A Ridiculous Concert. Still, my research.

Last night, I saw an unbelievably diverse show at the nearby noise venue, Socrates. Before I dive into how crazy this concert was, let me give you a quick run-down of the bands that played:

1. Droney Shoegaze band (combination of Smashing Pumpkins, the Smiths, and Boris)
2. Quirky Indie band (played ~1min songs that were FULL of dissonance)
3. Sheet metal player and orator noise duo
4. Improvisation noise collective (~6 musicians + 1 interpretive dancer)
5. Bubblegum dancepop group (actually awesome)
6. Extreme noisepunk improvisation trio and interpretive dancer.
7. Drone-like heavy noise group. Kind of like Boris and Explosions in the Sky
8. Circuit-bending noise freakout duo and stand-up comedy act.

Just read those again. 8 totally different bands playing at one underground show. The only thing that could have tied them together was the fact that they utilized noise, in some manner, as a tool for composition. Now that I've broken the ice a bit, I want to go into these bands individually. This might be a rather long post...

1. "スナトメリ" (sunatomeri) was the name of the first band. Like I wrote above, their style was really drone-like and shoegazey. I immediately thought of the Smashing Pumpkins's Siamese Dream when these guys ripped out their first few chords. The frontman's (Atsushi and I actually became fast friends last night. great guy) mellow and fluid tenor lines were perfectly supported by that "wall of sound" guitar style, which in turn was complimented by a rather interesting and active bassist. After the show, I spoke with the frontman and bassist, and they confirmed that The Smiths were a big influence of theirs, after all. I asked Atsushi if he was a fan of Boris, but he admitted he had never heard of them. Today, I sent him Pink. All in all, Sunatomeri is a very, very solid rock/shoegaze group that I definitely plan to see again (this week, in fact!). 
2. After reviewing this group's myspace, it seems that only half of the group performed at the concert last night. The group is called "ジョンのサン"　(Jonnosan). Last night, it was difficult to tell if the group was performing rather meekly because of a lack of experience or if the group was actually hoping to attain a sort of quirky and "band-next-door" image. Knowing that half the member did not perform, and after listening to some of their recorded music, it was absolutely a combination of both. The three members last night played, collectively, a total of about 11 different instruments, but none of the members displayed a particularly virtuosic aptitude. It really made no difference, in the end, because their playing was well-tailored to their idiosyncratic style. In fact, though their compositions appeared remarkably simple, there were numerous dissonances and cool uses of counterpoint. I would guess that all of these guys (or whoever was writing the songs) had seriously studied music at some point or another; their music really reflected an advanced knowledge of tonal crunch and unorthodox harmonic development. That, or they made a lot of extremely righteous-sounding mistakes last night. 
3. Arguably the most impressive group was "Duo Impro". See pictures below. When I saw a guy lugging a massive sheet of hammered metal, I knew I had come to the right show. The metal plate was suspended from a metal rigging with long springs, and a series of microphones were delicately placed along its length. The performer (who seemed a little shy when I tried to talk to him), played the metal with felt mallets, and the effect was hypnotizing. The duo itself had an extraordinarily unconventional style, even with respect to the varied selection of bands that performed. For 30 minutes, a very somber woman narrated a quiet existential horror story through a microphone [with a significant white noise], as her partner played ambient noise on the sheet metal. I was completely taken in by the atmosphere, which was beautiful and sorrowful. I think a lot of the story was lost on me (parts were difficult for me to understand), but the mood was incredible. It really made me think about the kinds of things we define as music. What was this performance? It certainly had strong roots in the ancient Japanese art of story-telling. Was it half-music, half-performance art? How much was I missing by not understanding the oration? Although this group used a somewhat modern vessel (use of sheet metal and amplification), the "song" or "piece" they performed last night reminded me of nothing but the most primitive and universal of arts, public story-telling. After they finished, I spoke with the woman who told the story, and was very shocked to find that she was a cheerful and friendly lady, despite the darkness and weight of her performing tone. This brings up more questions. How large of a role does acting and the embodiment of a foreign character play in this style of music, compared to more mainstream styles, like rock or pop? Unequivocally, the orator's somber way of speaking was integral to the ultimate experience the duo was able to deliver. I have so many questions about this group, and I will definitely try to experience them again.
4. In my opinion, this group was the least interesting of the eight. They were one of a few groups to perform an uninterrupted set, which I think was completely improvised. There were definitely some cool moments during their jam, but I felt like the performers could have spent more time listening to each other. I don't know what the group name is. This group did a set that was very noisy, without any particular mainstream genre cropping up. It was by no means a bad show, but it was a bit pale in comparison to the other groups. This was one of 2 bands to feature a dancer. 
