I rub your brog..

Brazillian Festival '09..

noreply@blogger.com (Melonade) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 10:02:00 +0000

While the Brazil Festival was one of my favorites of the year, I must admit that after a while they all start to blend into one another. One thing that set this Tokyo Summer Festival apart however was the beauty contest..

And the feathery samba dancers..

Enoshima Revisited - Part 2: The Beauty..

noreply@blogger.com (Melonade) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 07:30:00 +0000

The second part of this Enoshima revisited post focuses on the more aesthetically pleasing aspects of the Shonan beach, plenty to look at here.

I wish they all could be Enoshima girls..

Enoshima Revisited Part 1: The Beast..

noreply@blogger.com (Melonade) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 07:29:00 +0000

I've posted about Enoshima a few times, and it must be said that I am a fan, but while on a visit just a few weeks back I was amazed by the amount of seaweed and garbage that piles up on the beach. Sure there's a lot of other stuff to take your mind off it but damn, that's a whole lot of gomi..

Shibuya Sepia..

noreply@blogger.com (Melonade) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 13:09:00 +0000

Messing about with my iPhone, Shibuya looks great in sepia..

Ooooze Big Beach Party..

noreply@blogger.com (Melonade) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 01:19:00 +0000

One of the many beach parties held in Kamakura through the summer, beats by Carlos Gibbs, Dave Twomey and others, frivolity and bikini clad loveliness from everyone else..

Summer Sonic '09..

noreply@blogger.com (Melonade) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 03:55:00 +0000

I made it to Friday and Sunday of Summer Sonic 2009, and was very glad that I did!

Friday for me started at the Marine stage, where Paramore pumped up the crowd with a fine set of their anthemic powerpop tunes..

Sunday began with more powerpop, namely The Veronicas, and again, the upbeat set really set the stage for the rest of the day..

Most of which I spent inside, at the Sonic stage. Sonic certainly started off well, with The Temper Trap playing pretty much my favorite set for the whole festival..

The lighting rig on the Sonic Stage was incredible..

Indie veterans The Vaselines put in a great set..

Teenage Fanclub were great, but their set was filled with slightly too many new songs for my liking..

As did Sonic Youth. Their set was solid, and had SY written all over it, but again, I was waiting for the hits that never came..

Finally, we trekked back to the Marine Stadium to watch Beyonce bump and grind her way through her set. While I'm by no means a big fan, it was as you would expect a massive stage show in every way, and Beyonce held her own as the packed stadium screamed their way through most of her songs..

So there you have it, a little disappointment with bands I've listened to for years, and some nice surprises amongst the bands on their way up. I guess it's easier to please when you only have one or two albums to make a setlist from..

Gundam Odaiba..

noreply@blogger.com (Melonade) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:38:00 +0000

Never been much of an Otaku, and to be honest, the relevance of Gundam is really beyond me. Nevertheless, while in Odaiba last weekend we decided to make the short trek over to see the 1/1 scale model of the big robot that has been built in commemoration of its 30th year. It really is quite big, and as we arrived close to the turning of the hour, we were able to see it do its little head turn and look briefly up at the sky. It also squirted some steam from various parts of its body, and then it was all over. The crowd of people were as entertaining as the robot itself, and almost as big..

Fuji Rock Festival 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Melonade) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 04:03:00 +0000

My first Fuji Rock, what an amazing weekend that was! I had studied up a heap as I knew that preparedness was somewhat essential at this festival, especially with it's reputation for rain and all, and even now just a week later it all seems like a bit of a blur. In any case, let's start at the beginning:

Thursday afternoon we got the shuttle bus from Yuzawa station to the festival site, to what we had heard was going to be pre-party secret acts, it turned out to be not much more that a bon-odori type thingy with a heap of people getting their drink on. Oh, and it rained..

Friday began with another shuttle bus from Yuzawa station, though this time it included an almost 2 hour wait, yikes!

It was mostly another rainy Neaba day which we spent walking between the green and white stages, with many pit stops at the Oasis food court area for the obvious..

The preparedness for rain here was amazing, and it rained a lot! As soon as the hard stuff started coming down out came the the coats and bags, away went the electronic equipment (mostly anyways), and within minutes everyone was once again doing their thing, only this time laden with raingear and the like.

Doves were great..

Lily Allen was awesome, I had no idea!

Paul Weller was cool too, while his set seemed to be pretty heavy with his new stuff, "Shout to the top" had me jumping..

Of course Oasis headlined Friday night on the green stage, and while they were great, by far the best thing for me was seeing ハナレグミ on the white stage, especially when he did 明日天気になれ. I iPhone video'd most of it, and while the sound quality isn't all that, you can get some idea of the crowd feeling and what an epic moment it was..

Saturday started with a taxi ride, we were not going to brave that shuttle bus crowds again.. :) It was a pretty warm day for Naeba, so a lot of people were cooling off (or washing) in the river at various points..

Or chilling out around the food court area..

And there was some music too. Like Ua..

And Jet..

and Zazen Boys on the white stage..

