After Summer Dance we drove back to Philly for a quick day and a half of rehearsals. Then it was out to the airport for the 20 hour trip to Nirita/Tokyo. We arrived in the afternoon and were picked up by Doug and Koji, the founder and an employee of Buffalo Records, who release our albums in Japan.
We headed south to Yokohama, the 3rd biggest city in Japan and only a 30-minute train trip from Tokyo. About half way there the rental van started rumbling and then a tire blew. We waited around while the service truck showed up to help. We would have just changed it ourselves, but the was virtually no shoulder on the busy highway and it would have been pretty dangerous without something to block traffic.
We finally got to the hotel at Yokohama, which was really nice. We went out for dinner at a local Japanese restaurant. At the table was a touchscreen, like a big Iphone, that you could order with. It made so much it’s a wonder they don’t have them in the States. Waiter Unions oppose them maybe? Are there waiter unions?
The next day was free so we could get adjusted to the 12-hour time difference. Some of us took the train up to the Shibuya and Shinjuku areas of Tokyo to check out the urban madness. Others stayed in Yokohama to walk around the less-hyper port city.
In Japan Tower Records still exists. The store in Shibuya is 7 stories high and was at one time the largest record store in the world. They stock every Lotus CD.
The public transportation system is extremely efficient and mammoth. Coming after the morning rush wasn’t too bad, but riding back during rush hour was crammed. I didn’t see the fabled “train pushers” who are employed to shove people into trains to help get everyone on. Tons of bikes are out on the streets. There are even parking garages exclusively for bikes that are multiple stories high, like the ones for cars in the States.
The next morning we drove 4.5 hours down to Nagoya, which is the home of the Toyota headquarters. When we arrived at the club the house crew had all the rental gear and mics already set-up on stage in the correct spots. Scott had two light designers both wielding huge poles under his direction getting the lights into place. They run clubs a lot differently and seemingly with a lot more respect than back at home. Skerik opened the show with some avant-garde saxophone improv and Bollywood samples.
It was our first show with Mike Greenfield on drums. He did a great job. There were a couple miscues, but nothing serious and there were some great moments in the jams. Livingston Storm had some great breakdowns and group inter-play. The Jump Off opening got the biggest crowd cheer and had the place rocking. Plant Your Root > Flower Sermon was a 30 minute monster. The crowd was eating it up and a mosh pit even broke out. It was extremely hot on stage and we were all soaked in sweat at the end of the show. But we went downstairs to meet people and sign things. We probably signed 100 items, mostly shirts and CDs, but cellphones, purses, hats were inscribed as well. I recognized some fans from the previous shows in Japan. One couple had been at our Osaka show back in 2005, which they had brought their then one-year old son too. They had the pictures of us with the baby to prove it, and the kid, now 5 was in tow again.
2009.09.04 – Bottom Line – Nagoya, JPN
I. Behind Midwest Storefronts, Livingston Storm, Golden Ghost, Simian, Dane Jeer Us, Invincibility of Youth, Jump Off
II. Suitcases, One Last Hurrah, Scrapple, Age of Inexperience, Plant Your Root > Flower Sermon
E. Shimmer and Out
Our friend Taka was also there running his psychedelic light projections that are a combination of video and old school techniques using overhead projectors. His wife who plays in the famous Japanese punk band Turtle Island Self Navigation and son Orb (yes, named after the psychedelic UK electronic-ambient outfit) were along as well. After catching up a bit it was back to the hotel for some much needed rest.
On Saturday we drove 4.5 more hours to the Metamorphose Festival in Shizuoka. The drive took us along some gorgeous sites next to the ocean, and huge lake, and then up into the mountains past farms growing rice and Japanese green tea. The festival was up in the mountains at a bicycle training facility. The main stage was a the end of a long flat track that looked like an airplane landing strip. There were other stages scattered around the mountain side with tons of dome tents the attendees had to sleep in. On the flyer for the festival they listed the visual/light designers right alongside the musical acts. I guess that happens here in the rave scene more often, but the JamBand scene should take note.
Famous producer Bill Laswell (he produced Rockit! for Herbie Hancock) was milling around backstage as were his band mates Bernie Worrell, DJ Krush, and Guy Licata. Richie Hawtin was getting prepped to perform his set after the legendary German prog-kraut group Tangerine Dream.
As Richie Hawtin finished his set the stage crew swarmed getting his mixers off and rolling out Lotus’s drums and percussion. They were the fastest crew I’d ever seen. I was plugging in my keyboard and the power flickered because of a loose connection. In a second a stage hand had a back-up power source ready. Jesse was tuning off of my tuner, and turned around and they had a tuner set up of his rig. We had everything up and 10 minutes to spare before our start time.
At 4 am sharp we hit the stage to probably 7,000 pumped up Japanese electronic music fans. The moon was full and shining down an erie light behind the stage. It was a great set and got into some killer moments, especially during the new-ish 128, which had been partially inspired by Richie Hawtin to begin with. The sun gradually rose during the final songs ending appropriately with Sunrain. It was amazing seeing that many Japanese fans dancing, swaying, and fist-pumping as the sun came up over the beautiful mountain setting.
2009.09.05 – Metamorphose Festival – Shizuoka, JPN
Bellwether, Tip of the Tongue, Tarasque, Flower Sermon, Disappear in a Blood-Red Sky, 128, Greet the Mind, Spiritualize, Sunrain
After the set we caught up with Kengo, who organized our first tour to Japan, and some of the other guys who did that tour with us. It was great seeing them again although we all wished the language barrier was a thinner veil between communication.
No sleep in the land of the rising sun. We were immediately off to Kashiwa, outside of Tokyo for the last show. The hilariously named Drunkard’s Stadium had an equally hilarious logo. We set up and did our sound check before going back to the hotel for a nap and to grab some sushi.
After another opening set from Skerik we went on to the capacity crowd. The stage was extremely hot and with in minutes we were all dripping sweat. My keyboards and pedals were glistening with droplets. Livingston Storm went into a deep dub type feel that was feeling great. Destroyer stretched out a bit more than usual, and the It’s All Clear had all sorts of tangential tributaries. Everyone was completely exhausted after a night of no sleep and losing a couple pounds of sweat on the stage. A post-show pizza was wolfed down and we drove back to the hotel to crash.
2009.09.06 – Drunkard’s Stadium – Kashiwa, JPN
I. Intro to a Cell, Golden Ghost, Bellwether, Livingston Storm, Destroyer, Spiritualize
II. Tip of the Tongue, It’s All Clear to Me Now > Bubonic Tonic, Marisol, Wax
E. Blender
The next morning we had a couple hours to explore Kashiwa before driving to the airport for the 20 hour trip back home. One last trip to the vending machine to use any remain yen, and we were off.
