We Made It Home - Random Notes

I returned to Delaware late last night after a long day of travel: almost 24 hours starting on the Yamanote subway, Shinkansen bullet train, Nagoya airport express bus, 2 American Airline flights and a finally a van to my front door. The schedule was fairly tight, but fortunately I made all my connections (although the last leg from Chicago to Philadelphia was too close for comfort, with the door to the plane closing right behind me). I was happy to be home last evening, and although I made it into work this morning I still need to catch up on some deep sleep.

Looking back, I am so pleased we decided to go on this tour. The music was everything I hoped it would be with the Japanese audiences proving that moe. has a cross-cultural appeal.

Throughout our trip, I was struck by the incredible patience and kindness of our Japanese hosts. Although I'm certain that Japan has its own set of societal problems, the Japanese show each other and outsiders a great deal of respect and courtesy. It is an attitude that certainly makes living in crowded cities, subways and housing situations much easier.

Early in the week there were definite feelings of disorientation...Japanese culture and my inability to converse in Japanese literally turned my brain inside out. It was a new and interesting experience. Things never really became comfortable, although by the end of the week it was becoming easier to get my bearings and feel comfortable relying on the public transportation system to get around Tokyo and its suburbs. The horrific train derailment in Osaka added some stress (mostly for family and friends back home), but I still felt very safe using the JR subways and trains.

I have to confess that mid-trip I began to crave American food. The Japanese meals were very tasty (although not knowing what half the foods were added to my disorientation). I broke down and ordered a cheeseburger at the Marines baseball stadium, but other than that I stayed the course and ate local foods. The sushi was a favorite, as were the Udon noodles I discovered on our last day in Japan.

As usual, the members of moe. were very open with the fans and it was fun to talk briefly with the band at several of the gigs. Al mentioned to me that the Liquidroom show in Tokyo was videorecorded by a Japanese television company for a broadcast in Japan...our friends in Japan will have to be on the lookout for it. Hopefully the .org will get the footage so that it can be released here in the States, too.

Another highlight was Rob Derhak making a special announcement at the Bay Hall show to acknowledge James' 54th birthday and his 150th moe. show. It was also great to meet up with Ed (moebass) our American friend living in Tokyo. I hope we'll see him in the States some time so that we can reciprocate his hospitality.

In addition to the folks travelling in our group, I was glad to meet others from the States who had travelled to Japan just for the shows. Chris from NYC was enthusiastic and a welcome addition joining our group in Tokyo. Kate and Bob Edwards from San Diego were celebrating their 25th anniversary and clearly enjoying their decision to come to Japan. Another fellow traveller was Liz (CajunQueen) from New Orleans, who was the only one in the Club Quattro audience studying the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (in anticipation of her upcoming law school finals). That's commitment!

Early on in the week Julie seriously injured her knee on our way up to Koyasan, but she never let the pain and discomfort affect her enthusiasm for the concerts, her conscientious taping of all the shows or her full participation in all of our sidetrips. She is one of moe.'s most dedicated fans and I was glad she was in our group. I know that moe.rons all over the world will appreciate her recordings once the master tapes are transferred and released to the community.

As for my other friend, James Paddock, we started planning this adventure months earlier when we both agreed that "we aren't getting any younger." I could not have asked for a more energetic and agreeable companion on this journey...if you ever get the chance to travel with James, grab the opportunity. His photographs of the trip are truly works of art and I hope we see some of the concert photography up on his moe.radio photo website soon.

The best parts of the trip involved decisions to push ourselves to take the more difficult paths, such as walking down a dark lane in Koyasan or to go exploring late in the evening for restaurants. I suppose that's the lesson to all of this. If you get the chance to visit Japan, take it...even if you don't know the language and are unsure how you are going to get from town to town. The Japanese are a helpful people and there are incredibly detailed resources on the internet to help you plan your trip. If moe. returns to Japan, I'd love to do it again.

Tokyo nightlife at Shibuya Crossing. 

"Faithful Dog" at the Shibuya Station...memorializing the dog that would come each day to meet his master, continuing years after the master passed away. 

Chris and his new buddy. 

Hard core fans in right field play drums, sing and wave flags throughout the game and for a half hour afterwards. 

Marines win the game, with fans staying in their seats to cheer for another 20 minutes. 

 

Chibba Lotte Marines. 

Shibuya in the afternoon. 

