Shtuff
Yesterday was the Melody Union Live. We (Primo's Requiem) intended to play four songs (two At the Drive-in songs and two originals), but as the whole program was running a bit late, we were asked to drop one (so we played only one original).
There's no way I can really explain in words what these Lives are like... at least for someone with at least as much concert-going experience as I (which isn't much). The facts? There are about 20/30-some independent musicians in Melody Union. When they start planning a "Live," someone says "I want to cover ------" and his/her friends jump on the bandwagon (bad pun), practice seriously for a month or so, then "perform" at the Live. Generally, the performances consist of 1) imitating the covered band *exactly* - from clothing to hair and sometimes even mannerisms 2) technical excellence but very little rocking out (particularly by the girls who, especially if they're singing, tend to look lost and embarrassed 3) breaks and talking between each song, usually including "Thank you very much. Please ----" 4) a small audience sitting on the floor. Every Live I've been to, there's also been one or two groups who, as part of the imitation act, rock out. In the past these groups have covered bands such as Rage Against the Machine and System of a Down. Often when these guys come on, (a few) other Melody Union members will come out of nowhere and stand in front, moving (a little) and singing along. Don't get me wrong. People are having fun... I think, but... it's, well, pretty "foreign" to me.
Anyway, so we were obviously quite different. Except for Chris, who wanted to wear a kilt and tie, we basically went on in our street clothes. And, clearly, as I'm a girl and definitely sound like a girl (if a strange one) when singing, there was no way we were going to sound exactly like At the Drive-in. Plus, as far as I know, there was only one other group performing originals that night. Stu, unfortunately, managed to break a string the night before. He was able to buy new ones yesterday before the Live, but obviously it wasn't going to stay in tune, and on top of that, it was super-heavy and therefore felt different to play. Meanwhile, I was rather cold, and though I kept my throat wrapped, it didn't seem to help that much because, for the first time in our playing of that set, my voice cracked during the At the Drive-in songs. *shrugs* Hopefully it seemed like it was just for effect. Everyone messed up at some point. Quite a bit, if you ask me, certainly compared to the other groups, but that wasn't the only way we were different. We walked on, plugged in, played two songs through, paused so Chris could say "Thank you. We're Primo's Requiem. This is our last song," played the last song, unplugged and walked off. We also moved onstage... or at least I did. My eyes were closed most of the time, so I didn't really see what Chris and Stu were doing, but I think they said afterward that they moved (though none of us as much as in rehearsal, since the audience was just sitting there staring at us). And I - standing with my feet apart, singing/screaming *up* into the mic and with my eyes closed most of the time, and wearing my usual heavy black-eyeliner (which Hideto said emphasized my eyes such that I must be able to "attack men" with them) - may have come off as a bit scary. There was stupid reverb on me, which they hadn't done in soundcheck, and by the time we finished the set, Stu's new string had dropped from an E to a C.
Ah well. Good and bad, it was fun, though I can't really remember how it *felt* to do it. I guess it was sort of an out-of-body experience... and over so fast. Afterward, the other students told us it was かっこよっかた [kakkoyokatta - past form of kakkoii] (cool), but I never know what a Japanese person is really thinking or means when he/she says something, so I don't really trust anything we were told.
We went to the uchiage/nomikai afterward. Not only is such a party a "party," but it's also something of an obligation. Being members of the club (though marginally so, as we mainly just want to use their rehearsal space for only 2000JPY a month), we sort of have to go to rub elbows and build relationships... even though most everyone avoids us - a fact that occupied my mind pretty much all night: Japanese-gaijin relations and related "problems." For that reason I probably wasn't very fun company last night (as I was trying to have "deep conversations" with tired drunks) but you know. I can't help but think sometimes.
Today I was pretty exhausted, having woken up at about 6 every day for the past week, and I needed to go to Mitaka to pay my tuition (banking hours being 9-3 i.e. during class), so I didn't go to class at all. It was really nice to be able to sleep in a little and have some time to myself. I guess I'm a little socially exhausted as well. Besides waking up early, I have class all day long and, since I got back, had rehearsal almost every day with Chris, Stu, and Hideto. Don't get me wrong, I like the kids, but... as last night made all too clear, there's still no one with whom I really connect.