Somewhere around this point the rain started and the camera went away, Dinosaur Jr were awesome though..

Sunday, the final day, lot's of great stuff here, most of which happened on the white stage, starting out with Holy Fuck..

De De Mouse..

Clap your hands say Yeah..

And back on the green stage, Brahman..

and Fall Out Boy..

And by that stage we were just about done, four full days of drinking, walking, and listening to some of the best bands in the world had taken it's toll. Of course we stuck around and listened to Weezer, in the rain, but it wasn't long before we were in yet another taxi back to Yuzawa.

There were loads more amazing moments along the way, some of which I've posted below, but most of which I'll just have to try and remember, until next year anyways..

Teh Shirts live at the Ruby Room..

noreply@blogger.com (Melonade) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 11:43:00 +0000

This is a first for IRYB, to post an entire show of a particular band, but this show was something else. Following the visual-kei spidey-guy and a duo called Sign from Australia, Teh Shirts were well oiled and pumped as hell to be playing before the slightly better known Blue Man Group alter-ego guitar rock extravaganza. It was a short set, but five songs of Shirts joy, but super-worthy of a post here at IRYB as this is the Summer of the Teh..

Oh oh, and you may even be interested in becoming a fan of Teh Shirts on Facebook..

Cats hanging at the park..

noreply@blogger.com (Melonade) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:50:00 +0000

Wascha may be an ordinary house cat through the week, but on the weekends that all changes: that's when his loving owners take him to the park to hang out. Actually this was only Wascha's fourth time to Yoyogi, and I have to admit that he still didn't look all that impressed with the whole thing, but he was sooo cute..

Other cats were hanging out at the park too..

Boys (and Girls) and their bikes: Mongoose edition..

noreply@blogger.com (Melonade) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 04:05:00 +0000

I spent some time on BMX bikes back in the day, I even recently bought and tricked out a Durcus One in an effort to reconnect with those days, but after meeting these guys I realized I wasn't even close. Dude-san's bike is an early 80's mongoose, completely decked out with vintage parts (sans the headstem), and he rides it as proudly as a 12 year old in the semi-finals at the Aussie titles. The girl was riding a much more contemporary model, which had been given to her by the bloke. Awesome..

Picture unrelated: Enoshima..

noreply@blogger.com (Melonade) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 04:16:00 +0000

Somewhere somebodies daughters.. 16

noreply@blogger.com (Melonade) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:03:00 +0000

.. are being shot for a surf fashion magazine.

This post marks the first trip to Enoshima for this Summer season, and while it took a little bit more of an effort to keep the refreshments in hand (the beach bars are still under construction), it was quite an easy task to kick back and enjoy the sights and sounds of Shonan beach..

Blue Man Group rock the Ruby Room..

noreply@blogger.com (Melonade) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 01:21:00 +0000

A proverbial truckload of rock was poured into Shibuya's Ruby Room on Wednesday night: some guys from the The Blue Man Group took time out from their four month Tokyo residency to play a special set of guitar rock anthems. Starting way later than scheduled and playing to a packed room, the civvy-clad trio powered their way through an alcohol soaked bunch of upbeat classics. Also playing were IRYB's very own Teh Shirts, The Sign, and some weird bunch of visual Kei dudes that had a singer replete with black g-string crawling around on the floor like a spider for most of the set. There is a rumour that this might become a semi-regular event while these guys are in T-town, will keep you posted..

I shot video of most of the set which I uploaded to YouTube in four parts, the first of which is below..

Sounds on Sunday..

noreply@blogger.com (Melonade) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:00:00 +0000

Sunday parties are always dangerous, and with the hard rain that was falling early in the day I wasn't sure how this one was gonna go. I was pleasantly surprised.. The Sounds on Sunday music and bbq jam at Aoyama's Oath was a great way to end the weekend with a medium sized crowd of music lovers gathering for some street drinks to some fine tunes spun by various dj's including Pernod, Groove Patrol,Alex Einz and Dave Twomey. A little light rain didn't dampen spirits and the party continued on late into the evening..

Teh Shirts live tonight at Ruby Room Blue Man Group party..

noreply@blogger.com (Melonade) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:25:00 +0000

Teh Shirts will be playing a set tonight at the Ruby Room as part of a Blue Man Group after party event. The colorful percussionists are half way through four months of shows at Invoice in Roppongi, which is the first theater that has been constructed and dedicated to them. Teh Shirts hit the stage at 10, BMG at 11..

Teh Shirts enjoyed a stellar return to the stage last Friday, soo maybe it'll be okay.. >_<

The Okay Idea live at the Ruby Room..

noreply@blogger.com (Melonade) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 03:10:00 +0000

Friday night's Ruby show kicked off with The Okay Idea powering through their set of electro rock/pop gems. It was the debut performance for our buddy Russell and the set also included some new material, I'm definitely looking forward to seeing these guys some more as the Summer goes on..