We returned to the Tower Cafe (adjoining the Liquidroom) in Ebisu looking for the limited edition moe. Japanese CD release. 

One of the quieter streets in Harajuka. 

James contemplating dinner plans. 

Last Full Day in Tokyo

After the final moe. show on Sunday in Yokohama we caught the subway back to Shibuya Station and called it an early evening.

Monday was a "free" day for us so we were able to explore Tokyo, shop and learn the subway system. Waking up to light rain and overcast skies, several of us took the JR Yamanote line to Harajuka, where we looked for souvenirs at the Oriental Bazaar, filled with low cost and authentic Japanese items. Vinnie had suggested we check it out and we weren't disappointed. Harajuka is also a good place to watch Tokyo's trendy younger crowds that frequent the westernized luxury shops, smaller restaraunts and bars. We ate lunch at a "conveyer belt" sushi restaraunt, something I have wanted to try out the past week. The sushi was fresh and by the time we finished our lunch the sun was out and we spent another hour walking around Harajuka (and trying to locate the subway station).

Later in the day we travelled by subway to the Chibba Lotte Marines baseball stadium to watch the Marines play the Seibu Lions. It was a fascinating contrast to see how the fans and players in Japan differ from those in America. Most interesting was the fact that - at the end of the game - almost all of the fans stayed in their seats until the MVP of the game was announced, and even after that the crowd stayed to cheer and sing their praises.

We returned to Shibuya Station and shot a few photos of the statue of the Faithful Dog at the JR station's entrance, as well as the nightlife around Shibuya Crossing...site of one of the key exterior scenes from the 2003 movie, "Lost in Translation." Even on a Monday night, the intersection looked busier than New York City.

Tonight (it's about midnight in Japan as I type this) we are packing and getting ready for the return trip. We'll retrace our earlier steps and take the Shinkansen train to Nagoya, then catch our plane for the long trip home tomorrow evening.

Bay Hall, Yokohama...view from the tapers' section, April 24, 2005. 

Big Frog begins its performance. 

Big Frog soundchecking. 

Ed joined up with us for lunch in Chinatown. 

Authentic chinese food and good company to enjoy it with. 

 

Thank goodness for Andy and his friends' navigational help...I felt like we should be dropping bread crumbs. 

On our way to Bay Hall. 

 

Shibuya Station mid-day on Sunday. 

Don't Leave Home without It...

Your ticket to the show, that is...particularly when the ticket is back in your hotel across Tokyo. Fortunately, thanks to some Big Frog schwag and Mr. Garvey, our group was able to get into the Bay Hall for the last show of the tour without any difficulty.

Our day began when we met up with Julie's friend and fellow taper, Andy, and a group of his taper friends in Shibuya, then travelled about an hour by train to Yokohama. On the way to the show, we stopped for lunch in Chinatown and enjoyed the good company and sunny weather.

The Yokohama show opened with a 45 minute set by Big Frog, who played well and made new fans of us who are visiting Japan. Big Frog has been an important part of this tour, performing at both of the late night afterparties in Osaka and Nagoya. The band members and their manager have been very friendly and look to be very appreciative of the chance to play with moe. in Japan. Hopefully moe. will get a chance to reciprocate and have Big Frog play at a future moe.down.

Musically, moe.'s sets at the Bay Hall were as good as they get. A perfect combination of old and new songs - and the band played "Four" with an Inca Roads tease, which was what I have been hoping for all tour. Other highlights were the Timmy opener, and the Bearsong > Timmy first set closer. The second set highlights included LATW, Yodelitte, PC and the inevitable Godzilla encore (with members of Big Frog joining in).

Enthusiastic audience, I'd say. 

 

Old school taping...a classic Nagra reel to reel. 

The tapers' section was in the back left, out of the line of site for the videocamera located directly behind and over the soundboard. 

On the way to our hotel we spied this vending machine...looks like the moe. Street Team was here a few weeks prior to the show. 

Our friend moe.bass (Ed) from Tokyo with James. 

First Night in Tokyo

Yesterday we made a relatively easy tain ride on the Hiraki Shinkansen train from Nagoya to Tokyo, with the highlight being the views of Mt. Fuji halfway into the trip. One of the better decisions we've made this visit is to obtain a JR Railpass (good for a week on all JR trains) and enables us to obtain reserved seats on the first class service (known as the "Green Cars"). Travel on the Shinkansen is equal to or better than flying first class, and Amtrak should be over here taking notes on how to run a railway line. The trains are uniformly punctual, with an occasional overhead announcement (and apology) if a rare train is running a few minutes late.

