---

I'd almost forgotten what live music was like - I can't even remember the last gig I went to! I can only think of Download Festival 2007(!), which is just WAY too long for any decent human being to go without live music....

So one of my students came up to me after a class and gave me a piece of A5 paper folded up into a little square (more like an oblong) and told me to go. All I could see was a load of kanji and some numbers, which meant sweet FA to me at the time. I gave her a wtf kinda look and she opened it up for me and lo and behold - there was Mongol800 staring back at me!!! She remembered that I'd said that I liked them in my intro lesson, bless her. I should mention more things I like/want to my students!

The next couple of weeks were spent rallying up the troops to spread the love of this Okinawan band. We managed an eight-strong army (the ninth was lost to potential swine flu, the tenth to feeling crappy, the eleventh to skintness). However, one of the eight bought her ticket that day and when she asked for a ticket in the shop, the lady was like "yeah sure" as if it was beyond the realms of possibility for it to be sold out. Which kind of worried us a bit, on top of the anxiety over whether gigs in Japan were actually fun.

We got the tram down to the port and ended up following a couple of girls that had Mongol800 t-shirts on. Pretty safe bet, and we managed to make it to Kochi Bay5 Square, which is tiny!! Bit like that venue in London - the Garage?? So our tickets said '1 drink' with some Japanese writing, which we assumed meant we got a drink with it - like in clubs. But if Senor Segal's films have taught us anything, let it be this: assumption is the mother of all f*** ups. We actually had to PAY 500 yen for a drink voucher before we went in! They said even if we didn't plan on drinking, we still had to buy one. Hmmmm, interesting.... Then Steve got a bit worried that he was only allowed 1 drink the whole night, so he went back out and bought another voucher from the dude. We made our way inside and to the bar, where we found out that after the first drink, you can actually buy drinks for money (beer for 500 yen, soft drinks for 300 yen). Which made me laugh. At least now we know the reason for this pointless exercise!

We had about 20 minutes before the band actually started so we stood around taking in the sights and smells while drinking beer and sorting out cloakroom stuff. Everyone else seemed so serious - not a good sign for our funness anxiety. I commented that James was the tallest person in the entire place, and Simon the second. James pointed out what he called a 'pretty tall' Japanese dude, but 'pretty tall' must mean something different up t'north.... When there were 5 minutes to go, we moved further to the centre so we could see the band properly and then it was a matter of waiting.

As soon as they came on, everyone just rushed to the front and lost their goth-esque serious facades and did what all people should do - enjoy the music. During the first couple of songs, James said 'you can't see it, but there's a group of people up front just pushing each other around' so naturally I grabbed Steve and James and charged forth. After a few seconds, James couldn't hack the pace and went back to the group, while Steve and I repreZENted up front. After a while, Steve had to get a drink, so I was on my lonesome, but loving it. Eventually they had a whole section of just talking, so I went back to the group, where James practically cried about being pushed by me. Hehe ;) As soon as chiisai koi no uta came on, further forth-charging resumed into the pit of interesting sights and horrendous smells, where I remained for the duration of the show.

At the end, I walked back to the group, where the plastic bag that I'd dropped earlier AND the bottle of Calpis that fell out of my pocket right at the beginning were still sitting in their original drop points. Ker-ray-zeeeee. So I picked both up and left with the gang. On the way out, we all picked up a box of Aeros, compliments of the band (that's how awesome-o these guys are!), and headed back to the station to get food/go home.

All in all a ridiculously fun night, of which I hope to have more.......bring it on!

UPDATE 27/10/09
Wait, I remember my last gig now - VoD at ULU in June. So it wasn't as long ago as previously mentioned. Phew! Man my memory sucks.

---