One of the world’s most populous cities and certainly among the most interesting, Tokyo is a place where there is never a lack of worthwhile things to do, and that includes musical options in the countless “live houses,” or concert bars, peppered across the municipal map. Japanese musicians and fans have long demonstrated a thirst for sounds from abroad, and an informed respect as well, so quality rock, reggae, jazz, and much more can be found easily enough. For the foreign visitor, the distinctively domestic creations and interpretations are the most interesting. While tickets aren’t cheap, the online reservation system is practical (and honourably devoid of treacherous supplementary fees), soundquality is taken seriously, early start times much appreciated, and the sheer energy of the local audiences astounding. Below are a quartet of musical events from early spring that PAN M 360 is pleased to report back on. Stories by Rupert Bottenberg and Alain Brunet who were in Japan at springtime.
McDog Works/Namara Mazaru underground idol showcase @ Loft X, Shinkoenji, March 26, 2024
Thanks to the likes of Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, Babymetal, more recently Atarashii Gakko!, and the cottage industry called AKB48 (Guinness World Record holders for “largest pop group”, at 90 rotating members), the longstanding and distinctively Japanese pop modality called aidoru (“idol”) has shot to global prominence in recent years. Imitators have popped up across Asia, and in the case of South Korea’s K-pop wave, have risen to rival and even eclipse the original Japanese scene. That’s a shame, because in terms of musical production, originality, distinctiveness, and frequent element of outright weirdness, the Japanese still can’t be beat.
Aidoru is best described as female song-and-dance performers, solo or in coordinated units with matching costumes, performing over prerecorded tracks. Revenue rolls in less through concert tickets and record sales than through endorsements, merchandise, and most notably (and problematically) through high-priced, artificially cheerful micro-moments with lonely male fans, perfectly demonstrating the principle of parasocial interaction. It’s all a bit creepy, more than a bit sad, and after a couple of drinks, rather hilarious to observe.
The idol scene has its superstars, some of whom are mentioned above, and below that a tier of polished, mainstream, commercial up-and-comers. The most interesting element, however, is the chika aidoru, or underground idol, movement. Confined to tiny venues and pocket-change ticket prices, the chika acts may be the underdogs of the industry, but aside from perhaps KPP’s eye-popping spectacles, its most worthwhile component.
Idol acts are part of a management agency’s stable, and two such operations, McDog Works and Namara Mazaru, teamed up for this showcase at the tiny basement club Loft X, trotting out three acts apiece. Openers Chicken Blow the Idol, freshly returned from a tour of the Philippines and clad in matching mint houndstooth vintage ensembles, were probably the strongest and most together group of the evening, but only by a small margin. The energy level and appealing vibe remained firmly in the red throughout, far higher than one might reasonably expect of a midweek show in a basement shoebox of a venue, with perhaps two dozen attendees in all.
They were followed by Tokyo Psychopath, the most punk rock of the bunch in attitude and appearance, seemingly precision-marketed at a young lesbian demographic. One member of quartet was missing, but the three on hand compensated with a crazy if clumsily choreographed set that culminated with member Oni Gunso perched on a stepladder planted in middle of the dancefloor, around which a very polite and considerate “circle of death” mosh pit spontaneously erupted.
Kuroguro followed, and as their name suggests, black was the new black when it came to tailoring their outfits—a skin-flashing gothic Lolita look with a hint of disquieting militarism. Also somewhat disconcerting is the fact that three of the four members are dead ringers for Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. Probably advantageous.
In their flouncy, ornamented bouffant dresses, VS. VERSE were possibly the closest in sartorial style to the common, midlevel idol groups of the Akihabara district, though like the night’s other acts, their sound leaned heavily on punk rock and periodic outbursts of screaming, to counterbalance the sugary, calculated neoteny that the idol model generally demands.
NEOTOKYO-TRIBE, whose name references more than one classic anime of the turn of the ’90s, were clad in exceptionally skimpy all-white outfits. A sneaky bikini top left one poor lass on the permanent verge of a wardrobe malfunction. It’s worth mentioning that unlike most other idol formations, NEOTOKYO-TRIBE’s music is produced by a member of the group, Panya Melt. Himegoto Zettaichi (which translates approximately to “princess absolute value”) closed out the musical portion of the evening. They’d abandoned their previously established look, asymmetrically fractured black and grey business attire, for a goofy mix of tartan plaid, Pollyanna frocks and splashy haori to complement their particularly playful and inspired choreography.
Once the music concluded and the house lights came up, the inevitable post-show process of the idol scene sprang into motion. The various groups assembled for the lingering audience (equal in number to the performers) to line up for, lavish gifts upon, and indulge in inane chatter with (at a cost of roughly $10/three minutes). Your humble correspondent cannot comment further on this aspect as his fistful of yen was better applied to mixed drinks at the bar, but this much is certain: for absurd energy, catchy if indeed formulaic electro-pop-punk (a sort of 21st-century bubblegum), and entertaining spectacle, Japan’s underground idol scene is tough to top.