We transferred from the Shinkansen to the JR Yamanote loop line, a key route around the city of Tokyo. It can get incredibly crowded, particularly with the luggage we were carrying, but the train wasn't unbearably crowded when we hopped on in the midafternoon. After a short 10 minute ride, we were at our stop - the JR Shibuya Station. Julie and Chris (another moe.ron and fellow traveller from New York) hopped into a taxi, with James and I deciding to walk the 20 minutes or so to our hotel...due to traffic the taxi ride took about twice the time, but they didn't have to deal with our uphill climbs along the crowded sidewalks. Our hotel has all the conveniences we'll need for the next 3 nights...washer, dryer and internet connection.

Speaking of conveniences, just a brief note to document that the Japanese are 10 years ahead of Americans when it comes to lavatories and toilet technology. I don't know about the red states, but my guess is that folks in the blue states will be adopting much of this technology in the next decade...when I get home I want to look into the stock prospects of Toto, the company that has it's name on all of the electronic toilets in Japan.

We hopped back on the Yamanote line around 5:00 pm and took it to Ebisu, one stop away and the site of the moe. show at the Liquidroom. Doors were early and the room was filled with almost 1000 in the audience. The show was likely the best of the 3 I've seen this tour, with the RC second set closer being the highlight for me. One interesting item was that the show was videotaped professionally (multiple cameras) by a Japanese crew, so perhaps the band will be releasing it at some point in the future.

After a late night meal cooked at our table in a Nambe bowl, we took a quick taxi ride home and fell into a good night's rest. It's Sunday morning now and time to head over to Yokohama for the early show.

 

Steve Young - moe.'s back of the house sound engineer. 

For a smallish club, the lighting was fairly intricate. 

 

moe. taking the stage. 

Arrival at the Club Quattro. The tapers' section was a few feet to the left, DFC. 

Nagoya Show

The second show of the 2005 moe. Japan Tour again took place 8 floors up, this time in the East Annex of the Parco Sakae in Nagoya. Club Quattro was filled with about 250 fans as moe. took to the stage at 7:00 pm sharp. As with the first show, the room was intimate, although I thought that Jeff's lighting setup was more elaborate. Chris - the promoter - had again made it easier for those of us taping the shows by roping off some prime real estate in front of Steve's soundboard.

The setlist for the night was:

Set One:

Big World
Wind It Up
Bring You Down >
The Pit >
Kyle's Song

Set Two:
New York City
NCD >
WW >
Okalright
Bullet>
The Road >
Meat
E: St. Augustine

Musically, I enjoyed this show more than the first night and thought that the sound at the Nagoya Club Quattro was top notch. I especially enjoyed Wind It Up, BYD, and Bullet (which seemed appropriate given our experiences in Okunoin earlier in the day).

We called it an early evening, but many folks headed over to the Big Frog afterparty where the music continued until late in the night. We leave Nagoya this morning for Tokyo on the Shinkasen bullet train where we'll encamp for the next 3 nights.

Coming down the mountain. 

Friday morning we returned to the cable car and began our trip (with 4 train transfers) to Nagoya for the show. 

From our rooms at Shojoshin. 

Maybe an omen we will hear "Four" during the moe. Japan tour. 

 

Friday morning we returned to Okunoin and had another opportunity to appreciate this unique site...the cedar forest adds to the immensity of the experience. 

 

 

Arriving at the Okunoin Temple. 

 

It's impossible to briefly describe the feelings as we walked by hundreds of thousands of memorial stones and statues. 

 

Walking to Okunoin. 

Cherry blossoms in bloom at Shojoshin. 

Osaka shopping area on the way to the train station on Thursday. 

On to Koyasan

On Thursday we made our way by train and cable car from Osaka to Mount Koya, eventually arriving at the Shojoshin Temple where James had arranged accomodations. The area - known as Koyasan - is an alpine basin surrounded on all sides by mountains. Koyasan is the site of Okunoin Temple(and the adjacent burial grounds for over 500,000 souls) founded as a religious retreat in 816. There are 117 subtemples on this holy ground.

After taking dinner at Shojoshin, we walked in the darkness to the Okunoin Temple, seeing only a few other tourists. It was a once in a lifetime experience as we walked for an hour along the dimly lit pathway, eventually arriving at Okunoin to hear a lone priest singing prayers.

