japan
I had not wanted to blog too soon about this trip, so as not to jinx things, bearing in mind this was a rescheduled event. So sitting on the plane at the end of it all seems a good place and time to put my thoughts down.
Sleep deprivation seems to be the main theme of a long weekend visit to Japan. For me, the time difference was a brutal 13 hours, but no matter, Lufthansa made the going great. Polite and friendly crew who looked after us superbly.
The shows at Kawasaki Club Cita were a challenge, but in a good way. The deal was two sets a night featuring the full Argus album as the first set each time. Since many folks were coming to both shows, and had rescheduled from the previous aborted weekend, we wanted to vary the program for the second set each night, so it was like playing every song we knew, kind of. On both shows, Muddy and I both used German, built tough, Engl gear. We found it to to be very good. Japanese organization and stage crews are legendary in rock and roll and our crew for the two days was simply superb.
Under the control of the fiery Miyuki, a diminutive but tough lady who seemed to be everywhere, all the time in addition to entertaining everyone with her good vibes and comedy routine. No detail was left to chance. It really is 'in the details' and the Japanese follow that creed to the limit, with the result that we were able to really simply concentrate on the music and on performing for the rapturous crowds at these two sold - out events.
The wonderful reception we received, as the first chords of Time Was rang out, instantly made the trip worthwhile and from then on it was plain sailing. I commented to Bob, after the first show, that a truly enjoyable concert, is when both the band and the audience joins together in a common experience and that's the way it was, right from the get- go.
The hospitality, the concern from the fans for my health as well as expressions of joy at having WA back in the Land of the Rising Sun, to say nothing of the sights and sounds and meals we enjoyed were fabulous and it was great for me to meet up with long - time fans like Tamiko Bandai and Yasuko Seto, who I have been communicating with for over 30 years! We enjoyed dinner with them them and our Japanese hosts, at an impressive restaurant which had feature in the movie Kill Bill. Manami -Ohnishi, drummer and singer of the great Ash tribute act, Zizoh, was there and we even got her up on stage for an impromptu version of Warrior during a sound check. If you havn't heard Zizoh, you really must. Our Japanese webmaster,Tsutomu Kubota, was there in support plus several magazine editors and staff.
Driving and walking around Tokyo, especially at night, gave me the feeling of being on a film set. Everything is different; the buildings, the city attitude and sounds, the fashions, the cars, the neon. The place was clean - I mean absolutely no trash and it even looked to me like they clean and polish the brickwork of the buildings, as well as the windows. It was monsoon - like, very hot and humid, even at midnight, and that was tiring.
There was already talk of us going back again as we headed for the airport loaded with sake and gifts from the fans. From the band and myself, I'd like to thank everyone who made it such a great trip and to thank all of those who came back to support us, in force at Club Citta.
Domo arigatou!
Sleep deprivation seems to be the main theme of a long weekend visit to Japan. For me, the time difference was a brutal 13 hours, but no matter, Lufthansa made the going great. Polite and friendly crew who looked after us superbly.
The shows at Kawasaki Club Cita were a challenge, but in a good way. The deal was two sets a night featuring the full Argus album as the first set each time. Since many folks were coming to both shows, and had rescheduled from the previous aborted weekend, we wanted to vary the program for the second set each night, so it was like playing every song we knew, kind of. On both shows, Muddy and I both used German, built tough, Engl gear. We found it to to be very good. Japanese organization and stage crews are legendary in rock and roll and our crew for the two days was simply superb.
Under the control of the fiery Miyuki, a diminutive but tough lady who seemed to be everywhere, all the time in addition to entertaining everyone with her good vibes and comedy routine. No detail was left to chance. It really is 'in the details' and the Japanese follow that creed to the limit, with the result that we were able to really simply concentrate on the music and on performing for the rapturous crowds at these two sold - out events.
The wonderful reception we received, as the first chords of Time Was rang out, instantly made the trip worthwhile and from then on it was plain sailing. I commented to Bob, after the first show, that a truly enjoyable concert, is when both the band and the audience joins together in a common experience and that's the way it was, right from the get- go.
The hospitality, the concern from the fans for my health as well as expressions of joy at having WA back in the Land of the Rising Sun, to say nothing of the sights and sounds and meals we enjoyed were fabulous and it was great for me to meet up with long - time fans like Tamiko Bandai and Yasuko Seto, who I have been communicating with for over 30 years! We enjoyed dinner with them them and our Japanese hosts, at an impressive restaurant which had feature in the movie Kill Bill. Manami -Ohnishi, drummer and singer of the great Ash tribute act, Zizoh, was there and we even got her up on stage for an impromptu version of Warrior during a sound check. If you havn't heard Zizoh, you really must. Our Japanese webmaster,Tsutomu Kubota, was there in support plus several magazine editors and staff.
Driving and walking around Tokyo, especially at night, gave me the feeling of being on a film set. Everything is different; the buildings, the city attitude and sounds, the fashions, the cars, the neon. The place was clean - I mean absolutely no trash and it even looked to me like they clean and polish the brickwork of the buildings, as well as the windows. It was monsoon - like, very hot and humid, even at midnight, and that was tiring.
There was already talk of us going back again as we headed for the airport loaded with sake and gifts from the fans. From the band and myself, I'd like to thank everyone who made it such a great trip and to thank all of those who came back to support us, in force at Club Citta.
Domo arigatou!
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