When Japanese people become fans of something they do it properly, almost to the exclusion of all other things. Take X Japan fans, some will take gigs as an excuse to dress up in a mad Visual Kei fashion and sing the chorus of Endless Rain for about half an hour.

Once I went to an X Japan concert and there was a girl about 5 rows back shouting the name of their deceased ex-guitarist over and over. By the end of the show her voice was reduced to a horse whisper. As I got up to leave I saw that all this was emanating from a girl with thick black eye shadow streaming down her face and clutching a doll of the guitarist tightly. It was quite a sight.

I don’t personally know any mental X Japan fans but I do have a group of friends who absolutely adore Oreskaband. Oreskaband are an eight piece all girl ska band from Osaka whose music is quite fun and lively but hardly ground breaking. They sometimes travel the country going to gigs, record TV appearances to put on DVDs, play in bands covering Okeskaband songs, play in other bands performing music inspired by them and collect as much merchandise as possible. It was through them that I became aware of the film Lock and Roll Forever.

Lock and Roll Forever is a film by the producer of High School Musical, starring the bloke out of High School Musical and, I assume, made in the style of High School Musical. It features a story about the members of Oreskaband as they journey to the US in an attempt to make it big there. It is a nice enough film, it features some funky song videos sandwiched between a load of dull but inoffensive plot sections. The overall story seems a little pointless and nothing really ends up happening.

I wonder why this film was made. Judging by the involvement of the producer of High School Musical, it is aimed at American teenage girls. Perhaps they were trying to break the band in the USA (something that will probably not happen in a billion years). If that is the case then they fell at the first hurdle, despite the fact it was filmed in 2008 it has yet to be made available in any format in either the US or Japan. Oddly the DVD has been released in Nordic countries, I have no idea why. Maybe the Swedish wing of the Oreskaband fan club is particularly vocal. It was the Nordic DVD that I ended up watching where it was given the more politically correct name, Girls Just Wanna Rock.

When all is said and done this film is only worth watching for the musical sequences. While not as good as anything from the likes of Yellow Submarine, some are nicely presented and worth a look if you like ska music or songs about Papayas.

Going to gigs in Japan seems to be split into two distinct camps, big concerts and live houses.

Up until fairly recently I only have been to see the big bands, the AC/DCs , X JAPANs, Radioheads and Shiina Ringos of this world. What all these gigs had in common was an insanely large hall, a funky stage and were all seated. When I first arrived at these gigs I was shocked, who wants to sit down to listen to rock music? As it turned out no one did. As soon as the music starts everybody stands up. Some jump up and down a bit, some have a wiggle but everyone basically stays in more or less the same place not really doing too much. The chairs thing really just seems to be there to stop people from moving around.

All the concerts I went to in the big halls I really enjoyed, all had great moments and were worth the (large amount of) money but I felt they were missing something. I just couldn’t put my finger on what it was though.

And then I went to see a few gigs at live houses, with smaller bands such as GO!GO!7188, Oreskaband and Midori. These live houses are basically small stages in little empty halls with not much else in them other than a bar. It’s at these gigs I discovered what the bigger ones were missing, being up close and personal with a band and their fans.

These bands are less well known, the venue is smaller, the fans are generally more hardcore and have invested a lot in the band; the atmosphere is just more electric. The fans really seem to express themselves more. At the large venues people seem to call out things like “I love you” and “You’re amazing” or do the dance moves that are expected of them (The X Jump for example).  While at the small gigs people are moshing, jumping about wildly, crowd surfing, and sweating like hell. So much so that most people carry towels with them, which I find quite cute.

I feel that the bands really get off on this atmosphere too. While the big bands are big bands for a reason and are generally great at what they do, everything is highly polished. With the likes of raising platforms, pyrotechnics and choreographed dancers, you feel everything has been rehearsed and rehearsed, not leaving anything to chance. The smaller bands meanwhile interact with the audience more, they have a chat, give them set list options and you can see them really get a charge from it. Some hang around after the gig and don’t mind people coming up to them to say hello. In the case of Midori, a band whose members I’ve discovered are a bit mental, the lead singer does things like crowd surf, strip to her underwear and push the drummer off his drums only to start playing them really, really badly.

I would have enjoyed that particular carry on a bit more if it wasn’t for the fact I had just lost my watch and been elbowed in the face, twice.

Who am I kidding? I loved it, every last second.

Now, I would try to compare going to see bands in Japan with going to see bands in the UK but honestly, I can’t. I mostly went to festivals while at home and can only remember seeing Metallica and Idelwild at their own gigs. The only thing I even remember about the Idelwild gig is that I enjoyed the support more than them. That point actually brings me to the only comparison I can actually make: I have yet to see anyone play in Japan with a support band, I should stop expecting any to be there.

Anyway, I leave you with some wise words from Mariko Goto, the lead singer of Midori.

Why is it that in the UK music in other languages rarely gets mentioned? A song can be popular the world over but just because it’s in German or something it is doomed to failure in the United Kingdom.

Since I’ve been in Japan, and even beforehand if I’m honest, I have discovered a fair number of great bands and singers and I think it is time to share them with you now.

JUDY AND MARY

Judy and Mary were a pop punk band mostly active in the 90s who had so much energy. The band’s front woman, Yuki has one of those voices, really high and it comes as a bit of a shock after a rocking guitar riff. If you look past that though you soon get used to it and can be treated to some strange and eclectic stuff. Since they disbanded Yuki has gone on to have a very successful solo career, but other then having fabulous videos, I don’t think it has been a patch on her work with JAM.