The Bangladesh Festival '09..

noreply@blogger.com (Melonade) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 22:39:00 +0000

Similar in style to the bigger cultural festivals held at Yoyogi park throughout the Summer, this year's Bangladesh Festival offered all the usual delights, but with a much more relaxed environment. Highlights for me were the sitar/tabla players, and of course the amazing Tawoo taiko group, who somehow I didn't manage to get any pictures of.. >_<

Aanyway, scenes from the Bangladesh Festival..

Teh Shirts Movie 2.0 Teaser..

noreply@blogger.com (Melonade) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 04:40:00 +0000

It's been a year since I did the last Shirts movie and in that time we've acquired a drummer, written a bunch of songs, and hardly played live at all! haha.. But that's all about to change, as the Shirts plans for the Summer include both turning amateur AND getting a $273 recording contract. That's right..

This is just a teaser of the Shirts Movie which I should finish by the end of the Summer. It's mainly bits of us working up some of the new songs and ends with one of our infamous 'rehearsal lives', which inevitably will one day see us banned from Ongakukan..

Oh yeah, Teh Shirts and Okay Idea are playing at the Ruby Room in Shibuya on Friday June 19.

Trance Party at the Park..

noreply@blogger.com (Melonade) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:40:00 +0000

Sunday's sun brought the beats back to Yoyogi.. The crew that put on regular parties in the park put on a great little doof yesterday. I never realized that I like trance so much, but just a couple of cans in I was drawn towards the front and not moving soon became impossible. The police sniffed around a bit a couple of times but seemed to be happy enough, though at one stage the music was stopped, but it soon got pumping again. I really hope this ban on music at the park is relaxed through the Summer, there's really nothing that compares to partying in the park..

Oktoberfest '09..

noreply@blogger.com (Melonade) — Sun, 31 May 2009 11:58:00 +0000

Yep: Oktoberfest in Tokyo, in May..

Headed over to Hibiya park on Saturday for my first ever Oktoberfest experience and right from the first tall Munchner Weisse I knew I'd made the right choice. Beer and sausage enthusiasts have been swarming down here all month, and while it was certainly packed, and difficult to find a table, the lines for the beer and food weren't too bad at all. We sat for a while while sampling the said brew, and then headed over to the stage area for what turned out to be truly one of the most entertaining and interactive performances I've seen. The lederhosen-clad, croth-grabbing German natives plowed through their set, partaking in the amber where they could and generally sending the crowd into an ever escalating state of feverish excitement. In short, Oktoberfest was awesome..

The Mississippi Cookout..

noreply@blogger.com (Melonade) — Mon, 25 May 2009 08:45:00 +0000

As the flyer said: Grilled meats and beats by the river. I'd actually never made it out to a party on the Tamagawa, the lure and convenience of Yoyogi always having had won over any temptation to head out there, but this time I was very glad I did. A small but dedicated group of party goers were well into their day by the time I arrived, and despite a couple of visits by the boys in (dark) blue, the party went on until mid-evening. Will definitely be hitting the next one..

Shibuya de Ohara..

noreply@blogger.com (Melonade) — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:08:00 +0000

I have to admit, sometimes I walk around this place and run into something that I have no idea about, (actually make that often) and Sunday was one of those days. My first thought as walking down a closed off Dogenzaka was that this was some kind of an Awa Odori, which it very well may have been. But anyway I was walking down to get some lunch and didn't really bother finding out, I mean it's just walking down the street on a Sunday, you don't have to know everything! What I did know was that these dancers, that seemed to come from far and wide, were having a great time spinning and singing their way up and down Bunkamura and Dogenzaka, that and.. I was hungry!

Postscript: Thanks to Elmimmo for filling me in, this was actually the Shibuya de Ohara Festival, inspired by the Ohara Matsuri in Kagoshima. As I said, sometimes I have no idea, fml.. >_<

Thai Festival '09..

noreply@blogger.com (Melonade) — Sun, 17 May 2009 00:15:00 +0000

The Thai Festival was as great as ever, and crowded, really crowded. The lines for food were ridiculously long, but the food of course is fantastic and that's I guess why people are prepared to wait. The atmosphere of the Thai Festival is different to that of say the Jamaican or the Brazilian Festivals, in that it's perhaps more culture than party orientated, but it's fun nonetheless. I didn't go too crazy with the camera this time, but I did manage to shoot a bit..

Japan Times Blogroll Interview..

noreply@blogger.com (Melonade) — Fri, 15 May 2009 21:59:00 +0000

A few weeks ago we had the pleasure of being featured in the blogroll section of the Japan Times. It was an interesting enough process to go through, and gave me a chance to look back at IRYB and work out what it is I've been doing these past couple of years. Beyond the obvious I don't think there were any major new realizations, but it was fun nonetheless, and I somehow wound up on the front page for a day! Thanks to Mark and Ken at JT, and to Basak for having the patience to shoot me. You can read the full interview here..

The shot we used was the last of many, taken in the doorway of one of Maruyamacho's many Love Hotels. The Mama-san had just emerged to let us know that our presence wasn't appreciated..

A screen shot of the front page of the Japan Times Online, featuring the infamous Spyderman and the link to our interview..