JGoth.com :: Japan Goth and Industrial Music

[Goth LIVE] This should not be confused with Zinny’s Walpurgis events! This is an occasional event put on by the boss-man of Urga (I believe). It is looking tasty with Neurotic Doll and Agent Murder crawling out of their crypts, Destruct System, Aural Vampire and more. A special note on one band: 2nd Effect. This is the band of Kuro Neko bar master Motoki (heya!). I would say it is a don’t miss show.

St. Warpulgis Nacht #07 @ Urga Shinjuku TOKYO
Open: 21:00
Live: Agent Murder (info), Aural Vampire (info), Destruct System (info), 2nd Effect, Preuve d’etre, and more!

More details HERE!

It’s amazing to think that just two years ago, the Golden Week Goth pickings were pretty slim. Sure, there were parties, but lots of Goths had joined the mindless hordes returning to their home towns. But last year, things were definitely chirpier and this year the number of events hint at general insanity for Goths, alts and etceteras with a brace of events in Tokyo, a trio in Osaka and even one in Kobe (sorry Nagoyans, you will have to wait a couple of weeks…) Okay, it’s late, but here’s an overview.

Tokyo

:: Sat. 28 April
:: Smash it up nite @ Chop
A tribute night for The Damned! Not necessarily a Goth night, but with performances from Seaside Suicide and The Cranks it promises to be an insane experience.

:: Sun. 29 April
:: St. Warpulgis Nacht #07 @ Urga Shinjuku
This is Goth… Totally freaking Goth. Featuring Agent Murder, Aural Vampire, Destruct System and more, this all-night event is destined for greatness. Get your ass out to this if at all humanly possible!

:: Mon. 30 April
:: Club Inferno @ Bar Shifty Shibuya
A super-cool DJ’d event from Khimaira and co. The event usually takes place on Sundays, but this month it will be on Monday.

:: Fri. 4 May
:: Rowthe & 101A in G’s Funeral @ Chop Ikebukuro
A general event offering a smooth mix of hard spiritual and alt rock. It might not be Goth, but should be very good.

:: Fri. 4 May
:: Beat Beast @ Yotsuya Outbreak
Another good alt event with Super Boss M10, Soulsource and a stack of other acts, including Neurotic Doll Neu! doing DJ.

:: Sat. 5 May
:: Electrock #22 @ Urga Shinjuku
Hard electronicka and rock edging towards the darkside. Tonight features the talents of Nicht, Calmando Qual, Red Mecca and Japanese Babies. And Mr. Neu! will be doing some more spinning. This is a great start for those thinking about invading Tokyo Dark Castle later in the night!

:: Sat. 5 May
:: Tokyo Dark Castle @ Marz Shinjuku
The final nail in the Golden Week coffin in Tokyo is also the hottest. TDC will be delivering Baal, Auto-Mod, Lloy Destruct System and more. This event will be harder than average, so you can expect to expend any remaining energy you have and walk away satisfied with your Golden Week.

Osaka

:: Sat. 28 April
:: Switch BladerZ + 9 more in No Money Night @ King Cobra
10 Live bands?!! I admit to only knowing Switch BladerZ with this event, but their brand of psychobilly is just awesome. Speed-balling, gamboling and just freaking crazy. The other bands seem to rank highly on the frenetic scale, so be prepared for an insane night.

:: Fri. 4 May
:: Black Veil 7th Anniversary :: Neo Osaka
Osaka’s biggest Goth event led by Territory-D’s Taiki (that is all you need to know!). Expect the world to go insane, but make sure you get dressed up for the night (strict dress code applies).

:: Sun. 6 May
:: Dark Electr-O @ Socio Osaka
Industrial madness attacks as Rieu heads across to Osaka to unleash Despair upon you! Also features some great grinding electronic-industrial from Sunao Inami and Kenji Kinoshi’s side project Baki-Sho-Ji.

Kobe

:: Sat. 5 May
:: Dark Electr-O @ Otoya Kobe
Industrial madness attacks as Rieu heads across to Osaka to unleash Despair upon you! Also features some great grinding electronic-industrial from Sunao Inami and Kenji Kinoshi’s side project Baki-Sho-Ji.

[Don't worry! We are Nova TOMO!] Nova Corporation, the king of eikaiwa (Search J Goth for Nova), is preparing to release the official annual company results sometime in the next few weeks. While Nova is still saying it will pull a profit this year, the Japan Company Handbook (by Toyo Keizai) has guestimated a possible 50 million yen loss – a far cry from the 3 billion yen shock from last year, but still a loss. Last week the result of the government raids on Nova in relation to violations of the Specific Commercial Transaction Law has come out in an interesting and painful way as well.

The decision :: Thank to Shawn
Essentially, Nova’s policy recalculates the service fees to reduce the amount it refunds if a student cancels. A number of brave (or possibly bored) Students have fought Nova to get full refunds. Even with a loss at the Supreme Court, Nova still maintains the policy.

However, METI has delivered Nova it’s refund policy ass on a platter. The interpretation of the law has been tightened to void even rational recalculation of fees/services when providing a refund. It seems small on the surface, but it is a core component of the business model. Very few students will use their purchased lesson points, and by making it very hard to get full refunds kept the money in the coffers.

Stock Price edging to 100 yen
The stock has been slowly sliding the last 12 months from a 250+yen price in mid-2006 to the low 100s now.

But now the company is scraping the psychological break point of 100 yen. Like a company in the US which goes sub-dollar value, investors eye the 100 yen level with caution. Going sub-100 yen before the release of results could make things very interesting. Upon dropping through 100, the pressure will tend to be downward, but the question will remain, Have they bust the loss cycle or just plain bust?