5. The "bubblegum dancepop" group was "fortunica". When these four began setting up a projector and a number of synthesizers, I knew right away that the audience was about to be greeted with an entirely different esthetic. From the first note, this group pumped out a kind of synth-y teenybopper disco beat with conviction. There was no ambiguity in what kind of music they were there to deliver. I had my doubts and perhaps an unfair disdainful attitude at first, but after about 4 minutes and a very strong whisky, I was all over the "dance floor". Sure, the music was nothing new and very simple, but it was certainly effective. Three Japanese girls singing and playing synthesizers with a 128BPM four on the floor beat just works. It was catchy and fun as hell, and I had a great time. It was around this point that I really began to see the genius in the venue owner's programming. It reaffirmed the beliefs I had prior to this concert; great programming is diverse not only in energy but in genre as well.
6. The sixth group did not have a real name, I believe, but they were listed as "大岡英介＋○×○×＋倉田憲一" In fact, I am beginning to realize that these three guys were perhaps not an established band, after all. I think it was just three friends who decided to improvise together. Regardless, they did an excellent job, and their output was very fresh and compelling. Their 30 minute jam began with some feedbacking guitar and light percussion. They built momentum for about 20 minutes, until a major climax with a fast, punk rock-like feel. I found myself unknowingly banging my head with cathartic vigor at this point. The whole set had one foot very firmly planted in the world of "noise", while the other was perhaps in punk or improvised jazz. Cool stuff. One of the three guys, 倉田憲一, is the owner of the venue, and I had some nice discourse with him before and after his set. I told him I did electronic music and was interested in noise, and he seemed really psyched to have me perform at the venue, which was really exciting for me. 
7. The penultimate group was called "Jillijili", and they were very solid. During the first six shows, I accidentally became great friends with four of the five members (the drummer and two guitarists). We're going to see Acid Mother's Temple in Nagoya in a few weeks. The two guitarists were brothers (miss you, Andy), and they were really fun and friendly dudes. The drummer was a girl who could really play those skins (she also played piano in the 4th band). One thing I liked about the whole night was that 6 of 8 bands had at least one female member. It seems like in Japan there are many more women involved in mainstream and underground music than in America. I think a large part of it has to do with the number of opportunities there are for playing "band instruments" (drums, electric guitar, etc) in high school and college. In the US, most people privately organize bands and such, but in Japan, there are scores of extracurricular clubs for playing these instruments. Also, it seems like it is a much more socially normal thing over here for a chick to pick up a guitar and totally rock out. It is not really seen as masculine, as I feel it is in the US. Anyway, this group was really awesome. Their sound definitely drew upon the realms of noise, shoegaze, and a little heavy metal. With three guitarists, the group was able to pull off a lot of mesmerizing harmonies and intertwining lines. They did not have a vocalist, but the group jokingly offered to accept me as a member. In any case, their instrumental music was captivating. If you like Explosions in the Sky, you may enjoy these guys' music.
8. The final "band" was incredibly hilarious and strange. Before the show started, I watched a man dressed in a lab coat carry about 10 circuit-bent toys and keyboards to the stage. In fact, there was a sort of Furby shrine, where a skinned Furby robot was surrounded by different lights and a modified Furby pelt. A little creepy, a little hilarious. The duo (the other guy was wearing a Nike tracksuit) proceeded to play warped and distorted Christmas tunes and perform a stand-up routine. Again, more "what is music?" questions popped up in my head. Eventually, the two (remaining in-character) had a 15-minute chiptune/cicuit-bent noise jam, and it was glorious. Incredibly deranged voices and children's tunes were mashed together, resulting in a horrible (awesome) cacophony of shattered childhood memories and dreams. During the first half of the set, everybody in the audience sat down on the venue floor, as if they all knew what to expect. This turned out to be a good position to be in while receiving the awful (beautiful) and disorienting noise. I don't know who these guys were, but I intend to inquire about them at the next available opportunity.

So, that is essentially what I experienced last night. It was totally sweet, and very cheap! I have definitely found my new favorite venue, and I am really happy to have made so many cool music friends. This was exactly what I needed to get my foot in the door, so to speak. Hopefully, with Socrates' blessing, I will be performing at this venue in the near future. Ah, some photos: