vocals.
JN: My fingers accidentally played a piece of
"Blackberry Way" by the Move. Within one chorus,
everyone in Elekihouse was singing along. I sug
gested that JP and I should play it the next night.
After that ideas for the show came quickly.
Sumiko and Kay had seen a designer sick mask
earlier. There go my millions.
At rehearsal, there was a tense feeling among
the group. I asked the band if I was coming off
like a hard-ass. Everyone said no, they understood
why I was pushing them, but back at the house
there was a minor breakdown. Feelings hurt, tears
shed. We really couldn't have known the stakes
were that high. Sakamoto had taken care of every
detail’ every want was met before we knew we
needed it The band felt unworthy of this lavish
treatment. But there we were, and we had to try.
Brian, an old friei.d of Ben's from Athens,
moved there a while back, took a job as an
English instructor and married a pretty Japanese
heard of it The pharmacist recommended some
thing else. A brief translation of the label included
the word “placenta." I bought one and hoped for
the best
B.P?s amp was very loud on-stage. He sorta
laughed each time he blew a tick, knowing that
there was no place to hide. Afterwards. I asked
Sakamoto what he thought of the show, hoping for
There are lots of
great used clothing
stores in
Shimokitazawa—
American thrift store
clothing at 10 times
the price! Everything
I tried on fit me. One
place had a beautiful
pornographic kimono
that I hated to let go.
The Cookies decided we
all needed these cheap,
gaudy platform tennis
shoes we found for our
last show. They came in
several styles from
leopard print to hot
pink space boots, and
were only ¥2,000
S20). We were all
a great time, yukking it
up, goofing on Godzilla
with these huge boots.
Finally we were off
Club Que for our show,
was absolutely stuffed
with people. This
surely broken fire codes in
an honest answer. I got
one: "A little sloppy." *
When the guy giving you
a place to sleep, releasing
your CD, booking and pro
moting your shows and '
paying for your hotels,
your transportation and
guarantee tells you
that you need work, you
should listen. If that
wasn't bad enough, the
next band on-stage.
DominoS8, played flaw
lessly. They made us
sound like the Shaggs.
At least the pla
centa seemed to be
woriring.
We were back at
Elekihouse by mid
night; shows start
earlier in Japan. I
immediately picked
up a guitar and
started practicing for
the acoustic show.
B.P. was sitting on
the bed, depressed,
but wearing some
thing that looked
like a cross between a coon-
skin cap and a Bay City Rollers wig. We unani
mously decided to book another practice the next
day.
girt They met us for dinner. Brian gave Ben shit
for being too afraid to eat raw fish. Ben couldn't
take the pressure any longer and tried some raw
tuna. And LIKED IT.
monDfly. rgb. 88
Rcoustic shorn 8t Club 4*10. Tokyo
JN: We had asked to do a little bit of sight
seeing before sound check. Tokyo City View, atop
Roppongi Tower, boasts a 360-degree view of.
Tokyo from 60 stories up. Tokyo is mind-bendingly
large. Looking out over the city, we saw a park
that may be larger than Central Park in
Manhattan—basically the president's back yard— .
an enormous cemetery and generally too much
everything. The confusion an outsider feels on
Japan's streets is explained with an aerial view.
There are very few long, straight lines, and thou
sands of tiny alleys that zigzag for miles. How
does anyone find any place?
The four-act bill made sound check at Club 440
last forever, but soundmen in Japan really get
their shit right Our check was thorough and made
me feel positive about the evening's show.
At showtime, the house was packed; it was the
sold-out show. I took the stage alone and felt ner
vously confident as I began playing “Yer Birthday"
without introduction. It was the best performance
I ve ever given of this song, and the audience
responded well to it “Blackberry Way" was next,
beginning with me and JP harmonizing on the first
chorus and the rest of the crew joining us on-stage
for the second chorus. The “Barnacle Bill" shanty
went over especially well even though it's a lyri
cally-driven piece. We all felt a great relief after all
the doubts that had followed the previous show.
The next band was the big draw of the night
They reminded me of a slightly more tech-sawy
Widespread Panic. At the end of their set, B.P. and
Ben joined them on percussion.
Later, drinking with the staff and other bands,
tf»e percussionist from the headlining act enter
tained us. “Fuck Tokyo," he enthused. “You must
come to Fuji with me. It is the soul of my country.
I like to trip in my ass!" We were a little confused
by this statement, and I tried to help him clarify.
‘ In English," I said, **trip' means to do psyche
delic drugs..." “Yes!" he interrupted, "I love to
trip in my ass. You must come take mushrooms
with me in Fuji!" I didn't have the heart to ask
him if these 'shrooms were anal suppositories or if
his syntax was just faulty.
“What's that sound?" asked Kay. There was a
repetitive plinking sound coming from behind the
drawn curtain on the stage. "It's the piano tuner,"
said Sakamoto. "They tune it every night."
TUGSDR9. FilRRCH I
Shoui at Club Que. Tokyo
JN: Tuesday was our last full day in Japan. At
breakfast, we were all in a good mood, but the
looming deadline was cramping our style. The
highlight of the meal was filming the space-age
toilet I put our digital camera into movie mode.
The toilet cover rose automatically as I entered
the restroom. Unbeknownst to me, the last visitor
didn't flush, causing me to film a mystery turd.
We were headlining, so we got the luxury
sound check. The foot switch on the club's Fender
Twin Reverb wasn't functioning, and before I knew
it two of the three engineers had a flashlight and
some contact cleaner going. It was up and run
ning in a couple of minutes.
We needed candy, guitar picks, postage and
porno. Pornographic manga is so popular that you
usually find a line of men in deep thought at the
magazine rack at any convenience store. Ben's
manga is better than mine—less pixelation,
wetter, larger holes, and more exaggerated fecial
expressions. We bought lots of candy, including
some squid jerky. It sounded better than it
smelled.
Back at the club, the stage was decorated with
dozens of yellow balloons and stuffed animals.
The club began to fill up as Kiiiiiii started their
set They entered the stage without introduction,
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MAY 18, 2005 • FLAGP0LE.COM 23