Go! Go! 7188

This band is a strange one. Apparently they started as a Judy and Mary cover band back in the day but then branched out and started to write their own songs. The thing I find odd about them is that while they have written some brilliant, brilliant songs the rest are just a bit samey and they stick to the same formula religiously. Another thing worth noting is that I once went up to the bassist (the girl on the left) and told her I loved her. She looked scared.

Midori

It’s hard to define Midori’s style of music. My best attempt would be to say it is Jazz played in the style of a death metal band. They seem to be very proficient at their chosen instruments but sometimes tend to ignore this in favour of just hitting them over and over. Their lead singers voice ranges from sugary sweetness to demon from the pits of despair. Probably the only band I know with songs that have cute duets followed by a girl barking like a dog for the whole chorus. Can be a bit hit and miss sometimes but it is wonderful that they are trying to do something so different.

Also whoever decided to do this photo shoot with them deserves a prize.

Shiina Ringo

Have I ever mentioned I like this lady’s music before? Oh yes! Here, here, here, here and here. Go listen to her, she is incredible.
On another note, in this picture her right and left side look like two completely different people! For a woman who is so obsessed with symmetry I find this slightly ironic.

Tokyo Jihen

Ringo’s band. I once read them described as a multi-headed hydra, all pulling in different directions. In a way I agree, all of it’s members are very talented but together there is no leader and the music lacks cohesion and it dilutes  everything they do. Saying that though it’s still Shiina Ringo singing. I think this band really does shine when it plays live, just search “Dynamite Out” on Youtube for some of the most wonderful live music (and the most wonderful hat ever too).

X Japan

X Japan are pretty legendary, they more or less invented Visual-kei music but in all fairness that is more of a look and less about the music. In reality they are just a great speed metal band all of whose members are very, very talented at what they do. Yoshiki, the band’s main creative force, is both an excellent drummer and excellent pianist. It is sometimes shocking to so a man who plays the drums so hard he needs to wear a neck brace suddenly change instruments and play a beautiful piano piece.

the pillows

The pillows were the first Japanese band I really got into. I discovered them through a quite barmy anime called FLCL. Their music is a lot of fun and for a time in the late 90s to the early 00s they could do no wrong and would pump out great album after great album. They are still active now but for perhaps the last 5 years their albums have seemed a little dull and by the numbers, which is a shame.

So that’s a few bands who have been notable in my Japanese music listening life. There are plenty more good’uns out there that I haven’t mentioned and hopefully that I’ve still to discover. Still I hope after this you give the bands I’ve mentioned a bit of a google, it really is worth it.

When I first came to this country it felt very much like I was on some sort of bizarre holiday. Walking around with my camera constantly taking photos of everything and anything, which I found to be quite an odd roll reversal from the stereotypical view of a Japanese tourist. Since then, things have kind of settled into normality, or a least the kind of normality where you can’t really have a half decent conversation with 90% of the people you meet.

This week, the feeling of normality has well and truly been shattered and I’m back into holiday mode. It all started last week when a friend from home moved here to teach as well, so I finally had someone to play Metal Slug with again. Which is something I’ve missed. Then, on Saturday, I did a karaoke all nighter without having to worry about going to work the next day, a feeling that frequently ruins my Saturday nights.

I didn’t need to worry because I was having an (unpaid!) day off. It was a very special day indeed, not only did I get to look at the famous Japanese cherry blossoms which really are a sight to behold this time of year but I attended a youtube hanami party! It was a party organised by Kevin Cooney, at bit of a legend around these parts for his great vlogs. So, I got to say hello to him and a few other Japan vlogger types, which was nice. I even got a chance to sample (COLD) Taco Bell. It certainly had that genuine Mexican pinto bean flavour but I’m not sure if I would recommend it over Mike’s Tex Mex here in quaint Higashi Rinkan.

That wasn’t the best of it though, that evening I experienced something that I thought would never happen, I got to see X Japan live! X Japan broke up about ten years ago and in the following years their lead guitarist died, their lead singer joined a cult and their drummer became manically depressed. Well, by some miracle they have now reunited and played 3 gigs over the weekend. It was a quite sensational experience. The 50,000 strong crowd gave it their all, as did the band and I haven’t been to or will ever go to a better gig.

Highlights of the show included the way they appeared to be walking on the crowds shoulders when they walked along the stage ramps, their performance of X and being able to do the X jump in public without feeling silly, a version of Weekend that didn’t suck, seeing Sting in the crowd, the entire bloody stadium singing when Toshi lost it, the looks of awe on the western journalists in front of me who obviously didn’t realise quite what they were letting themselves in for and just as you thought it had all ended, the piano solo from Art of Life kicked in and they played their half hour epic with the image of Hide projected on the stage.

Not even the fact that the next day I had to get up at 6.30 a.m for a monumentally long day at work kicked me out of holiday mode. That was because I was going to Tokyo Disneyland that Wednesday. Being a veteran of two previous Disneylands I was interested to see how different it was from the American one. It turned out that, like the French one, it wasn’t different at all. Maybe I’m doing a disservice to Euro Disney, at least the signs there are in French, here I may as well have been in Orlando. Only the fact that there were separate bins for burnables and non-burnables gave it away. Safe, traditional, family fun was had by all though.

So as I sit here typing this I’m still in the holiday mood. I want to strap my camera to my belt and go on an adventure. I wonder how many days of teaching it will take until I’ve have this feeling ground out of me?