Septré-Festival is a 4 day festival promoting home education in Germany ( where such a concept is still illegal). So more power to them for pushing their beliefs.
This will be my 3rd time to play the festival and I hope to play 2 times over the weekend. The first show will be on the 8th September. A time is yet to be confirmed.
The Process of performing live has become ever more complicated as the journey has continued.
I used to simply have one set up. Guitar/ Vocal
That was it!
But first came the loop station and then all manor of instruments followed.
Please find below 2 vids from both ends of the spectrum both recorded during my last international tour in 2015.
One track is taken from double LP called ‘Time Lost Tradition’ which can be ordered here: http://goforthbrightscenic.bigcartel.com/product/go-fourth-bright-scenic-2×12-lp
So I have decided no matter how old the tour times should be I will try to blog as best I can.
This show was my final 2012 show in Japan. It must end somewhere and the gods of random bookings decided it should be here.
Unshudo Osaka was once again a show shared with the awesome NolenNiu-de-Ossi.
This once again resulted in us being able to join forces for a performance of `1-2-Seppuku`.
Onstage in Unshudo – Photo taken by Yuki Yokomichi
To say it was the perfect send off from the land of the rising sun would to be honest be a lie.
Onstage in Unshudo – Photo taken by Yuki Yokomichi
I was littered with technical issues and found it hard to relax.
Onstage in Unshudo – Photo taken by Yuki Yokomichi
Then to top it off this was a rare time in which a member of the audience was noticeably loud. She was gabbering away in Japanese ignorant or just choosing to ignore the fact this was a acoustic show with an otherwise very respectful and attentive audience.
Onstage in Unshudo – Photo taken by Yuki Yokomichi
I wanted to tell her to be quiet but did not want to destroy the atmosphere for the show for others.
Unshudo Set List
Alas I think I made the wrong choice as the situation only ended up frustrating me further.
Rehearsing with Yasushi for my performance
Still it was awesome to see and share the stage with NolenNiu-de-Ossi once more. A truly great undiscovered gem of a band.
Performing 1-2-Seppuku with Nolen Niu De Ossi – Yasushi Kita – Shimisen & Toruko Nolen – Accordion.
During their set later in the night the same lady with her loud mouth proceeded to run it. I could see how much of a distraction this was being to Yasushi and Toruko from the stage.
I took great joy in telling her to shut the fuck up. I don`t think she fully understood me but she got the message from my tone of voice. It was great to see this bring a smile to NolenNiu-de-Ossi and they thanked my after 🙂
Onstage in Unshudo – Photo taken by Toruko Nolen
And from there that was it. Tour done and job done. From here I took the train back to Tokyo and got ready for my flight to the next destination.
Socrates is simply a crazy place. Always showing perverse and twistid visuals on it`s TV screen coupled with almost every band I`m lined up next being deep into the world of noise and experimentation.
This was my 2nd time frequenting this venue and was no different.
Socrates Set List
Sandwiched between Goth, improv, industrial and yep J-pop. I felt adiquatly out of place.
The set list reflected the randomness of the vibe with Electro dirge `As Stubborn as a Sandfly` kicking things off. Also later in the show `One Schizophrenic` made it`s debut live performance. To fill the gaps I was able to loop the cymbals and snare from the house drum kit.
It is rare that any songs from the `Scenic` album get any live air time due to the complex nature of the recordings.