There's no way I can really explain in words what these Lives are like... at least for someone with at least as much concert-going experience as I (which isn't much). The facts? There are about 20/30-some independent musicians in Melody Union. When they start planning a "Live," someone says "I want to cover ------" and his/her friends jump on the bandwagon (bad pun), practice seriously for a month or so, then "perform" at the Live. Generally, the performances consist of 1) imitating the covered band *exactly* - from clothing to hair and sometimes even mannerisms 2) technical excellence but very little rocking out (particularly by the girls who, especially if they're singing, tend to look lost and embarrassed 3) breaks and talking between each song, usually including "Thank you very much. Please ----" 4) a small audience sitting on the floor. Every Live I've been to, there's also been one or two groups who, as part of the imitation act, rock out. In the past these groups have covered bands such as Rage Against the Machine and System of a Down. Often when these guys come on, (a few) other Melody Union members will come out of nowhere and stand in front, moving (a little) and singing along. Don't get me wrong. People are having fun... I think, but... it's, well, pretty "foreign" to me.
Anyway, so we were obviously quite different. Except for Chris, who wanted to wear a kilt and tie, we basically went on in our street clothes. And, clearly, as I'm a girl and definitely sound like a girl (if a strange one) when singing, there was no way we were going to sound exactly like At the Drive-in. Plus, as far as I know, there was only one other group performing originals that night. Stu, unfortunately, managed to break a string the night before. He was able to buy new ones yesterday before the Live, but obviously it wasn't going to stay in tune, and on top of that, it was super-heavy and therefore felt different to play. Meanwhile, I was rather cold, and though I kept my throat wrapped, it didn't seem to help that much because, for the first time in our playing of that set, my voice cracked during the At the Drive-in songs. *shrugs* Hopefully it seemed like it was just for effect. Everyone messed up at some point. Quite a bit, if you ask me, certainly compared to the other groups, but that wasn't the only way we were different. We walked on, plugged in, played two songs through, paused so Chris could say "Thank you. We're Primo's Requiem. This is our last song," played the last song, unplugged and walked off. We also moved onstage... or at least I did. My eyes were closed most of the time, so I didn't really see what Chris and Stu were doing, but I think they said afterward that they moved (though none of us as much as in rehearsal, since the audience was just sitting there staring at us). And I - standing with my feet apart, singing/screaming *up* into the mic and with my eyes closed most of the time, and wearing my usual heavy black-eyeliner (which Hideto said emphasized my eyes such that I must be able to "attack men" with them) - may have come off as a bit scary. There was stupid reverb on me, which they hadn't done in soundcheck, and by the time we finished the set, Stu's new string had dropped from an E to a C.
Ah well. Good and bad, it was fun, though I can't really remember how it *felt* to do it. I guess it was sort of an out-of-body experience... and over so fast. Afterward, the other students told us it was かっこよっかた [kakkoyokatta - past form of kakkoii] (cool), but I never know what a Japanese person is really thinking or means when he/she says something, so I don't really trust anything we were told.
We went to the uchiage/nomikai afterward. Not only is such a party a "party," but it's also something of an obligation. Being members of the club (though marginally so, as we mainly just want to use their rehearsal space for only 2000JPY a month), we sort of have to go to rub elbows and build relationships... even though most everyone avoids us - a fact that occupied my mind pretty much all night: Japanese-gaijin relations and related "problems." For that reason I probably wasn't very fun company last night (as I was trying to have "deep conversations" with tired drunks) but you know. I can't help but think sometimes.
Today I was pretty exhausted, having woken up at about 6 every day for the past week, and I needed to go to Mitaka to pay my tuition (banking hours being 9-3 i.e. during class), so I didn't go to class at all. It was really nice to be able to sleep in a little and have some time to myself. I guess I'm a little socially exhausted as well. Besides waking up early, I have class all day long and, since I got back, had rehearsal almost every day with Chris, Stu, and Hideto. Don't get me wrong, I like the kids, but... as last night made all too clear, there's still no one with whom I really connect.
posted by Bibhatsu at 06:14
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