"Best Live Show of the Year!"

Aprils

Edgar, singer of Tokyo pop band Miniskirt, sent me an e-mail yesterday with an intriguing subject line: 'Subject: best live show of the year!'. Edgar has extensive knowledge of Japan's indies music scene, so I would have normally sat up and paid attention.

However, this time I knew exactly what he was going to say.

In his e-mail he told me about the show on Saturday the 21st at the club Shinjuku Marz featuring Aprils, Sonic Coaster Pop, Eel and several other bands. I'd seen a flyer for this show a few weeks back, and knew one thing as soon as I saw it: Edgar will be there.

That's because I know Edgar is a big fan of cute techno/dance/noise/pop music bands like Aprils. Saturday night promises to be a Cute Bands Marathon, which I wouldn't mind checking out, but I have a problem -- Hartfield, one of my current favorite bands, is also playing that night at a different club.

Which should I see? This sort of schedule conflict happens fairly often. Anyway, if you are reading this and you will be in Tokyo on the 21st, and you are free that night and would like to check out several bands that are hip, bubbly, colorful, cute, high-tech, original and a bit wacky, may I recommend the Shinjuku Marz show?

(P.S. Aprils recently released a new album called 'Pan-da' and I just realized the album's cover illustration of multi-colored pandas was done by a guy named Mori Chack, whose speciality is drawing stylish cartoons of teddy bears attacking and eating human beings. That animation on the intro page of his home page is quite simply, radical...)