Goth it wasn’t, but it was kind of fun – though I was frustrated at the mix. Six bands were up, but I missed the first. Face it, if there are six bands, the lead-off is going to be like Christians being served up to the lions. The only gothers I saw there were the players, support and a couple of guys doing the marketing rounds for TDC at the end of April. I was the only hakujin in the audience so I decided to forget my pre-conceptions grab my beer and enjoy whatever the hell was going to happen.
To be brutally honest, the audience wasn’t out there, if you know what I mean. I guess I’ve grown accustomed to decking out in black, seeing people who are a bit beyond normal, hearing some serious freaking noise, and going mad myself (or just brooding for effect), but it wasn’t happening on the night.
By the time I rocked up, band number two, Area, were into their set. Not a bad little group. They have obviously done the club circuit for many years and were quite polished. Bit of funk, grunt and psychodelia from the 60s/70s/early 80s, which was probably when the singer started up his career. The songs were fairly general crowd-pleasers, but they pulled off their set with aplomb. When the singer and bass started doing a bit of comedy and (gasp) party magic, I suddenly felt like I walked into a variety club. Don’t get me wrong – all the witty reparte was quite funny and got giggles from the audience – but it wasn’t eventin’ like I imagined.
Third band up was a young group, who may have been the lions’ second course. They started with their own little J-Pop tunes… ‘nuf said there. The second half of their act was a lot better as they loosened up, dropped the softer stuff and got a bit of their funk on. Might be interesting to see them in the future.
Satanyanko got the fourth slot, which is not a bad place to be for a young band on their first trip to Tokyo, but with a definitely un-Goth crowd and the band’s feline angle it was a bit difficult to get the synchronocity going. Lead singstress Rie was great as an evil little kitty cat on stage and the axe-grinders were good – pulling out some pretty lively punk sounds. To be honest, I would have liked to see the guitars getting more front time – the bassist was damnable sexy when she got the bass low and started grinding out the tune and the lead came up to the front of the stage a few times. They did well, but give them a Goth audience and they should go off!
Strawberry Song Orchestra could be described as Kabuki-Goth orchestral. A nine person troupe combining theater with some really heavy grock from the lead guy in a black hat and trenchcoat. I lost the set’s plot pretty early on, but it was very good stuff. It looked as though a big part of the audience were actually waiting for this group and that is very understandable – they may have a Gothic/dark orientation, but the connection with more traditional Japanese theatrics and a cool performance would have a pretty broad appeal, Goth or not.
The final set was done by a general caberet-like group. Lots of fun, lots of audience participation – Igor scored himself a tequila onstage – and generally fun. The members were very sure of themselves and it was good. Entertaining, but not my usual cup of tea.
Being a good little Gother, I picked up a Strawberry Song Orchestra CD and the Satanyanko/SSO split CD, a Satanyanko badge (now that is cool and will be firmly attached to Igor’s daywalker business bad!), and a couple of stickers to deface my office with.
All in all it was a fun night, but a little awkward in terms of thematics. Young J-Pop, older pub rock band, neo-punk, dark theatrical and tarento-styled finish. If I was coming from a generalist perspective, looking to hear a range of bands that are out there, then this would have been the kind of deal I’d go to. I’d like what I like, and be appreciative of all the acts. For someone looking for a particular thematic focus (be it Goth, punk, cabaret or club acts), it was less satisfying. I guess I’m saying I left full (especially after that damned tequila), but not satiated. As I wasn’t in sync with most of the crowd I felt a bit out of place. Planning-wise I prefered the likes of Jail League, organized by Auto-Mod, which had different themes (thrash, hard rock, cat fight, amateur wrestling, metal with lively Goth at the end), a small contingent of obvious Gothers, but it all melded as the groups’ styles and the audience were all a lot more interconnected and everyone went nuts.
In terms of the Gothers from Osaka, I enjoyed them both. The cat-loving satanists have got the right stuff for a Goth/punk/mad youth audience and that’s where I want to hear them. The Strawberry Song Orchestra is a pretty freaky group that would go well in many types of event.