Since coming to Japan, my only exposure to hardcore has been the FC Five CD I saw in Tower Records about 4 months ago and this kid on my campus that I initially befriended on account that he was wearing a Stick To Your Guns t-shirt. The only thing I know about Stick To Your Guns is, “Move! [insert breakdown here]”, but I know they’re associated with hardcore so I figured he would be my only link to the scene while here in Japan. We talked about our favorite bands a few times, but it turns out he was more into metalcore and so talks about music slowly faded. I searched for potential other fans of the genre, but whenever I mentioned “hardcore punk music” the answer I always seemed to get was “Green Day” (ironically enough they played a show here last month). This went on for months and in between time, I checked various Myspace pages and Twitters to see if any hardcore bands would be playing in Japan (Nagoya, more specifically). If I remember correctly, Earth Crisis played a show in a nearby prefecture (state), but it was too pricey to get out there and I’ve seen Earth Crisis once in Atlanta and I didn’t really enjoy them (blasphemy, I know). The Mongoloids came to Japan last month, but they stayed only near Tokyo and I seriously live no where near Tokyo, so that was out of the question. I was beginning to think that I would never go to a hardcore show in Japan. The only Japanese hardcore band I know is FC Five and they aren’t currently touring, so finding a venue that even booked hardcore bands was a chore within itself. Luckily, a friend of mine from Atlanta hit me and my girlfriend up with this Facebook message.
Leave it to my friend in America to inform me about shows in Japan. He successfully did what I couldn’t do for months, in one day.
Most venues in Japan provide an option for concert-goers to purchase their tickets in advance. There are several options, like using a special code at the local conbini (convenience store) – sort of like ticket master, but computer-automated and with no extra charges, or reserving your tickets through your cellphone (the option we chose). Whatever option you choose, it’s always best to reserve your tickets ahead of time. In this case, it was a difference between $40.00 (the day of price) and $30.00 (the reservation price). Believe it or not, $30.00 is usually the low-end price for shows out here. I think the most I’ve ever spent on a show (excluding This is For You Fest) was $25.00 for the Gorilla Biscuits reunion show. You get used to it, but it’s not the $8 and $12 dollars we’re use to.
Finding the actual location of venues is the easy part. Find the subway station that is closest to your venue, they’re usually at most a 5 minute walk from the venue (in this case, it’s Kamimaezu). Look for a few land marks (there’s a 7-11 right down the street) and hit up Google street view if you need more reassuring. I don’t know how it is in other parts of the country, but not having a ride is cited as a top reason why kids don’t go to shows in Atlanta. It makes me wonder how strong the scene could be if we had better public transportation. The trip to Kamimaezu takes about 1 hour by bus and subway.
Instead of giving a written review of the show, I’ve provided a video detailing our adventure and some bullet points I forgot to mention in the video.
– A straight edge band in Japan seems even more extreme than in the states to me. Seriously, most people in Japan smoke or drink alcohol. It’s very cheap and very accessible. I was surprised to see an edge band in Nagoya.
– I was pleasantly surprised to see how many kids actually knew Cruel Hand. I know them and so do most of my friends in America, but they seem to be pretty popular in the hardcore scene around Nagoya.
– Ceremony’s set was completely nuts. I think they really freaked a lot of the Japanese people out. The lead vocalist (Ross) was often found jumping into the crowd, rolling around on the floor, rubbing his sweaty head on unsuspecting Japanese girls, and singing to individuals who have clearly never heard of Ceremony before. One of the Japanese guys in Shark Ethic came up to me and said in basic Japanese “This band is crazy, they’re so cool”. I couldn’t put it better myself.
– BANE held it down, of course. They played all of my favorite songs and even played some new songs off their new World Series Records. There isn’t much to say about BANE that hasn’t already been said. BANE is BANE and if you don’t know what that means, then you should see them if they come to your town.
It amazes me how widespread hardcore is around the world. If you ever get a chance to study abroad or go overseas, look up if any hardcore shows will be in your area prior to your trip. You’ll meet interesting people and see how similar scenes are across the map. In the mean time, continue going to shows, supporting your local venues, and talking to unfamiliar faces.