Shimokitazawa
Shinjuku, Shibuya, Harajuku, even Daikanyama are well-treaded shopping areas of Tokyo. But next time you’re in the city, try checking out Shimokitazawa. Our man in Tokyo, Adrian, reports from this hidden gem.
City girls have Shibuya 109, Goth Loli Punks have OI Young in Shinjuku, but for indie kids, mecca is a couple of square miles of warren-like streets packed with bars, manga shops, LP and video stores, cool izakayas, second hand thrift shops, and gaming arcades full of the latest dancing craze or girls photo box machines. It’s way more offbeat and underground than anything in Shibuya or Harajuku, and it’s all just four stops out of Shibuya on the Keiō line: Shimokitazawa. Shimokita has been rocking since the 1960s, although maybe not much longer.
The city planners have just had the bright idea to plough a super highway straight through the heart of the place. Get those parasite kids off the street, stop them hanging out in permanent slacker freeterhood, and back into suits, shoulder pads, stilettos and corporate day jobs… Well, maybe not just yet. The bleached, long haired J-rock teens, waiting for their dates outside the boarded up station, don’t seem to care what they think.
Tonight I am headed for an indie rock night at the Mosaic club, on the outer eastern edge. It’s the typical deal in Shimokita. It takes a while to track down, and a few wrong turns, before I stumble into the regulation miniature wooden bar. The upstairs is full with chattering indie boys and girls, and the downstairs venue hums and vibrates to a drum machine and bass pulse. There’s far too many people packed inside and the crowd is buzzing with Sunday night fun. It’s a good looking event. There has been a fashion show tonight organized by Lip Service magazine, which has a new spin on FRUiTS style, breaking with the usual sub-culture rules. The home made street magazine is selling for less than two dollars, and is full of more cool fashion, art, graphic design and music.
One free drink in and it’s time to check out the bands. First up is Game Boy, a cheerful, chubby nerdy type, who pummels what looks like an old Casiotone handheld keyboard, while bopping away to his banging electronica on stage. His stand up comedy routine between electro tracks gets the biggest cheer and laughs of the evening.
Next are Naotronica, whose singer combines girly GLP style with her silent partner’s lush and studious poppy electronica. It’s classic electro pop duo territory, with a guitarist friend picking out the melodies and cracking jokes. Very pretty visuals and tunes. The singer Mayu Saeki also has her own solo shows and website, with her first album Fantasia Garden now out.
Third up are the straight rock band of the evening, American Short Hair—misspelt cutely in some of their publicity as American Shot Hair. They come on wearing Clockwork Orange style school uniforms, rockabilly shoes, and big cool Tokyo hair—not very American at all, in fact, although cool for cats. It’s jangling guitar rock, big dramatic songs and impassioned vocals. The singer’s got a great androgynous look, like a very young, much prettier version of Freddie Mercury. When I trying chatting with the guitarist after the show, I can’t get an explanation for the band’s style, but the long queue of indie girls at their table to meet the vocalist is self explanatory.
Finally, there’s the band I’d met at Design Festa, Ku-Tu-Bunkai. As far as I can understand, the name means something like “air burst”, as in “explosion”. Their Radiohead-inspired pulsing electo-rock soundscapes finally get the crowd moving a bit. As promotors CoColoColor, they had helped organize the evening, recruiting a friend to play drums for the evening. Occasionally, they tell me, they get to hang out with the Tokyo band, Mothercoat, that’s been getting some indie rock attention in the US lately. Hayato, the vocalist, and Ken, on guitar, look like classic student radio rockers, with Beams Art t-shirts and scruffed up hair. But when I ask what Hayato does during the day, he laughs and says he is a salary man with an IT firm.
But that’s for tomorrow. It’s all over by 10pm, but the streets outside are still buzzing, and you just have to take your pick of izakayas or ramen bars for a beer and a bite to eat. Can Tokyo possibly get any cooler?
