Paul Collins plays the Garden..no, not that one.

Today started much like most of my days did in Tokyo, at least this time around. Nestled within a layered futon floor mattress. As I slowly opened my eyes, my foot nudged the plastic hot water bottle (yutampo) thoughtfully provided the evening prior by Enocky's wife Junko. Kind woman that Junko. Still, even though I had that injection-molded sensory experience, something felt off. Pretty common I reasoned. Frequent flyers will be the first to tell you its always hard to believe you're halfway around the world those first few days.

That was quickly changed though when I went downstairs and heard the television on. Rapid fire announcers and high-pitched voices were pouring out like a sieve from the living room. Enocky greeted me and I asked him if all TV personalities spoke like this in real life. Thankfully he said no, the "act" was purely for television. He further elucidated saying they acted was this way because people expected all their TV hosts to act this way. I was about halfway though an "ahhh..." when I stopped short. If I was old TV comedian, Danny Thomas, I would have finished this phrase with a spit take. The culture: 100% Japanese...the reaction: 100% American.

As Jackie and the Cedrics were slated to play tonight, I left Mr. Enomoto to practice and went back upstairs after breakfast. It was cold, but quiet, outside the Enocky compound. The sun was shining bright so I took quick advantage of that by opening the shades. I noticed while the area is packed with many homes, I rarely, if ever, saw people going in and out of them. Something that I found common in Japan. I did stop staring outside though, lest someone think of me as a local chikan looking for a show. This IS Japan you know. I had all the information I needed. Much like yesterday, temperatures hovered steadily in the mid-40s (leaving me puzzled as to how I originally thought I was getting a break from the NY weather.)

Around 3pm or so the Rockin' one and I split for tonights venue, Garden, located practically around the corner from Shelter in the same hip area known as Shimokitazawa. We maneuvered Enocky's little bread box in and out of downtown traffic, all the while listening to a CD of vintage sixties Japanese pop. As we drove past futuristic skyscrapers and weaved our way around fashionable teens shopping in Shimokitazawa, it struck me as incredibly amusing what walking anachronisms we were. More so after we parked and walked past clothing stores blasting classic American rock out of expensive sidewalk speakers. I mean, even Prince would make more sense.

As we walked in nothing much was going on. A few club staffers ran around doing staffer stuff but other than that...zilch. Although it was obvious at the start that Garden, unlike Shelter, was a beast of an entirely different color. The club was large, and wide, and even had a proper dressing room. Nice. It reminded me of any small- to medium size music venue in, say, Long Island. All the horsepower minus the grit. It would be interesting to see a show here.

I was relieved to see that they would be erecting a small barrier between the stage and the crowd this time. That meant that I'd have a small, yet usable, crawlspace to move around in. True, it was about 2 feet wide...but hey, it was SOMETHING. After the Shelter experience, it makes getting a wider variety of shots a helluva lot easier.

Enocky's bandmates showed up soon afterwards. Rockin' Jelly Bean [aka RJB], bass player for the Cedrics and underground artist extraordinaire, and Jackie T-Bird the little drummer boy himself. After hugs and well wishes wee passed around it was time for preparation. Jackie started tuning his snare as Paul and co started their soundcheck.

The band ran through a few of their songs and, knowing that this show was to be recorded, made sure everything was as perfect as possible. The large stage was nice, but it did bring problems along with it. Mainly the multitude of lights. However, after a few adjustments by the lighting crew all was set to go. The girl responsible for the lights even went up to a surprised Paul afterwards and apologized for any inconvenience.

After the set, Paul hightailed it to a local record store performance/autograph session. Luckily, the store, Disc Union, was only a few blocks away. With Enocky's acoustic in hand, Paul ran through an abbreviated set and graciously thanked his fans for giving him the opportunity of playing in their country. Afterwards, the crowd of mostly younger fans, lined up happily to have their Nerves, Beat, solo records signed by someone who I'm sure they never expected to see, let alone play, in their lifetime.

Especially endearing was a young female fan who had happened to see Paul in the California leg of his tour, a few months earlier. And here she was again, back home this time, eagerly waiting to say hi again. Wearing an Exploited-styled hairstyle, on first look I never would never have guessed she enjoyed the dulcet tones of power pop. But, unlike, say, New York or London, fashion and music in Japan are not mutually exclusive to one other. At least in the underground circles. Quite refreshing I must say.

Back inside the club, Jackie and the Cedrics were getting ready to hit the stage. RJB, Jackie and Enocky all joked around while changing into their trademark forest green tuxedo lounge suits. A well-wisher even stopped by and gave RJB a T-shirt signed by a video starlet which he was only to happy to proudly show off to everyone. Even Paul's bandmates were impressed.

Having last seen them perform the previous time I was in Japan, I was certainly looking forward to a not just a good show but a great one to photograph. Channeling surf tunes via the 60s Eleki-Guitar stylings of Terry Terauchi, the Cedrics always put on an enormously fun show. RJB jumping around, Jackie pounding away and Enocky just blowing everyone away with his mastery of instrumental tunes, theres always something going on to force a smile on even the grimmest of faces.

