The Next Music from Tokyo vol. 5 - Night 1 in Toronto

The Next Music from Tokyo is a tour that attempts to bring outstanding Japanese indie bands to Canada. It’s a labour of love for founder Steven Tanaka, who not only hand-picks all the bands, organizes and promotes the shows, but also donates money to cover the tour expenses—including the staggering cost of the airfare to bring the bands over from Japan—purely out of a desire to share a sample of Japan’s progressive music scene with fellow Canadians.

The tour is now on its fifth instalment and has built up a strong reputation, frequently selling out its Toronto shows and attracting praise from local media. JaME was able to catch the first date in Toronto on May 17th.

The Rivoli, a restaurant and bar with an upstairs pool hall, was an unlikely setting for the talent on display that night, but a surprisingly spacious room at the back was packed with a nearly sold-out crowd eager to hear what the bands had to offer. It was clear that this wasn’t the first volume of the event for many audience members, and that it wouldn’t be their last.

The night began with a surprise acoustic set from harafromhell frontwoman Yoko Tatejima.

Yoko Tatejima

Tatejima performed alone, running through a number of sentimental acoustic songs punctuated with powerful bits of emphasis. Her facial expressions while she sang, including intense eye contact with the audience—with her eyes looking about ready to spill over with tears during some of the sadder songs—gave the simple performance an impressive weight, despite some audience members talking loudly through much of it. While her attempts to speak English were rather awkward and often saw her revert to Japanese, stumbling over her words until Tanaka translated for her or members of the audience shouted out the word she was searching for, the audience was supportive and laughed with her.

The songs all felt highly nostalgic and autobiographical, especially as Tatejima gave the audience a brief English introduction to each of them, including one inspired by the film “Toy Story 2,” one by working as a waitress at an all-you-can-eat barbeque restaurant, and so on. After plugging her five-song solo EP, and a final song that showcased the range of her vocals, transitioning from near-whispers to powerful long notes, everyone was warmed up and ready to go.

harafromhell

After seeing Tatejima perform her acoustic set, it was a bit of a shock when the drums kicked in hard and she began swinging her arms around in wild circles. The band members immediately started grooving with the upbeat, yet aggressive music, snapping their heads back in time with it as Tatejima danced in circles and sang her heart out. During her MC parts, Tatejima still seemed rather nervous and had difficulty articulating her thoughts in English, but she was rescued by guitarist Kento Hara, who managed to connect with the audience using simple, direct sentences. The most amusing of these was a series that went something like “Do you like sushi?” “Sushi is Japanese soul food. Do you like tempura?” “Tempura is Japanese soul food.” “Sushi and tempura are Japanese soul food. My soul is sushi and tempura.”

Tatejima aside, Hara was definitely the most exciting member of band to watch, jumping around and playing with energy that was unmatched by any of the other acts. It’s no wonder that the name “harafromhell” comes from his tendency to play his instrument like a demon. The contrast between him and more reserved second guitarist Goh Yamaguchi was particularly striking.

The crowd was attentive and somewhat shy for most of harafromhell’s set, but by the last few songs, the first few rows of fans rewarded them with dancing and a little moshing. There were even a few crowd surfers. And it was definitely well-deserved, as harafromhell gave it their all and their aggressive, yet melodic brand of rock surely won them many new fans.

Tanaka, who emceed the event, gave a short introduction to each band and, for the next act, mentioned that while their music is “majestic”, they sometimes take themselves too seriously.

Kinoko Teikoku

And the members of Kinoko Teikoku were indeed very serious, performing slow, shoegaze-y rock in dim light with intent, focused expressions on their faces. However, with the haunting, otherworldly atmosphere their music created, it might have been a bit jarring to see them joke around with the crowd like the previous band. “Majestic” was a very accurate description of the sounds they produced that night, and it was clear from the astonished looks on the faces of the audience members at the end of their first song that they made a very strong impression. While guitarist A-Chan spoke a little, Kinoko Teikoku opted to keep the chitchat to a minimum, moving quickly from song to song, barely even pausing long enough to allow the audience to show their appreciation. But their music certainly spoke for them, shifting from gentle, serene moments to loud, ringing sections that seemed to slowly fill the room with crashing waves of sound. One of the highlights of the set was WHIRLPOOL, which, at its screeching climax, truly felt like the musical equivalent of being enveloped by rushing water, with frontwoman Sato’s soft, clear vocals floating beautifully over the chaos.

Bassist Shigeaki Taniguchi played with his eyes closed, swaying, for much of their set, and with the dream-like feel of the band’s music and the soft lighting, it was hard not to listen in the same way. The band drew enthusiastic cheers from the crowd from start to finish, and when they announced that it was time for their last song there was a disappointed “Aww!” from several new fans. Again, there was even a bit of moshing and crowd-surfing near the end of the set, particularly during the catchy chorus of Kokudou Slope, which helped to end the performance on a surprisingly upbeat note.

CHI-NA

While Kinoko Teikoku brought the “wow” factor with their combination of serenity and crushing waves of sound, CHI-NA brought a fun, light-hearted atmosphere that had people clapping along and smiling. Before their performance, Tanaka mentioned that they were the first band in the history of the Next Music from Tokyo tour to be invited for a second time, and after seeing the way the crowd reacted to them, it wasn’t hard to understand why. Arguably the highlight of the show, their bouncy mix of classical elements and indie pop got even the more tentative audience members dancing around, and the energy of violinist Yukako Shiba, in particular—who not only played her instrument with impressive intensity, but with a bright, eager smile—quickly rubbed off on the crowd. Vocalist Kyoko Shiina was just as cheerful, playing her keyboard with a carefree bounce and showing off her quirky sense of humour by busting out a triangle and high-pitched, mouse-like squeaks at different points in the set. The band's performance also included some surprisingly intense, loud moments, with the members all slamming down on their instruments, which kept each song feeling distinct and fresh.

CHI-NA also stood out as the group most affected by their trip to Canada, even mentioning that they had named a song after Vancouver’s Granville Island Market. Their affection for the country also showed when they interacted with the crowd, as Shiina came prepared for the language barrier with a cheat sheet of English statements to read out and even introduced a song off their latest album as being inspired by Toronto.

As the night progressed, the atmosphere grew more and more casual, with band members walking through the crowd, dancing along to other acts and posing for pictures.

mouse on the keys

mouse on the keys, the only instrumental act of the night, took quite a while to set up, but when everything was in place and the lights went out, it was clear that they were worth the wait. Most notably, the drumming of Akira Kawasaki was stunningly powerful, providing a violent contrast to the deluge of piano and keyboard provided by the other members, with his sticks almost appearing to leave coloured afterimages when he played. Support member Jun Nemoto’s sensual saxophone solo early in the set was another highlight, adding some spice to the band’s piano-heavy jazz-rock sound.

Dressed all in black, mouse on the keys were also the only group of the night to emphasize the visual aspect of their performance. They performed nearly in the dark, with only small desk lights to see their instruments by, while black and white abstract patterns evoking rocks and water were projected over the stage, casting shadows on their faces and hands as they played.

While they have been invited to several other countries, this was the band’s first performance in Canada, which piano/keyboard player Daisuke Niitome acknowledged briefly with clear, concise English during a break between songs. Other than that and some shouts of “1-2!” and “Thank you!” from Kawasaki, however, the band seemed eager to let their instruments do the talking. And they did, loud and clear.

All in all, the fifth instalment of the The Next Music from Tokyo vol. 5 was true to its name. A presentation of fresh, honest music, with a very welcoming atmosphere; it’s no wonder this tour has attracted such a devoted following.