Tagged: music

Coinciding with NYAF and the various Asian fall harvest festivals, the first 3 weeks of October in NYC were full of Asian rock music events—from Hiroshi Kono’s Mar Creation’s J-Summit showcase at Webster Hall (10/2) featuring Lilac, to supergroup VAMPS appearing at the convention and rockin’ Roseland (10/9), to an Asian street fair (10/9) on the Upper West Side courtesy of Takaaki Ando and his team, to a complete Korea Day in Korea Town (10/9), and another Korea Day on Randall’s Island (10/10), plus XJapan’s first concert ever in the States at Roseland (10/10) after Yoshiki’s press conference at NYAF, and Hayden Brereton’s Superglorious Productions’ Far East to East Showcase (FETES) at Irving Plaza (featuring Puffy AmiYumi, Boom Boom Satellites, Zazen Boys, and Echostream—after their press conference at NYAF), plus extra nights for supergroup Boom Boom Satellites and Hiroshi Kono’s Mar Rock Record’s Zamza (10/20) at the Bowery Poetry Club (with BBS later in the week opening for Gary Numan in Times Square).  Here are my fav picks of the shows I could run to cover.

Our local and inexplicably unsigned guys, Lilac (Toshi, Cha-Cha, and Jun), turned in a sizzlin’ 45-minute set as the featured band on the preview Saturday’s J-Summit. Toshi’s musical sensibilities and stage presence remind me very much of the sensuality of Hyde and L’Arc in all the right ways, meshing well with the exuberant Cha-Cha’s power on drums and Jun (from Gelatin) on bass with his ethereal style. Songs like “Vanity,” “Feel,” and “Realize,” get the crowd (including fixture fangirls) going, and Toshi had some real moments on lead “in the zone,” while I swore that Cha-Cha was going to crack a cymbal or break a head. Their ep, “You Could Be In a Higher Place,” has a very indie sound and a lot going for it, and whilst Toshi’s lyrics do have something to say, I look forward to lyrical growth in upcoming efforts. And a special shout-out to Typherus from Boston who were a great complement on the bill with the amazing Le-ak on both lyrical power and screamo vocals. Hope to see more of them down here. A Lilac/Typherus double bill would definitely rock any veteran or potential J-Rock lover’s world. J-Summit happens approximately monthly and there’s always an eclectic and interesting artist line-up, reasonable bar prices ($3 Asahis), and slim cover ($12 at the door) for up to 7 hours of music.  See you there!

Japan’s nicest bad boys, VAMPS, lived up to their songs “Trouble” and
“Devil Side” —in a good way.  What can I say about them that I haven’t
already said in the preview? When asked what he wanted this new album to
convey at the NYAF press conference, Hyde replied, quietly, like a
mischievous kid, “Awesomeness!”  They lived up to all the hype. ($35
tix, $20 CDs/t-shirts)

(more…)