Having been around since the early 90s, the band are sort of the respected father figures of the 60s beat scene in Tokyo. Nevertheless, they launch themselves off speakers and jump around like over-stimulated kids. And they're amazingly great people on top of that. If they ever come to NYC (and I hear there is something in the works) run, run, run to catch these guys. Just buy me a beer later...or better yet, buy THEM a beer.

After the Cedrics, the crowd was sufficiently amped up to see the headliners. With a days worth of rest, Paul and co. put on a strong set. Cranking up the intensity level a few more notches since the previous evening. The space between the stage proved to be extremely useful....except that I realized halfway through the set that if I stayed in one place too long I started to cramp up! Sucks to get old. While the chest-high barricade helped me, unfortunately it also lessened the chance of the crowd reaching out to egg on the band. A point quickly remedied though as the Paul, bass player Tim Buechler and lead guitarist Tim Schwieger each took turns breaching the divide and interacting with the crowd.

The high point was, as in last nights set, when the band launched into The Beat's classic "I Wanna Be With a Rock & Roll Girl". Using the time-honored tactic of getting smiling, happy, dancing female fans onstage, the group had the whole place bopping along in no time. Amusingly bass play Tim was even able to get überfan mohawk girl to play as well.

Just prior to the end of the set, Paul started telling the crowd about how happy he was to finally be able to come to Japan. However, realizing that he might not be understood, he asked Junichi Noro to jump onstage and translate. As I'm watching from the wings thinking about my next shot, all of a sudden I see Paul motioning me to come over. With Junichi in one arm, and me in the other, he then goes on to tell the whole story of how we got him there. Let me tell you, despite having been on stage before, being the object of scrutiny has never been one of my life goals. Still, it was a really a super nice gesture and something that I'll hold onto to for quite a while.

As the crowd filed out at the end of the show I looked around for Enocky or RJB. It turned out that, since Rockin' Jelly Bean lived in Osaka, he also needed a place to crash. And that place was, you got it, the same room I was using at Enocky's. Yes, sleepover at the Rockin' one's home. LOL. I got dibs on the good futon....and hands off my yutampo.

Having found the guys, it was time to hit the road. After a few warm goodbyes to my Tokyo pals in attendance, we piled into Enocky's bumper car and headed off. I had a Osaka-bound Shinkansen waiting for me at an ungodly hour tomorrow. God, do bands do this all the time?

A few more photos here!

Gimme Shelter

At around 4PM we arrived at the steps leading to the underground "live-house" known as Shelter. Located in the basement of a modern office building, its really easy to miss. In fact, when I first was here a couple of years ago, I must have walked past it about three times before I realized the basement steps were NOT for maintenance but for people entering the club.

Amusingly, the sign for the club is just a little larger than the size of a blackboard you might have on your fridge. Drawn by hand for each show, and lit by a small bulb its not really meant for promoting its location. But, then again, thats part of the charm of it. You sort of have to know something is happening here. Not the type of place to get stragglers. A real throwback to the once-upon-a-time when clubs in Manhattan operated on similar low-key principles.

Shelter itself is a great place. Its an intimate room (sort of the size of Maxwells, except sideways) has an outstanding sound system, and has a real fantastic vibe. About the biggest downsides are the odd layout (once the place is filled you're there to stay) and the fact that Japanese bars/clubs still allow smoking indoors.

Inside we all exchanged greetings and I reunited again with Daddy-O-Nov who along with Erostica boutique owner Junichi, arranged both Paul's tour and the A-Bones previous jaunt a couple of years ago. Both guys are huge longtime fans and supporters of pop punk and garage music in Tokyo....and swell fellows to boot.

As this was Paul's premiere in Japan, there was a larger group than usual hanging out prior to soundcheck. As soon as the guys stepped onto the unlit stage, a quick look around revealed various members of The Tweezers (ex-Teengenerate), The Playmates and The Cokes chatting amongst themselves. Yet, as soon as Paul & co. launched into a tune, all socializing quickly stopped and gazes were fixed intently on the stage.

After soundcheck, dinner was at local Chinese restaurant that was near the venue. It truly was a funny pick by our guests, given that we were in Japan. But, it was cheap, nearby, and delicious...so who could argue with that? It reminded me of Nagoya a couple of years ago with the A-Bones, where after the gig, a Chinese restaurant was the only place we could find that was open. Which in turn led to an indelible memory of A-Bones' guitarist Bruce Bennett and Rockin' Jelly Bean (from Jackie and the Cedrics) singing the Gigantor theme to the puzzlement of the restaurant staff.

Heading back, the gig had already started with the openers, The Cokes, taking the stage. Like much of Japan's young bands, this one was well-rehearsed with a very competent set of tunes. While they were certainly good, what created the most curious anticipation for me were the following two groups, The Tweezers and The Playmates.

