The Tokyo Concert Experience

  Many people believe that seeing a show at a small sweaty club with a band rocking out on a tiny stage is the ideal way of experiencing a concert. Even though I couldn’t say that I’d done that numerous times, I tend to agree with that sentiment. If you add to the equation a big -or relatively big- artist, then you’re privileged. That’s sometimes the case in Japan where artists that are huge in other parts of the world are not necessarily popular here. It usually happens with hip hop or hip hop adjacent performers. I know that Tyler The Creator and Doja Cat played really small venues in Tokyo not so long ago while they either headlined or co-headlined festivals like Coachella. Recently I reviewed the Marisa Monte show. It was a mid-size venue, in her country she plays stadiums. Jeff Rosenstock is not, by any means, a mainstream artist. He does attract a considerable audience, though. His name has gotten a lot of traction in recent years having popped up in multiple top ten lists f...