February 4th, Shibuya HomeTonight's event was called "tokimeki Night! vol.3 folk jamboree #1". Headliner was 曽我部恵一(sokabe keiichi), and he had invited some friends as well. It was my first time at Shibuya Home. The place was tiny and packed, somewhere between 100 and 150 people, I guess. I usually like standing in the front, but tonight's acts were all acoustic, which usually happens in a more quiet setting, so I grabbed one of the few barstools by the wall instead. I'm glad I did, becasue I probably wouldn't have been able to see much otherwise.
First up was 上野智文(ueno tomofumi) & CCC band. Ueno usually plays guitar with Sokabe, but he also works at Sokabe's café in Shimokitazawa called City Country City. That's where the CCC band also origins from, and I believe the other two in the band also works at the café. (it's a lovely place btw, and Ueno makes great pasta!) The songs they played were poppy and cheerful and I could almost feel that nice campfire feeling (minus the cheesy parts, mind you). The set ended with 「海の向こうで」(umi no mukou de) which is also on Sokabe Keiichi Band's album "Kira kira!".
Next up was 島津田四郎(shimazu tashiro) who's on Sokabe's label, Rose Records. He played these quirky and funny folk songs. Apparently he will release his second album this summer. He also played a track from his first album, which was a lot more mellow than the others, and where you could hear that he actually has a great singing voice too. There's this cool video here, where he sings with Sokabe:
Next up was 有馬和樹(arima kazuki) from おとぎ話(otogi banashi). Although it was announced as a solo set he did play together with Otogi Banashi's guitarist 牛尾健太(ushio kenta). They played some new songs, some from the latest album, and a couple I didn't know. I only have the latest 「理由なき反抗」("rebel without a cause"), but I need to get the first album too, because they really know how to write charming pop tunes.
This music video pretty much sums it up:
"Neon Boys" is a happy-fun-song too:
www.myspace.com/otgbanashi
Sokabe keiichi was up last. I've seen him play with the band a few times now, but this was my first tme seeing him play solo. The first thing that struck was how incredibly tired he looked though. At sokaban gigs they're all so energetic and happy. All of a sudden he was more calm and uhm, not smiling. The atmosphere was completely different, and the songs sounded more emotional and beautiful. He has a great voice too, although I reckon it has changed a bit since his Sunny Day Service days. I have two of his solo albums, "Blue" and "Love City", but I realize that I need to get more of those too.
Towards the end Sokabe called out Arima. Arima spoke of how he discovered Sunny Day Service when he was in high school, and that he really loved the album "24ji". After that Sokabe and Arima played 「月光荘」(gekkou sou) from that album together! Finally that big smile came on Sokabe's face, and Arima seriously looked like the happiest person alive. It was kind of a touching moment.
For the encore Sokabe was joined by Ueno, and they played "Stars". Sokaban always plays it at the end of the set or as the encore. It's a great ending song, I think.
Go to Sokabe's live blog for pic's and setlist: http://d.hatena.ne.jp/live-sokabe/20090204
After the show I bought Sokabe Keiichi Band's new single 「ほし」(hoshi). The sound is different from the other sokaban tracks, and it leans more towards his solo stuff. I like it a lot. By now you've probably realized that it's been impossible for me to be critical about anything this time around, but seriously, shows like this one is the reason why I love going to concerts.
Here's the music video for "Hoshi":
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