Tokyo Munt !!

Toky Day 4 contd.
15-7-6

Random turning up at unknown venues results in hair flinging fest

Have been itching to see live music in Tokyo for a long time now. Unfortunately had very little time for research and for those who dont know, Tokyo has a rather large music scene. Unsure of the number of venues but my 30second websearch during the day unleashed a torrent of options.

Turned up to a venue in Shinjuku. Wasnt sure what type of affair was in store, but soon inside the doors the attire chosen by the punters within spoke volumes of Munt. Metal that is. and/or punk in its various forms. We're talking rock music.

Wont go into detail on the performances but will comment on aspects interesting to us. Especially relative to the Wellington gig-going experience.

Firstly I have been amazed and impressed to learn that gigs in Japan START EARLY. They start around 6pm as did this one. We showed up around 8pm and we think it was the 4th band to play beginning. Noticed that some venues even have daytime performances (12 or 1 in the afternoon !) on weekends, as well as nighttime ones. I can see a number of positives to this early gig starting. a. more bands get to play (assuming a well managed evening - of which this definately was one - band changeovers were very very fast), b. punters can catch the last subway home (including us !).

The level of organisation and professionalism at this gig was impressive. There were 6 or 7 bands playing. There was an area at the entrance where each band had a merchandise table selling CDs, Tshirts. Venue itself was extremely well soundproofed and airconditioned - there were 3 doors through to the room itself from where you got your ticket. Soundquality ridiculously polished - not my cuppa tea but usually the trademark of this genre. Made for clear listening and not too earsplitting.

For those interested, the room itself was maybe slightly larger than Valve in Wellington if you removed the booths and seats and bar. The bar was not within the room where the band played. So I found it interesting that a fairly small venue was running things so professionally.

The audience... During the first band we saw, we noted the audience to be pretty much in a state of hypnosis. The ends of songs would be met with polite applause followed by absolute deadly silence. Anyone who was talking during the song would stop at the end of it. We found it quite bizzare. However 30secs into the next band the floor went absolutely bizzerk. At first I expected the usual moshpit developments, however whilst checking the band out I felt several large objects whiz bythe back of my head in quick succession. I turned around to find that a large circle formed, as often does at metal gigs, in which the traditional form of metalhead dancing takes place. Such dancing is usually refered to as moshing, and comprises of big sweaty guys bashing into each other in response to the music. However what I saw taking place within the circle was not what I expected. The whizzing objects behind me were infact peoples' feet. There were five or six guys within the circle throwing roundhouse kicks, punches and other moves usually reserved to the Dojo. I quickly respositioned myself 10 metres away. The kicking reminded me of Capoeira.

It was truly a spectacle. I also noted that there were two or three women joining in too. It was definately violent, but however was not at all agro. No actual fighting broke out. And all the while, most of the participants were smiling. Seemingly in some sort of state of elation.

We had a great time at this gig. We met some guys from the first band we saw, and with the aid of there bilingual friend managed to have a short conversation. They had been together since 1996 and said it took alot of work to get to their level within Tokyo. It is definately a huge scene. Must be close to the level of London, or maybe even Palmerston Nth.