The Tokyo Concert Experience

Acting is her main gig, but as many before her -basically every single one of the French legendary actresses- she also has a music career. In her case, music is not an afterthought. Each of the three studio albums Charlotte Gainsbourg has released as an adult have been critically acclaimed and rightfully so. At her show in Tokyo she showcased her latest: Rest, playing it almost in its entirety. The show started with the first few notes of “Lying With You” played on a loop until the vocals kicked in. On stage four large square frames that doubled down as lightning sources surrounded the musicians, as if they were playing inside an open cube. The stage concept fits the somber mood of the album, that contrast lyrics about grieving with disco music. The frames on stage open their edges and, as the show progresses, go from static to blinking strobe club lights. Personally I thought it felt claustrophobic and didn’t quite work; it felt cumbersome in a Spinal Tap kind of way. ...

I’ve moved around a lot, all my music collection is stored in a hard drive, but wherever I go I always bring the first two Nuggets boxsets with me. To me it sounds kind of derogatory to just label that Lenny Kaye compilation as “primal”, because it shouldn’t be viewed as a relic. Those two compilations managed to encapsulate an energy that is representative of rock music of both old and new. Throughout his career Ty Segall has followed that example. Keeping with the Nuggets parallel, his records are like compilations based on their eclecticism. His latest one, for example, has influences ranging from soul, proto-metal, the British invasion, psychedelia and Neil Young-isms. Freedom’s Goblin is the title and it was showcased at this Tokyo show. It was announced as his first ever in Japan. The opening bands was labelmates The Silence, a foursome lead by Masaki Batoh, previously from Ghost. The bass was really high in the mix and the songs were all in the same mid-tempo, but no...

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...

Earlier this year, last January, I went to Disk Union Kichijoji to get me a birthday present. I got a Ravi Shankar CD that didn’t know I already had in its entirety in a compilation, a Butthole Suffers CD and a CD by Pandit Pran Nath. Two things convinced me to get the Pran Nath record; one that it was sealed and at a great price, the other that it had La Monte Young and Terry Riley in the credits. I always wanted to get into La Monte Young’s music. I’ve heard stuff here and there on YouTube, but the records are almost impossible to find and when you find them they are extremely expensive. The other credited musician, Terry Riley, has a more accessible discography in the sense that his records are more affordable and available at stores. For some reason I haven’t explored his discography as I have with the other two major minimalist composers: Reich and Glass. I’ve been lucky enough to even seen them perform. I remember seeing Philip Glass at the Royce Hall in UCLA performing ...