The Tokyo Concert Experience

I heard the first Fleet Foxes album soon after being released and was completely blown away. Mojo Magazine named it -along their first EP- album of the year. The song’s strengths were obvious from first listen. Harmonies inspired by the best bands from the sixties and complex melodies matured way beyond the early twenties of the band members, were qualities that resulted in what became one of the best albums of the first decade of the 21st Century. In the span of the following nine years they released another two albums, with six in between the second and the third. They added more elaborated arrangements and production explorations to their palette. They evolved into one of the biggest bands in the planet. When I first saw them they were not even an opening band, they were billed third after MGMT and Alela Diane. This time I seeing them as the sole act at a practically sold out venue in Tokyo. With a huge screen behind them projecting colors as in their “Third of May / Oda...

Daymare Recording is a Japanese label that specializes in the most experimental aspects of metal. For a few years they held a festival showcasing their artists named Leave Them All Behind, like the song from Ride. The last one was in 2015; that edition consisted of mostly local talent. This year they relaunched the event inviting Sleep to play in Japan for the first time. Sleep played three shows, one in Osaka and two in Tokyo, along with Japanese bands Nepenthes and Friendship. For a couple of shows Mutoid Man also performed. I decided to go the show at Liquidroom. The opening band for this show was none other than Boris. Boris is an amazing band and their live performances are a testimony of that. When I first saw them back in 2008, they closed with the Untitled song from the Smile record, one of my favorite songs of theirs’, a 20 minute opus of drone with power chords. I think that’s one of the things that help them rank among the best. In their music there’s a balanc...