March - Part 2

Since my last blog, things have been far from quiet so I will start with updating on the latter part of March first!

22nd March - Karaoke Party - Sushi Hiroba

As March is my birthday month, I wanted to arrange a really fun night out and couldn't think of anything better than a night of Sushi and Karaoke! I came across a place called Sushi Hiroba which is in Holborn and invited 30 of my friends to join me.

The private karaoke rooms were downstairs in the basement and the restaurant kindly let us order food to take downstairs for the party. I have to say, next time I book this place (because I definitely will!) I will take advantage of the option to pre-order platters as this works out much cheaper. It still wasn't too expensive though as 3 hours of karaoke and all the food we ordered still only came to about £30 each.

The song list was really extensive too, with almost every song we could think of being available between the English, Japanese and Korean song books. Although I am learning Japanese and love many Japanese songs, I have to admit I find it very difficult to follow the lyrics on the screen in Japanese but I planned a head and had downloaded some Romaji lyric sheets in advance. I was so happy to be able to sing my favourite Japanese songs in karaoke.

Everyone seemed to have something they wanted to sing and three hours seemed enough time for pretty much everyone to have a go on the microphone. Even if it ended up everyone just sharing in the end! The night was so much fun it was hard to calm down afterwards and the party ended up carrying on long in the the evening after we left!

28th March - VAMPS - Koko, Camden

This was the second time I saw VAMPS live in London, the first being only last October which was right at the beginning of my discovery of J Rock and part of the reason my passion was cemented.
HYDE and K.A.Z were on fire, so much more powerful than the performance in October. I didn't think they could top it but they were even more incredible!

My favourite bits were Midnight Celebration and Sex Blood and Rock and Roll... oh and Hunting... and Sweet Dreams... sorry I guess the whole performance was too good to pick out one best bit.

I was actually quite impressed with The Howling too. They were a good opening band. The only downside was that the VIP tickets were not quite what I hoped for as the meet and greet was very rushed as they were running late and there was no signed item, no photo so essentially no keepsake for the amount paid. It also looked like they signed some autographs on the way into the venue when passing through the crowds (at least that's what it looked like on twitter the next morning) which seems especially unfair. However, the opportunity to shake HYDE's hand, being such as inspiration to me, was incredible even if fleeting. He really does have the softest hands!!!

29th March - Anime Party - My House (^_^)

Lastly, I decided that as my parents were away for my actual birthday weekend, it was imperative to hold a house party! (I'm not a teenager, honest!)
Before I returned to living at home, I used to host regular anime nights at my house where everyone would gather to watch various anime shows that they would recommend to everyone else. It was a great way to find new shows to watch and just get to know more people who were into anime. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to get everyone together again and add some new faces to the evening.
Again, I was so honoured to have so many people come to the evening and it was great to enjoy an evening watching anime with everyone.
We watched a few different shows but the most popular by far was Witch Craft Works. Even though some less than smooth streaming from CrunchyRoll (due to the poor connection, not the site) ended up with an hysterical cliffhanger that clearly peaked everyone's interest so much, three more episodes were watched! Of course, with such a large group, we couldn't explicitly just watch anime and there was more of a party feel. Even some dancing!

So a jam packed March was had and more wonderful memories than I could have ever wished for... roll on April!

March - Part 1 (Live Music Update)

Sorry it's been a while since my last update. Why is it every time I start a blog/diary/journal or anything of the sort, I start with that sentence... Anyways, I have good reason for my absence. It's been really busy lately but in a really good way. Let's see...

An Cafe - 7th March - Islington O2 Academy

Well, my first thought when I got here was, 'where is everybody?'

For some unknown reason, it was light on attendance but the show was still awesome. I was really impressed that the band didn't seem that affected by the half full venue and really gave it their all.

I'm afraid I didn't do as with some others and note the whole set list. I'm a fairly new fan so there were a few tracks I wasn't familiar with. The thing was this didn't really matter. The show was really energetic and the crowd were all very excited. 

One thing that I noticed more than at previous gigs I'd been to was the amount of audience interaction. Miku, the vocalist, would make various hand, arm and head movements during each song and the audience would follow... a little like at aerobics class! Although this was a lot of fun, it really did feel like my arm would drop off after a while and I was impressed with people who kept it up all the way through. I think this would definitely be preferable to going to the gym!!!

Yuma's Leaving Party - 10th March - Alleycat Bar, Denmark Street

Goodbye Yuma!

So, I have been so extremely lucky to meet some wonderful new friends in the last few months but although I know all good things often come to an end, why does it always have to be so soon! かなしい (T_T)

Of Fire and Fate

Ramshackle

To say goodbye to a very special friend, this was the party of the year so far, with live bands playing (all pictured, check them out on Facebook!) and everyone gathered together, I don't think anyone could have wanted anything more.

Oh and I made cake (^_^)

Hopefully I will be lucky enough to hear his band, Qwerty play next when I visit Tokyo! I can't wait! たのしみに!

Qwerty

雅 Miyavi - 15th March - Shepherd's Bush Empire

Miyavi was amazing! 本当にすごい! I had managed to get VIP tickets for this which did mean I was separated from my friends but I managed to get right up close to the front, which was only slightly marred by the fact that I was stuck behind a much bigger person than me so despite this still had to crane my neck to see anything. Obviously this can't be helped at gigs sometimes but the person could at least not jump around making me feel like I'm about to get squished at any moment... /rant

What was truly extraordinary is the stage presence that just two men on stage had. I've normally only been to see full bands at concerts or if there has been a solo artist, they have had a full production and dancers and all sorts going on around them. 

Watching just these two people with their instruments was really inspiring. Yes there was lots of funky lighting and obviously plenty of pedals to add to Miyavi's guitar playing but despite this, it gave a much more intimate feel than with a full band.

Miyavi stopped between songs often to talk to the audience. His English is so good compared to most Japanese artists that visit the UK but I'm glad that he still keeps a lot of his songs in Japanese. I think the sound of the Japanese language is part of what I like so much about this music. It feels like it loses something when songs are redone in just English. Anyway, as well as the expected 'say my name' speeches, he thanked everyone for their support of Japan since the Earthquake three years ago just before his last visit to the UK (which I'm sad to say I was oblivious to as I didn't even know this amazing talent was out there back then!)

I think highlights of the show for me were definitely when Miyavi played 'Guard You'. This song has always been my favourite from his new album ever since I got it and hearing him play it live was a real treat. Luckily, I did not cry despite how beautiful it was.

The extra special part of this concert thought was the meet and greet at the end. Now I know it was all over in the blink of an eye but it was still a wonderful experience to meet him, shake his hand and personally thank him for making such awesome music (not that I think I was actually that eloquent about it!)