ECC, Gaba, Geos and others are licking their lips with anticipation, giving sick little hacking giggles like the jackals they are. Has the alpha-jackal bought it, or is there still some life in the monster yet?

This is not investment advice. If you are seeking investment advice here and think you found it, either 1) get off the drugs you are currently on, or 2) consult your doctor to see what drugs are available.

Kobe and Osaka are due for a double dose of Despair as Rieu and crew come across from Tokyo to unleash industrial hell like you have never seen before. What can I say, complex, harsh, fast and powerful. Sounds to wake the dead and start a riot. They will be joined by veterans of the underground electronic scene Sunao Inami and Baki-Sho-Ji (Kenji Kinoshi 4D Mode1).

Dark Electr-O @ Otoya KOBE :: Sat. 5 May
Live: Despair (info), Sunao Inami and Baki-Sho-Ji (Kenji Kinoshi from 4D Mode1).
DJ: an0n (vacant room/APPLIANCE JAPAN)
Full details

Dark Electr-O @ Socio OSAKA :: Sun. 6 May
Live: Despair (info), Sunao Inami and Baki-Sho-Ji (Kenji Kinoshi from 4D Mode1).
DJ Picorin (Suki-Suki Elepo)
Full details

Running out of time for the May events… Here’s one for you folks in Nagoya. Not only is there tatts, but you can see The Royal Dead, Nagoya’s Bionic O.P. and quite a few other bands with attitude.

Kaz Tattoo Operation @
Live: The Royal Dead – ex. Phantasmagoria (info), Bionic O.P. (info), D.U.S.T., Spank (good one), Sawdust in Me and Lagrange Garden.

Details here

[Cyber - Industrial] Sadie’s Speecies project will be trekking all the way from Osaka to cruise the streets of Tokyo with their infectious mix of glam-Goth-elektronicka towards the end of May. They will be joined by Rieu’s Despair, an incomparable sound of industrial devastation, Smells and quite possibly more.

Check events page for details, linx, etc.

A mix of darkness featuring mainly visual acts, but Blood is doing a lot of work sifting through that scene for bands with grit – which is why their events are here. The truth is that as the Gothic-Lolitas grow up, they won’t be satisfied with silent hand-waving and will want to do things like jump and yell and occasionally head butt foreigners in mosh-pit, and some of the bands are starting to oblige with harsher sounds. This one should be worth your while for Blood and Suicide Ali. The other bands look like they should be interesting, but if not, you can always jump and scream yourself.

Blood & Suicide Ali @ Holiday Osaka
Live: Blood (info), Suicide Ali, WhiteBlack, Blood Stain Child, Belin, Velvet Nightmare, Exist Trace.

Full details here

King Ghidorah (キングギドラ) is considered Godzilla’s arch-nemisis by some and one seriously heavy-duty bad-ass in the Godzilla universe only being beaten when Godzilla, Mothra, and Rodan tagged together against him. He’s also got three heads – he’s pretty Baal-esque himself, being a three-headed being of ultimate power. With that kind of title, this event must be packing some serious horse-power.

Baal is stepping up to a new level and will be playing with some hard-hitting veterans of the indy scene. Other acts including tasty industrial from Transtic Nerve, Madbeavers, Dust’N'Bonez and Remain Things. Looks like you need to pre-book early (oops – might be too late) using the Lawson convenience store ticket system (L-Code is 36949) or booking through Marz (03-3202-8248).

A little bit hazy on information this time, but trust me, Baal doesn’t do events unless they have bite! Or in this case, enough firepower to damage Godzilla.

King Ghidora @ Marz Shinjuku
Open: 17:30 :: Start: 18:00
Live: Baal (info), Transtic Nerve, Madbeavers, Dust’N'Bonez and Remain Things.

Full details here

[Monster Cyber Nite] Organized by ARTiSM and SiSeN/Violet, this event is an awesome display for Tokyo’s cybernetic crowd. The live side is a wondrous brew of cyber-elektronicka featuring Sino, Psydoll and Bespa Kumamero, along with a guest appearance of Himawari. DJ’s include Sisen, Takuya Angel and Guild. There will also be a stack of dancers and performers that will make you think you have crossed into SiSeN-Land! This event is golden.

Booking: As a small thank you to a couple of guys who have been super-nice to the JGoth slave, I would like to suggest any JGoth-ers going book through either Psydoll or Sino (thanks guys):
Psydoll: psyber [at] psydoll.com
Sino: sino [at] re-buildrecords.net
– Please provide your name, number of your party and send email by the evening of the 26th.

Tokyo Cyber Monster 01 @ Studio Cube 326 Minato-ku (Tamachi stn.)
Open/Start: 16:30
Live: Sino Re-Build Projects (info), Psydoll (info), Bespa Kumamero (info) and Defrag.
Guest Live: Himawari
DJ’s: SiSeN (info), Takuya Angel and Guild
Performance: Dances, performances and exhibition!

See event listing for (a bit) more info

[Goth/80's - Live & DJ] Walpurgis night gets paranoid with New Wave and Neo-Gothic throbbing rock-like electro. Sounds like DER KFC, Tommi Stumpff, Krupps and DAF are mentioned… Yes, they are all out to get you!

Club Walpurgis began as a Goth/Punk club in the 1980′s and became one a kind of underground mecha in its day. 18 years after the original club closed down Walpurgis returned as a regular event in 2005 with a heavy emphasis on 80′s alternative, glam, Gothic, industrial and electroclash. Club Walpurgis plays every third Saturday of the month.

As stated, tonight’s set will veer off the road into some lovely retro angst. This Walpurgis’ soundscape has a bit more bite than average.

Club Walpurgis (info) @ Aoi Heya Shibuya TOKYO
Open/Start: 24:00
DJs’: Zinny Aerodinamica, Nariki, Sato M., Naoto.

More details…