Friday, July 29, 2011

LIVE REPORT: MYSTERY MONDAYS Vol. 8, "Hanabi in a Bottle!"

This past week hanabi, or fireworks in Japanese, were captured in a bottle with two up-and-coming Tokyo garage bands and the eclectic sounds of the dynamic DJ duo MAMA CHARI!

On their second performance yet, DAncer DAnger burst on the stage at Heavy Sick with sparkles of white light and heat as they experimented with melding 60's garage with post-punk! Their adroit covers of The Sonics and The Velvet Undergound as well as their own meld of NY rock'n'roll and British post-punk ensure DA-DA, as they are affectionately known, a place in the current Tokyo underground.


(DAncer DAnger)

In the meantime, MAMA CHARI, the double dose of lounge pop provided by DJ DANDY & DJ RONSOME entertained the crowd with a fizzy cocktail of sounds ranging from exotica to psyche, soul, Japanese group sounds and French pop!


(MAMA CHARI feat. DJ DANDY upfront & DJ RONSOME in the background)

The final band, another garage group only on their second outing, the all-girl trio MELVINS were a bottle-rocket of classic American garage sound lead by the screeching vocals of Kumi-chan! After their enrapturing set, they left the audience demanding an encore which they delivered... a wild rendition of "Louie Louie" which sounded much like a homage to the One Way Streets, albeit through the shouts of Japanese girls!


(MELVINS)

Another fine production brought to you by THE STATELY DJ WAYNE MANOR with the backing of CLUB HEAVY SICK in Hatagaya, Tokyo where we always try to capture a little hanabi in a bottle!


(THE STATELY DJ WAYNE MANOR)

All pictures taken by JIMI from Nagoya.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

MYSTERY MONDAYS Vol.8, "Hanabi in a Bottle"

The latest installment of MYSTERY MONDAYS is a titillating star-burst! It's a tribute to summertime featuring a special lounge duo by the name of MAMA CHARI consisting of DJ DANDY hailing from NY & Japanese native DJ RONSOME mixing up a palatable cocktail of exotica, psychedelic and space-age bachelor pad music! Your ever-loving host THE STATELY DJ WAYNE MANOR will be supplying supplemental ingredients, enough to stuff in your bottle-rocket! As for live music, there will be the all-girl garage trio MELVINS (yes, three Japanese girls and NOT King Buzzo & the legendary grunge band!) as well as the eclectic garage punk sounds of DAncer DAnger! Hanabi, or fireworks in Japanese, are an integral part of the "natsu" season, we've decidedly captured some "Hanabi in a Bottle" for ya, so enjoy!

MYSTERY MONDAYS
"Hanabi in a Bottle"

feat.
MELVINS
DAncer DAnger

Featured DJs

MAMA CHARI
...DJ Dandy & DJ Ronsome

OPEN: 19:00
TICKET: 1200yen +1D

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

LIVE REPORT: MYSTERY MONDAYS Vol. 7, "Boys Nite Out!"

Mystery Mondays kicked off summer with a nite of Japanese punk featuring a fierce trio of bands making headway in the current Tokyo powerpop scene. DJ Harry the Hempstead Heath was spinning a mix of old punk & neo-mods and yours truly, The Stately DJ Wayne Manor crammed as much heyday punk as I could in between sets!



The NERVOUS HEARTS, with Taka6 from The Scar and The Fadeaways personnel Toyozo on lead and drummer Ozawa making his last appearance with the group, took to the stage first. They ripped through a bunch of '77 punk style tunes albeit with a slight 60's punk vibe Toyozo can't seem to shake. All the better for them!



Next up STAIRS came on sounding much like lost NY punk relic with their rough edges and skittish demeanor. While they might be at the front of the powerpop movement these days, I'm glad there's nothing too sweet about their stabbing songwriting and spurring stage presence.



Finally THE LEGS took to the stage, quite an honor since they were a guest at the very first Mystery Mondays! This band plays fast and tight and they rammed through set of sonically riveting powerpop songs that I can't wait to hear again! In fact The Stately DJ Wayne Manor has been invite to DJ their big show coming up this September 24th at the UFO Club which will also feature Stairs along with other Tokyo bands at the top of the pops like Rockbottom, Rangsteen, & Sunsett! More info on this chic party later!

Until next time... Yours truly,

The Stately Wayne Manor