Just get to the gig: “Tokyo Has Stars Above The Ground” Vol. 17 thoughts
Spending a week in Tokyo is never enough time to do everything. Even moreso when you’re there and have to prioritize one event over everything. Especially when you’re waiting on details on where to be and when. More on that later. But that led to me missing an opportunity to grab tickets to see something I had penciled in on my schedule. Feeling defeated, though having an unexpected free night, led to me doing what I do best, scouring all the Tokyo venue sites, band twitters, and everywhere I could find something interesting.
Then something struck me on Instagram – a promoter I followed had a show scheduled for that night, on February 27th. The promoter itself intrigued me, named “gogatsuhascome”, a reference to kugatsuhascome, the solo alias for Kinoko Teikoku singer Chiaki Sato. The shows produced by “gogatsuhascome” have had some amazing artists on them, including Hammer Head Shark’s Hiyu Nagai, The Slow Films, Marie Louise, and so many others. gogatsuhascome even runs a yearly Kinoko Teikoku tribute show. (a clip of Aina from Hail Lain from this year’s show made me an instant fan).
gogatsuhascome showcases a lot of interesting artists, and some of that is due to the man behind the project, Manabu Yoshida, aka BABY BLUES, who has worked in the music industry for years. He even posts daily words of advice for aspiring artists on his note. He also posts short snippets of each artist performing live on his SNS. It’s a great window into the shows he organizes, and also a great way to get a feel for a show before buying a ticket. I was already sold on this show, but even moreso once I saw a clip of Uchudan playing “IQ3000”. I also consider his SNS a legit cheat code for finding some of the best live acts in Japan.
For those in the Tokyo area, gogatsuhascome has a show scheduled March 30th at Shimokitazawa Shi-Tora-Ya featuring Waku (Marie Louise), Misato Sugawara, Yuzu Minato and Hiyu Nagai (Hammer Head Shark). Reserve a ticket here. There is also a show scheduled for April 27th at Shimokitazawa Three with Hyenacar, gamigami, barrowheim, SLLOW, and anyu. Reservations here.
Connect with gogatsuhascome: insta / x / note
So yeah, I reserved a ticket for February 27th, met up with a friend, grabbed some pizza and was ready to rock at “Tokyo Has Stars Above The Ground” Vol. 17.
The first band on that evening was ITAZURA STORE. As someone who’s on the borderline of becoming an old rocker myself, it was so rad seeing four women in their 30s and 40s own the stage. Especially in a scene like Japan’s that cherishes youth maybe a bit too much. AKANITA is a powerful frontwoman, a great voice, and seamlessly switches over to flute to add such a great dynamic to their sound. YURINSHI’s work on the keyboards had my attention the whole show. My hands up in praise anytime she went for a solo. And that was the vibe through the whole set, from everyone in the building. Fans waving towels, I think I saw some light sticks, and people just grooving to everything. Courtesy of the rhythm section of KAWORIN on bass held things down and funked things up along with drummer ZEN who locked in for some killer grooves. They describe themselves as “A heart-racing, playful pop music band”, then list a ton of influences. Each one heard in their music, from Akanita’s love of Jethro Tull, to the soulful sounds that pulse through so many of their songs.
They have a new single out on April 8, and you gotta keep an ear out for it!
Connect with ITAZURA STORE:
ITAZURA STORE: site / insta / x / tiktok
AKANITA: insta / x
YURINISHI: insta / x
KAWORIN: insta / x
ZEN: insta / x
Up next was WALTZMORE, and a powerful, emotional brand of genre-expanding rock music. At times, their stuff can feel like midwest Emo (“Stained Glass”) othertimes, drawing influence from indie-folk (“Dialogue“). They even mix in some electronics (“from 1995“). Front and center was their guitarist & vocalist Haruka Kounoike, every word he sang with heft behind it, understandable even if we spoke different languages. Natsumi on keys also added a ton to their very expansive live sound. Yusei Arai on bass was a damn monster, as was their drummer Yuji Kobiki. They also featured support guitarist Shinpei Tsuzurano who really lived in that face-melting zone with his guitar work. They also debuted a brand new track called “Hollow” which you can check out here.
Connect with WALTZMORE:
WALTZMORE: insta / x
Haruka Kounoike: insta / x
Natsumi: insta / x
Yuji Kobiki: insta / x
Yusei Arai: insta / x
Shinpei Tsuzurano (support): insta / x
The final band to take the stage that evening was Uchudan. And while I truly loved every band on this bill, Uchudan has been a damn addiction since the moment I first listened to them. Their live show was even more captivating, they kicked it off with the upbeat and infectious “Voyager” and took us on a journey from there. Their music is spacey, Uchudan even translates to “Space Clan”, their albums, Hitchhiking by U.F.O., complete with an alien and a hitchhiker thumb on the cover, and their latest, Galaxy Trip. The band is fronted by a duo of singer/guitarists, Mochizuki and Konno. Mochizuki engages the audience with everything she does, and Konno shreds like a madman. Their bassist, Takanoshima, reminded me a ton of Tina Weymouth in the way she plays and moves, which is so fitting for the funky, space-aged music of Uchudan. Their drummer, Tsuchimaru, the popstar legend herself, held things down in more ways than one. On this night, she had the responsibility of controlling Mecha-Sekiguchi, cueing the band’s keyboard parts as regular keyboardist Madeline Sekiguchi was ill and unable to perform.
Even without such a key member of the band, Uchudan were able to put on one of the most fun sets of live music I’ve ever seen. Their music is upbeat, funky, everyone in the band is so enjoyable to watch. The band also transitions effortlessly from the funky pop madness to some really interesting, hypnotic stuff like “DISCO 5“. Mochizuki also demanded audience participation during “Kung Fu Shinan“, and a smiled when the random foreigner in the front finally got the hand motions. They closed the night out with an encore of “FU-RE FU-RE” which may be my favorite example of Uchudan’s unrestrained creativity.
Connect with Uchudan:
Uchudan: insta / x / site
Shiho Mochizuki: insta / x
Konno: insta / x
Takanoshima: x
Tsuchimaru: x
From start to finish, it was a really fun night of live music. Even being mostly a last minute decision, while also overwhelming myself with an ambitious project for Teppen!. I could have easily stayed in, edited photos and got sleep ahead of a big day, but no, I got to the gig. And I was rewarded with three incredible sets from bands who all brought something unique to the stage. Whether it’s the approach of ITAZURA STORE using their age as an asset, to the emotional power of WALTZMORE, to the infectious energy of Uchudan. I’m so glad I got to the gig.