 

 

Jeff's lighting was excellent, despite a minimal setup at the club...I would still like to see some more spots on Jim and Vinnie. 

My guess is that the club's capacity was about 200 fans. 

 

moe. at Club Quattro. 

View from our ryokan in Osaka. 

First Show in Japan

We arrived in Osaka yesterday by train. Unlike Kyoto, Osaka has a big city feel to it, similar to New York City. We checked into our hotel downtown and walked over to the Club Quattro in time to hear a muffled bit of the soundcheck through the doors. The Club is on the 8th Floor and there were about 200 audience members. The Japanese fans (and a few of others who have travelled to see the tour) gave the band a warm and enthusiastic welcome. The stage setup was similar to BB Kings Blues Club in New York, and it also reminded me of the Smith's show in Atlanta last month. Musically the band was on and I was pleased that they played a Flo...the Rebubula closer had the crowd jumping.

After moe. played many folks headed off to the Big Frog afterparty. We had a chance to meet Big Frog's manager prior to the show and gave him a copy of the "100 Revisited" DVD that we produced last year...although I did not make it to the afterparty, I was told they played parts of the DVD that night.

Today we are travelling by train to Mount Koya, where we'll be spending the night at a Buddhist monastery...up at 6 am for morning prayer and then off to Nagoya for the second show.

When in Rome...the Japanese have a great tradition when you arrive at your destination at the end of the day, change into your yakuta, bathe, soak in a hot tub then off to dinner. Very relaxing and sensible. 

Tonight's dinner at the ryokan. 

 

Julie and James at The Golden Pavilion. 

The afternoon included a trip to Kyoto's Golden Pavilion. This temple is covered with gold leaf on lacquer covering all of it's exterior. 

While walking through the Temple grounds, James, Julie and I were asked a number of times to be interviewed by Japanese shoolchildren studying the english language. Fortunately, their mastery of english was much better than my japanese. 

Schoolchildren enjoying a picnic on Temple grounds. The weather in Kyoto has been perfect so far. A truly nice spring day and some cherry blossoms still iin bloom! 

Painting on ceiling at Kenninji. 

First day in Kyoto - visiting Kenninji Zen Temple. 

View from JR Nagoya station upon arrival. 

Near Anchorage on AA Flight 27. 

We've made it to Kyoto!

James Paddock, Julie Glendenning and I arrived in Kyoto yesterday after a 24 hour trip...the flight was an easy one and we did get some nice views of Alaska in particular from the air. We successfully navigated the Shinkansen bullet train from Nagoya to Kyoto and had a leisurely trip in one of the green (reserved seating) cars.

We checked into the Kikokuso ryokan in downtown Kyoto last night, with our hosts waiting at the door for us as we pulled in by taxi. The Kikokuso is an oasis and our hosts have been incredibly friendly and helpful to us. James has been impressing everyone with his mastery of the japanese language, while I am getting along fine with smiles and hand signals. The food, served to us in our rooms, is an incredible variety of local treats.

We are touring Kyoto - the original capital of Japan - today and will move to Osaka for the first moe. show tomorrow. So far, so good!

And so it begins. 

Japanese Dancers entertain the crowd on a beautiful spring afternoon. 

 

Calligraphy exhibition. 

Obligatory moe. content. 

Martial Arts Exhibition. 

 

Japanese Tea House in Fairmount Park (Philadelphia, PA).  

 

 

 

 

Dancers from Tokyo at the Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chuck was relaxed both nights. 

Tiffany and Elwood up by the rail. 

Brian travelled a long way to be with moe. in Denver. 

SuzieB from Kansas, I believe. 

Brandy was up front both nights. 

Alex Prestin takes a break from usual taping duties. 

Al Schnier at the start of the show. 

Great bass work. 

We got to meet a guy who went to high school with Vinnie 

Surprise Guest 

Jeff did a good job of lighting both Jim and Vinnie both nights.

Al was on fire all weekend. 

Chuck gets creative 

Dispatch from Denver

Just returned from 2 nights at the Fillmore in Denver. moe. videotaped the second night (in conjunction with HDnet) for an upcoming cable broadcast and eventual DVD. Great times as usual and it was fun seeing everyone who could make it.

Although audio taping and photography were not permitted during the second night's taping, I'll try and post a few of the better shots from the first night up by the rail here. Jon Merin has already posted the audio recording for the first night's show over on the etree internet archive...astonishingly fast, as usual, Jon!