It’s nearly that time of year again. That’s right — South by Southwest (SXSW) is just around the corner, which means Japan Nite is just around the corner too. Last year was a blast, getting to hear some fresh sounds, meet the bands, pick up some new music (some of which I’m still enjoying nearly a year later), and hang out with my fellow J-Pop and J-Rock fans.
So get excited to see some of Japan’s lesser-known bands. Here’s the line-up:
Mo’some Tonebender
This alternative band was formed in Fukuoka City and has toured with bands like Yura Yura Teikoku, GuitarWolf, and Polysics.
Ordinarily, I avoid music festivals like the plague. You see, I have a bit of a phobia about large crowds. … But for you, dear reader, I overcame my phobia this year and headed down to Japan Nite, part of Austin’s annual South-by-Southwest (SXSW) film, music, and interactive technology exposition.
Unfortunately, I missed the first show by Jinny Oops!. It’s really unfortunate, because their music seems fun and upbeat, and I’ll bet they put on a good show. But I managed to see all of the other bands – Riddim Saunter, Okamoto’s, Red Bacteria Vacuum, Omodaka, Chatmonchy, and Dolly.
Here is a slideshow with all of the pictures I took accompanied by “TOKI” by Jinny Oops!:
For some higher resolution images, you can go to the Japan Nite set on my Flickr account.
And for you Chatmonchy fans, here is their performance of “Smoke of Love” (恋の煙 – Koi no kemuri).
Based on the feedback I got from my fellow audience members, the real breakaway performances of the evening probably went to Riddim Saunter, whose CD’s sold like hotcakes shortly after their performance; the Okamoto’s, whose 19-year-old lead singer had the stage presence of Mick Jagger and Jim Morrison; and Omodaka, whose music should’ve gone over like a lead balloon in a club like Elysium, but actually swept up the crowd and had them dancing.
On a personal note, I now have a crush on Red Bacteria Vacuum, who I bought a round of drinks for and took pictures with. In all seriousness though, they were a really fun group of women.
Well, I have to admit, even though I’m not normally a live music kind of guy, I’m kind of excited about one of this year’s events at South-by-Southwest (SXSW). On Friday, March 19th, 2010 at Elysium on Red River, seven up-and-coming bands from Japan are participating in the annual Japan Nite. This event has hosted a number of popular bands, including everybody’s favorite FLCL band The Pillows.
So, without further ado, here’s this year’s lineup.
7:00pm – Jinny Oops!
This all-girl indie punk-rock band is from Sakai City in Osaka.
Lead vocals and guitar: Mitsuyo Ishibashi
Bass and backup vocals: Chihiro Ishida
Drums and backup vocals: Hitomi Futemma
8:00pm – Riddim Saunter
This band has a bit of an R&B sound mixed with what the French call a certain “I don’t know what.” A couple of their songs remind me a little of the pre-1980′s Chicago sound.
Lead vocals – Keishi Tanaka
Guitar – Hiroshi Sato
Bass – Masamichi Hamada
Trumpet and Flute – Hiroto Homma
Drums – Taichi Furukawa
9:00pm – Okamoto’s
Hailing from Shinjuku, Tokyo, this band of 19-year-old’s claim to have an “illmatic R&B” sound. Their sound is a blend of R&B and psychedelic garage.
Vocals – Shou Okamoto
Guitar – Kouki Okamoto
Bass – Hama Okamoto
Drums – Reiji Okamoto
10:00pm – Red Bacteria Vaccuum
Another all-girl punk band from Osaka (by way of Tokyo), these girls are … umm… different.
Vocals and bass – Kassan
Vocals and guitar – Ikum!
Vocals and drums – Jasmine
11:00pm – Omodaka
If you like 8-bit video game music and traditional Japanese folk songs, this might just be the most awesome band ever for you. I would say more, but I think only their music can really speak for them.
Members: (as shown on the SXSW site)
Soichi Terada
an Apple MacBook Pro, a Nintendo DS Lite, a Sony PSP, a Gameboy Color, a Korg Kaossilator, and the LCD monitor
12:00am – Chatmonchy
Their tagline is “Three Girls from Japan Who Rock.”
Vocals and Guitar – Eriko Hashimoto
Backup vocals and Bass – Akiko Fukuoka
Backup vocals and Drums – Kumiko Takahashi
1:00am – Dolly
What would Japan Nite be without representation from the “visual kei” segment of J-rockers? Dolly, named after the cloned sheep, is that Visual Kei band. If you don’t come for the music, at least show up for the costumes.
Vocals – Mitsu
Guitar – Masa
Bass – Hachi
Drums – Tsuguki
If you’re interested in attending, Japan Nite is on Friday, March 19th at Elysium (705 Red River, Austin TX 78705). I’ll try to capture some photos and video while I’m there as well.
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