Fcking Punked.

Rather than go into how long it has been since I have written on this blog...well, I won`t. I guess what is most important here is that I am writing right now, at this moment, right now. I had several themes over the past few weeks on several posting ideas, those that would somehow show you the reader the exciting excitements which have been thrust upon me. For instance, did you know that DJ events in Japan, predominantly in Tokyo are like live shows? It is true. I saw kids moshing to a DJ, doing the band specific dances, the headbanging at the same time. It left me speechless. My good friend Dan is one of those expats done good in Tokyo. Someone who has put the time in, made relationships, long nights and long hours in order to establish those relationships. He DJ`s, teaches, writes a great FC Tokyo blog (which I had the honour to write for earlier this summer), and is an all `round great dude. He gave me directions to the venue where he and several other DJ`s would be spinning. I got lost many many times. Had to get directions from a nice t-shirt store owner (Cro-Mags shirt for 10 bucks!) and finally, I ran into Dan who had just finished his set. Oh well, next time. I was led downstairs past the always serious dude at the ticket counter. I have noticed that a few times. I guess it`s the same at home, but the ticket guy at shows seems to always have tats and a surly `I don`t fucking care` disposition. The venue is in an arty (not artsy) part of town where many musicians live and work because the rent is so cheap. The venue itself is in the deepest basement I have ever been in. It felt like bombs would be destroying the city above us, as we danced. Of course everybody I know back home understands DJ`ing culture as we know it. House, hip hop, punk blah blah blah. But over here it`s a little bit different. Actually, that`s a bit of an understatement.

What I have seen over here is a music industry which creates the ultimate niche markets. But those niche markets overlap and expand into markets which you wouldn`t necessarily think could cross over. Punk and trance for instance. As an example - I wouldn`t spin Slayer and then go into Mylie Cyrus. Over here, it is done without skipping a beat. Literally. Except replace Slayer with Gism and move into Perfume, you get the idea. What is most important here is that there is actually FUN. People get sweaty, everybody has band towels (in Japan bands, usually the bigger ones, make towels with their moniker on them, and people collect them). Fun is the product of the day, and there is tonnes of laughter and nobody gives a fuck. I stood and watched. Transfixed into the melange of bodies and smiling faces. The DJ(s) sat above the crowd and moves them into a frenzy with every song played. One DJ duo (think Tenacious D, but DJ`s) made the crowd go fucking nuts. I was enthralled, and felt extremely out of place.

What also should be understood is that going to shows, from hardcore to big venue concerts, are expensive endeavors. For instance, in the middle of November I am going to see a band called Fuck You Heroes, a hardcore outfit from Tokyo and the show will cost me about 2500 yen, about 30 bucks. Integrity is coming here on November 3rd, and that will cost me 3000 yen, about 35 Cdn dollars. Not cheap. So when you go to shows you need to think critically about what you want to see. Dan got me a discount at his show but is still paid 15 bucks to get in. I get a drink with it, but a pop is still a pop. The issue is that there are so many good bands, so many things to see that you could easily go broke just going to shows. Makes me appreciate 10 dollar shows all the more back home. Anyway there are more art galleries than I can throw a stick at, and many are free. So that balances the scales anyhow. So there you have it, a little view into how the DJ`ing world looks over here. Of course there are so many different types of DJ`s that this was only the tip of the iceburg. But it`s made me even more curious about what else goes on over here. Aiming to find out.