The operative word for Agent Murder’s Adultery, was FUN! It showed a lighter side to Awi, whom I had previously seen at pure Goth events, like Tokyo Dark Castle (see TDC12 Report) and another much darker show earlier this year. It was a night for appreciators of good, live performances to get together and enjoy.
Urga Space
Firstly, let me just say that the Club Urga has a nice, well-laid out space. The club is relatively easy to find and one simply descends the stairs to the club. The bar and obligatory sales tables are nicely tucked into the entrance alcove allowing a comfortable capacity in the main area of 80-90 people. The amps’ sound quality seems to be much better than some places I’ve been to. Yep, definitely a nice space.
People
The space was filled to a pleasant 75-85 people. Most were female and they certainly were into the live experience. They were here to see their bands of choice and also listen to the other acts during the night. The bands seemed to enjoy an even pull of fans so you could always see 20-30 people right in front of the stage getting into the music of the moment.
Mamono
I must admit that I didn’t catch much of Mamono’s set, but they seemed to be getting it on with the crowd. The first thing I noticed was this freaking inflatable shark being thrust into the audience. It was two meters long and the band was having a loverly shark play with the audience as it bounced back and forth during the closing stages of their set. From the two minutes that I heard them, I could sense a nice J-Rock sound and was impressed to see they had a full band, including a real drummer! I had some positive vibes about these guys and am sorry I did not haul ass to the event sooner – sorry guys!
2 Bullet
Oh YES! This band is HOT! 2 Bullet churned out military-industrial sounds that just kicked! Agent Murder’s ax-man, Dee Lee, also does the ax-work for this outfit, and what fine work he does too! A funky mix of keyboards and hard guitar, along with impressive vocals with some cutting lyrics to boot. I think they won a lot of fans that night, including Igor. Was Igor excited? Yes, very damned excited! I picked up their CD soon after their set, which is great value – featuring 50 minutes for just 1,500 yen. I fully recommend catching them on September 19, when they’ll be playing with Aural Vampire @ Live Inn Rosa (I’ll post that later).
最鋭輁E(Motoki?)
Well, I didn’t go up to the front for this, but Motoki (or Maki?) had his fans eating out of his hands. It seems he has quite a reputation for his shows. It was a playful set as one man (in a three-piece white suit) and his guitar entertained and interacted with the audience. It was quite amazing hearing the calls of “Maki! Maki!” throughout the second half of the set! Not Goth, dark or industrial, but entertaining and a polished performance.
Agent Murder
Ah, Awi and the boys were having fun tonight. I’ve always enjoyed Agent Murder’s sets and this was no exception. The amps @ Urga brought out the vocals (grocks and screams) really well tonight very crisp sounds indeed. The performance was tempered a bit to appeal to the varied audience base, but that didn’t reduce the entertainment value for dark followers like Igor. A very solid performance plus some really neat spot-work ensured everyone had a good time and enjoyed their introduction to Awi’s style of Goth.
Taiheiyou Belt
A nice pop-visual performance. While the recorded music played in the background, the performers got into their vocals up front. They had jaunty sailor costumes and were unabashedly enjoying their time on stage. Igor was slooking around the back during this set, but it was plain to see that this trio could warm the audience’s cockles for a nice night out.
Special Session
Oh, it was special, very special, but in a way that you wouldn’t expect. I could tell you (hell, I got pictures!), but the dark-walkers will chase after me with rivet guns if I ever revealed the truth…
Final Comment
It wasn’t the kind of event I was expecting, but it was a very enjoyable night and had a lot going for it. Essentially, it was about bringing together a range of good acts and their fans together so we could all get a taste of some different sounds. Like Genet’s Jail League series, it was taking the live Goth scene to a broader audience. Genet’s metal nights bring in more guys. Awi’s mix brings in more girls. In both cases the quality of the acts were good so anyone, regardless of the band(s) they came to see, would enjoy the entire night and might find a new sound they want to follow deeper. From the dark-walker perspective, this is the kind of show that helps introduce people to bands in the Goth scene and hopefully pull them into the dark scene proper.
Remember kids, MORE GOTHS = MORE GOTH EVENTS = MORE FUN!!
Igor enjoyed the night and the acts. While not all the acts were my cup of tea, I’ll definitely continue to follow Agent Murder and have become an instant follower of 2 Bullet. I also want to see Mamono again to catch their full set and find out what the deal is with that freaking blow-up shark!
