The Tokyo Concert Experience

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...