[Besides cool live music, there’s lots to explore in Shimokitazawa. Here’s an article from PingMag about a Doraemon shop! Make sure to check out the neighborhood before they build that superhighway! I hope they don’t built it. -bobby]
[via tokyoalamode.com]
***
City girls have Shibuya 109, Goth Loli Punks have OI Young in Shinjuku, but for indie kids, mecca is a couple of square miles of warren-like streets packed with bars, manga shops, LP and video stores, cool izakayas, second hand thrift shops, and gaming arcades full of the latest dancing craze or girls photo box machines. It’s way more offbeat and underground than anything in Shibuya or Harajuku, and it’s all just four stops out of Shibuya on the Keiō line: Shimokitazawa. Shimokita has been rocking since the 1960s, although maybe not much longer.
The city planners have just had the bright idea to plough a super highway straight through the heart of the place. Get those parasite kids off the street, stop them hanging out in permanent slacker freeterhood, and back into suits, shoulder pads, stilettos and corporate day jobs… Well, maybe not just yet. The bleached, long haired J-rock teens, waiting for their dates outside the boarded up station, don’t seem to care what they think.
Tonight I am headed for an indie rock night at the Mosaic club, on the outer eastern edge. It’s the typical deal in Shimokita. It takes a while to track down, and a few wrong turns, before I stumble into the regulation miniature wooden bar. The upstairs is full with chattering indie boys and girls, and the downstairs venue hums and vibrates to a drum machine and bass pulse. There’s far too many people packed inside and the crowd is buzzing with Sunday night fun. It’s a good looking event. There has been a fashion show tonight organized by Lip Service magazine, which has a new spin on FRUiTS style, breaking with the usual sub-culture rules. The home made street magazine is selling for less than two dollars, and is full of more cool fashion, art, graphic design and music.
One free drink in and it’s time to check out the bands. First up is Game Boy, a cheerful, chubby nerdy type, who pummels what looks like an old Casiotone handheld keyboard, while bopping away to his banging electronica on stage. His stand up comedy routine between electro tracks gets the biggest cheer and laughs of the evening.
Next are Naotronica, whose singer combines girly GLP style with her silent partner’s lush and studious poppy electronica. It’s classic electro pop duo territory, with a guitarist friend picking out the melodies and cracking jokes. Very pretty visuals and tunes. The singer Mayu Saeki also has her own solo shows and website, with her first album Fantasia Garden now out.
Third up are the straight rock band of the evening, American Short Hair—misspelt cutely in some of their publicity as American Shot Hair. They come on wearing Clockwork Orange style school uniforms, rockabilly shoes, and big cool Tokyo hair—not very American at all, in fact, although cool for cats. It’s jangling guitar rock, big dramatic songs and impassioned vocals. The singer’s got a great androgynous look, like a very young, much prettier version of Freddie Mercury. When I trying chatting with the guitarist after the show, I can’t get an explanation for the band’s style, but the long queue of indie girls at their table to meet the vocalist is self explanatory.
Finally, there’s the band I’d met at Design Festa, Ku-Tu-Bunkai. As far as I can understand, the name means something like “air burst”, as in “explosion”. Their Radiohead-inspired pulsing electo-rock soundscapes finally get the crowd moving a bit. As promotors CoColoColor, they had helped organize the evening, recruiting a friend to play drums for the evening. Occasionally, they tell me, they get to hang out with the Tokyo band, Mothercoat, that’s been getting some indie rock attention in the US lately. Hayato, the vocalist, and Ken, on guitar, look like classic student radio rockers, with Beams Art t-shirts and scruffed up hair. But when I ask what Hayato does during the day, he laughs and says he is a salary man with an IT firm.
But that’s for tomorrow. It’s all over by 10pm, but the streets outside are still buzzing, and you just have to take your pick of izakayas or ramen bars for a beer and a bite to eat. Can Tokyo possibly get any cooler?
[Besides cool live music, there’s lots to explore in Shimokitazawa. Here’s an article from PingMag about a Doraemon shop! Make sure to check out the neighborhood before they build that superhighway! I hope they don’t built it. -bobby]
[via tokyoalamode.com]
***
posted by Ronnie Rocket @ 12:42 AM
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