I had seen sokabe keiichi once before, but that was sokabe keiichi rendevouz band, which is a different band, and that performance was more mellow and soul-ish. Sokabe keiichi band however was all about rock'n'roll. From the second they came on stage to the very end it was a riot. In a very happy, super optimistic kind of way. I've never talked to the man, but I'm convinced that sokabe keiichi is one of the nicest people in the world. He's always smiling and his songs gives the term feel-good a whole new meaning. At times the songs are almost too cheezy, but you have to have a heart of stone not to be charmed by those pop-hooks and sweet lyrics. You know you're good when you can get away with song titles like "telephone love", "let's get married" and "let's ride the magic bus". I think it had a lot to do with their energy and presence on stage though, 'cause damn, they were awesome. Besides that one other gig I was completely unfamiliar with his songs, but I was immediately taken in by their performance. They were jumping all over the stage, and at one point the bassist and guitarist went out in the audience, while the drummer was hanging fom the ceiling. Fun! I also loved the new version of "seishunkyousoukyoku" (青春狂走曲), and old Sunny Day Service song, which is sokabe keiichi's old band.I wanted to buy some cd's after the gig, but I had no idea what would be the best record to start with. I looked clueless at the merch stand, and so the guy standing there recomended me their new live record "tokimeki LIVE!". It really captures the essence in their live shows. "Okay," I said, "can you recommend one more?"."You want one more?!" The guy was shocked. Funny. Needless to say that I'm going to see them again, twice in fact, when their doing their Kanto tour in November.
myspace: http://www.myspace.com/sokabe
website: http://www.sokabekeiichi.com/
I had heard that nhhmbase was an awesome live band, and I wanted to see them live for some time. Especially after watching the youtube video they have on their myspace site were one of the band members ends up in an ambulance. Unfortunately though I had to leave early to catch the last train home, so I only got to see the first 15-20 minutes. It was 15-20 good minutes though. nhhmbase released their first album "hamon cross" (波紋クロス) this year, which I bought before I left the venue, but similarly to the self-titled ep I think they're interesting to listen to, but I rarely listen to the cd for some reason. They have a really interesting and slightly strange sound. At the gig they played a lot of songs from the first record, and I enjoyed it a lot. I'm seeing them again on Sunday. They'e playing at Nest Fest where lots of bands I like are playing. Hopefully I get to see their whole set this time around.
myspace: http://www.myspace.com/nhhmbase
website: http://www.nhhmbase.com/ja/
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