The Tokyo Concert Experience

It’s an incredible experience to go to Fuji Rock Festival . Those three days of long walks in the midst of nature, in an environment that makes a conscious effort of respecting that privileged location and treats it with care. Enjoying an eclectic lineup with multiple options, depending on one’s taste. With a food offer that amazingly improves with each year. For all these reasons and more Fuji Rock is definitely an event to look forward to. The first day this year was unlike my previous two experiences. Those Fridays were the least attended days in each of those editions. That doesn’t mean scarcely attended, it means that there’s still the possibility of moving around with relative ease. But this was the year that Ellegarden played Fuji Rock. After an 11 year wait since their last appearance at the festival, the fans eager for their pop-punk fix came in droves. I’d say that at least two out of ten people walking around the site were wearing an Ellegarden t-shirt. The lines at th...

At first glance the eclecticism of this concert’s program was more than apparent. Starting off with a Viennese Strauss waltz followed by an ominous 20th Century masterpiece. Then followed after an intermission by another masterpiece from the pre-baroque era and closing things up with a another repertoire staple, this one being a tone poem from the late 19th Century. I don’t think this concert was advertised as such, but it was not difficult to see how this juxtaposition of styles worked as a parallel soundtrack to Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey . The contrast between Johann Strauss II and György Ligeti in the first half of the program was similar to that between the images of futuristic state of the art technology and Strauss’ Blue Danube in the movie. A ship landing on a space station as the aforementioned waltz climaxes at its finale is not a jarring juxtaposition, it works because both elements remind us of the inherit beauty of a well-oiled machine. For this concert we ha...

In the era of streaming and while everyone anticipates the disappearance of the movie theater, Apichatpong Weerasethakul is a filmmaker that continues to be fascinated with the notion of film as a collective experience. What this idea embodies is the overall concept of Fever Room , an installation that has toured countries in Europe and Asia wowing audiences in its path. If you have a chance to experience it please don’t hesitate, it’s a truly unique experience. If that’s the case I’d ask you to stop reading, because in this post there will be information that could potentially spoil the experience. After being guided through a somewhat dark maze along with rest of the audience, we found our spots near the front, sitting on cushions on the floor. Just a few minutes later the place went to pitch black darkness and a screen descended from the ceiling. The projection started with a series of images shown twice described each time by an unseen character using a single word for each ...

I can’t say I’m an Indian Classical music expert -far from it- but I can say I’m a fan. I’m a big fan of Its hypnotic nature, the haunting atmosphere materialized through a combination of the droning of the tanpuras, the complex rhythm patterns of the tablas and the bended notes of the sitar, bansuri, santoor, sarangi or voice. It all started a few years ago when I grabbed a Ravi Shankar Greatest Hits type of compilation. After that there was no turning back. I especially love the vocal offerings. There’s something definitely entrancing in voices like Pran Nath’s or Shruti Sadolikar’s that’s rarely found in other types of music. The instrumental offerings are not less mesmerizing, so I was really excited when this concert was announced, it was going to be my first exposure to Indian Classical music in a live setting. A few years ago Zakir Hussain played a show in Tokyo but I couldn’t make it. Fortunately I was able to grab a ticket for this one before it sold out; it actually sol...

Last year Frank Mullen rejoined Suffocation for one last tour of America as its lead vocalist. He semi-retired from touring duties in 2013, roughly 25 years after founding the band in a suburb of New York City. If ever a band was responsible for the birth of a genre, Suffocation would be the one. As the forefathers of brutal death metal they were responsible for introducing a balance between complex songwriting, including odd time signatures and numerous breakdowns, with raw aggression. Luckily for Japanese audiences Mullen decided to come for a last trek around these shores with the band. Back in 2010 I had the chance to see them with Mike Smith on drums and Guy Marchais on guitar at a show they co-headlined with Napalm Death. They were first on the bill but I was late, I could only catch them playing the last song they played that night. This time around I was not going to make the same mistake and got there early, right on time to see the first band of the evening. World End M...

The jazz trio of piano, bass and drums is considered by some as the primal and cornerstone of jazz ensembles. The piano, acting as the lead voice, fills up the spaces anchored by a rhythm section that also contributes with solos at times. The three musicians ought to form an almost telepathic synergy that translates into an everflowing cascade of ideas and, in the ideal settings, a parallel to the human experience with emotions ranging from melancholy to euphoria. It might sound corny, but it’s basically the closest representation in music of the balance between heart and mind. In the last ten years or so, the name of Vijay Iyer has been added to the historical pantheon that includes people like Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, Keith Jarrett, and Brad Mehldau. Besides teaching in Harvard, Iyer has accumulated a significant number of awards. He has been named Artist of the Year multiple times in publications such as DownBeat and Jazz Times. He’s also one of the few jazz artists recipi...

I read in an article not so long ago that this year’s gas emissions stemming from the production and incineration of plastics will be the equivalent of 189 coal power plants working at full steam. It is estimated that in around ten years the number will quadruple. That alarming fact doesn’t even bring to account the devastating impact of plastic pollution in oceans. We all have seen pictures and images of marine life struggling with the debris underwater, struggling to survive in their environment. These eloquent and heartbreaking images brought the political-conceptual Matmos’ set to a close this evening. Before the main act took the stage several bands preceded them. Unfortunately I couldn’t make it from the beginning. I ended up missing Max Eilbacher & Duncan Moor, Klonns and Jeff Carey. Got there on time for Cemetery , who bathe the place with ethereal sounds leaning towards noise without being harsh. His half an hour flew smoothly, the visuals projected behind him comple...