Good day and Konnichi wa!
Oh goodness, I have what I think might be a chicken hangover! Last night I went out to see music (a lot of which was sickly sweet and over emotional), and to eat food. I was invited by a new aquaintance, Dain from America, who came to my workshop and sewed considerably well. Here's the proof: him and his girlfriend both wearing their creations.
To the gig I took along with me another new aquaintance, John from Ireland, whos constant witty sarcasm I find very refreshing, and too it reminds me of certain friends from home who I'm missing.
I was stuck between the two, Dain nodding his head in approval, John aghast and muttering sarcastic remarks.
Needless to say they hated each other. So at dinner, they stopped eating, stone-faced, long before me, and I was left with 3 peoples portions of chicken. Of course I ate them all. Hence what I think can only be described as a chicken hangover!
It's really quite interesting to realise that maybe there are bigger communication barriers then the language you speak. Last night we all spoke the same language, but there were some pretty vast cultural differences in place. But despite the awkwardness I was actually quite entertained and feel I have made some friends.
As well as suffering from the effects of too much chicken, I am, and have been, suffering from the effects of Spring. The sun is shining considerably hotter, the leaves on the trees are sprouting all transparent and green, the sparrows are hopping about shaking their tail feathers at one another on the telegraph wires, and I am seeking any kind of romantic encounter however small or insignificant!
On Sunday night I spied a very fair of face Japanese boy at the Flau Compliation launch that I played at. He was manning the cd stall. Unfortunately he didn't seem to speak any english, and all I could manage at the time was tori (bird), neko (cat), happa (leaves) etc., but I was happy to give him a bagde in return for a cd from him and a split second of eye contact. That was enough for me! I got to shake my tail feathers a little bit!
The launch night was really enjoyable for the people I met rather than my performing experience. Little old me has got quite used to playing in small huts with no amplification, warm lighting, and audiences with faces. However, this was a bigger affair, big stage, loud PA, bright lights, and a black faceless audience. It's jolly hard not being able to see the people you're supposed to be singing your heart out to. And then there was the dress. Oh why I went against my better judgement and wore it I can't say. The night was all female acts and in the end I succumed to being one of the girlier ones, donning on my dress (the one I sewed all manner of things onto: teapot, gramaphone etc.), and I got my come-upance when the dress restricted my breathing across my chest so that I had to strain to sing the long notes. It'll be a tracksuit next time I swear it. That way as well as being able to breath, I will also ward off all the Kawai (cute) comments which I am developing an aversion to!
Here I am in my stupid old tight dress
As for the nice people I met, here are the Popoyans who look like sisters but aren..t and sing lovely songs together.
And here's me with Florecia Ruiz, who's from Argentina.
I particularly liked the songs she played at the end of her set with a band. Her chords and rhythms are so different and the Argentinian influence is really apparent. And she's beautiful in a very nice natural way. Her hair is greying but she has the fresh face of a 20 year old.
I also befriended Serafina Steer who's set I enjoyed the most, mostly for her very english accent. She played harp with one hand and organ with the other and sung about quite sureal things such as a rotten peach heart being made into a girl, but seemed always to come back to something that twanged your heart strings and made you feel empathy. We chatted before hand about lots of things including the difficulties faced by being english and alone in Japan. We also talked about the difficulties of expressing your enjoyment of a persons performance. So for this reason I was happy to see her having to leave for her plane half way through my set. Anyway for all I know she had no enjoyment to express about the girl singing songs in a dress too tight! But I hope she can read this and know how much I liked her music.
A performance that I did enjoy doing was on Saturday in Kamakura out of Tokyo by the sea, in a tiny record shop called Ost. I even got given a hand made candle that smells of apricots and ginger. Arigatoo!
It was a lovely warm day and I got to spend it with Naoki, Miwako and Leon which was so nice. We went for tea at Cafe Goatee. I made friends with the owners 2 year old son over a shared interest in Thomas the Tank Engine. I also bought a hand sewed squeeky goat. There was a photo of Martha Wainwright on the wall. Many international artists play gigs there. So I'm pretty excited about the prospect of playing there in September. They have a piano too.
So a very enjoyable day and I even got to go and dip my feet in the sea at dusk. And it was surprisingly warm. Must get a swim in before the jelly fish come in August. So it will be a birthday swim in May for me then!
To finish here are some nice photos of mother and daughter, Miwako and Leon...
Right I'm off to see if I can't walk off my chicken hangover!