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Published: October 24th 2008
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Kick starting my No-More-Self-Imposed-Exile with a Bang!...
...Or at the very least, some smooth beats and a bit of a boogie.
Chafing at the bit, I gladly accepted an invitation to see some Djs I had never heard of in Osaka. After all, it couldn't be worse than what my weekend was going to hold - namely, nothing of note, and a lot of lazing around - which I have done plenty of over the last month and a half. No more! It would also be an excuse to take my new camera out for a spin. Now on the other side of that weekend (and a few more), I can say that it has to have been the highlight of my 'going out' moments while in Japan.
The journey there, however, was an arduous one. First, I caught 3 trains to get to Kyoto, where I jumped on the subway line and met up with some friends at the riverside. From there, we left late, lost one of our own who had lost his phone (he found us later, luckily, as well as his phone), only to find out that we were too late to catch the
train we needed. In Japan, the trains stop running at midnight, or just before, so you either pull a Cinderella, or party until sunrise. We jumped on a train headed in the right direction, travelled 4 stations (we wanted to travel 10), and then spent a fruitless twenty minutes trying to hail cabs, before legging it to the other side of the road and nabbing three taxis for the nine of us.
I think we made it TO the club at 1 am or so, the time when I would normally have been complaning for 2 hours about how sore my feet were and how tired I was. Japan is turning me into a party animal....one that goes out on a rampage once or twice a month, and hibernates the rest of the time. As soon as we walked in the door, we could hear the music, practically feel it through the walls, and were able to mingle with some crazy looking, party loving Japanese people, and a bunch of not-so-cool-no-matter-how-hard-they/we-try foreigners.
I danced a bit, drank a bit, and spent the rest of my time taking pictures. It's amazing the attention you can command with a DSLR...people
think you're an official photographer and will preen, pose and act up marvellously. From air guitar to motion blur, I think I got a few good shots. Most of them are on this travelblog, but have a look at the photo essay on
JPGMag There's a strange duality I feel when taking pictures. How much am I experiencing through the lens? When should you snap away, and when should you put the camera down and just enjoy it? I tried to find a balance, and think I did. I was enjoying myself both behind and in front of the camera. I also got to experience something new. I met a lot of new people that night, which usually happens...but I was glad to meet some new Japanese friends, who I sat down for a chat with before heading into the
Soulwax room with them at 4am. Meeting randoms is nothing new, but feeling at one with a mob of people was.
It was difficult to actually squeeze into the room where these world-class DJs were playing. To get anywhere near the front was a mission. We struck out in diagonal lines, homing in on the centre point, my
tallest ALT friend. Once there we were jumping up and down, shaking it, dancing away just feeling the music. It sounds a bit strange, but once you give your body up the music, and let go, there's a freeness. You're not thinking about how strange you might look with your arms in the air, and you're just feeling the music with more than your head. It's not listening to music, it's living it. The music doesn't care where you live, where you're from, who you are, or what your hang-ups or aspirations in life are. You just have to move.
Those guys are amazing. Advice to anyone reading: Soulwax is DEFINITELY worth it. The high point of being in that room, I must say, was when Neil Diamond's voice came through over the speakers, singing 'Love is in the air' with the craziest beats you can imagine running through it.
Can you say homesick? 😊 On a side note, I couldn't believe how many people had never heard of
Strictly Ballroom! Sickening. It's a cult classic!
We left around 5am and followed the crowd to the train station. It was a strange hour to be out. The transition between
the ravers, partygoers and those just setting out to do an honest day's work was quite amusing. Little old ladies on their bicyles stopped to watch a crowd of glamorous zombies stride past. We descended upon the nearest Lawson (Combini) like locusts. I'm surprised the staff made it out of their with their lives. It was great to get some eats, but nothing beats an early AM kebab.
Cravings! We made it onto a morning train, most of us sleeping...and one of us Not-waking-Nikky-up-at-her-station-and-instead-buggering-off-at-your-own-and-leaving-her-asleep-you-loser. Luckily, the station we stopped at was walking distance from the one I wanted. The rest of us parted ways, each of us to our own beds, and there, the transition between the walking dead and the just woken was not so amusing. Riding a train with immaculately dressed people while you have a face like a half-sucked-mango (or something to that effect) is not so fun. I like to think they could read my enjoyment of the evening in my smudged eyeliner and pale skin tones...it's possible.
At 9 am, I made it to my door, sent a quick message home saying I survived the night's events, and slept an honest man's working
hours, 9 to 5.
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