The Tweezers were one of the power pop bands that were formed from the ashes of Teengenerate. The other being The Raydios. The only constant in both, guitar player Fifi, also owns a local rock bar/hangout in Shimokitazawa called Poor Cow that has an amazing collection of rock and punk posters and ephemera lining the walls. To say he's a busy guy is to put it mildly. The band put on a powerful show and it was obvious they do have a strong following. As one of my Tokyo pals put it, "they're the band most of the young kids are into." All-in-all a very enjoyable set.

The Playmates. What can I say about them? A incredibly melodic group that straddles the line between killer guitar-driven power pop and quiet, yet still hummable melodies. Having heard a few disks by these guys I was more than eager to hear if they could pull off their complex mix of melodies and backing vocals in a live setting. Which, despite the fact that are a three-piece, they were able to do with what seemed like little effort. Truly an amazing, amazing band.

By this time the crowd was starting to get a little fiesty up front and soon after I got my Playmates shots I headed to the backstage area and got the one photo perk that traveling overseas affords one....stage access. A boon when things start getting a little too intense up front.

Paul and band hit the stage shorty after and kicked off the set with the Nerves' "Paper Dolls". Seeing them play with an intense determination, it was amazing to compare them to the fellows I saw before at the restaurant. A little jet-lagged but nevertheless still in good spirits. The band ran through Nerves, Beat and solo Collins material one after one until literally everything you expected to hear was covered. Compared to the sets played locally, Japan got what seemed like a little longer set. And rightfully so. I mean, when will they around these parts again? Next month?

After most of the crowd left, a small welcoming party was set up with free beer, but having a heavy schedule ahead, I split early and caught a ride back to Enockys pad. Hangovers and shooting in a crowded club are NOT a good combination. Apparently we weren't the only ones to feel that way as we passed a tired, but content Paul waiting for his ride as we exited the club.

Onto night two!

Back to the Future

Well, when I went to see the legendary Paul Collins Beat sometime last spring, I have to admit I was somewhat curious. Here we had an amazing songwriter who had sort of laid low after the end of his most recognized period in the late 70s/early 80s. Sure he put out an occasional release but as common with very talented people he explored various styles since. So when I had heard from a friend that he had recently put on a stellar show, showcasing his early more poppier material, I knew I had to check him out.

The subsequent performance at Southpaw in Park Slope, Brooklyn was quite a revelation. Not only did he do his most famous material, but also delivered them in a gruffer, yet still, an authentic, and passionate way. It was like someone had awoken him Rumplestilskin-like from under a stage or something, and reminded him that he had to play a gig that night.

After the show I spoke to Paul. Long story short, a kernel of a crazy idea in my head at that time actually led to having Paul and my Japan promoter pal reach an agreement for a small Japanese tour. Within a short while, dates were set, posters made (by the great Rockin' Jelly Bean) and much to Paul's delight, he was set for his first-ever tour of Japan. Something which he mentioned he had always dreamed of doing but was never able to find a way to set up.

Naturally, since I got the ball rolling, my J-pals asked if I was coming along. But, having been unemployed for about a year at that point, the opportunities seemed slim at best. It was tough to croak out a "ummmm, we'll see".

That was about 7 months ago. And now I find myself sitting on a 777 heading to Tokyo's Haneda airport chomping on a somewhat passable tuna sandwich. In the space of those few months, the stars, planets, auras, whatever you want to call 'em,conspired with each in order to make this far-fetched dream come true. Nutted by reality indeed.

Luckily, Rockin' Enocky, of the very cool combo Jackie and the Cedrics, had graciously offered to put me up should I ever return to visit. So, as I stepped off the plane in Tokyo the first thing I scanned for in the assembled folks waiting at the other side of customs, was his distinctive pair of specs.

Enocky was as charming and funny as I remembered him. A very mild and unassuming figure that belies his mastery of the guitar. A man certainly at home with his music, and now, with his just-as-charming wife Junko. We easily fell into a conversation of music, guitars, and the Cedrics, on our ride back to his home.

As we wound through the small streets near his home, I was once again amazed how people, cars, and bikes all co-existed on a road the width of my living room in Astoria. Enocky's car helped. It was the Japanese version of an regular van 'cept with a snub nose and compacted about 3/4 in all directions. Like a rolling Richard Scarry vehicle.

While it was wonderful to see Enocky and meet Junko, what I was really looking forward to was crashing. I was previously told I was getting an entire room and futon to myself, which I found beyond ideal. After years of passing out on my wooden living room floor, having an actual cushion was almost like being spoiled (and yes, I do have proper bed, thank you very much.)

After a good nights rest. I awoke to find the Enomotos in the kitchen. Enocky mentioned that he was going to lend Paul his acoustic for an in-store appearance the following day. So naturally he was in the middle of putting said guitar though its paces. Making sure that everything—the tuning, the tone, the weight—was all befitting a man of Paul's pedigree. All while their finch, Pio-chan, merrily tweeted away in the background. Sometimes even perching on Enocky's head. Talk about a Kodak moment.

After successfully maneuvering the Japanese shower "room", I headed out with the Rockin' one, guitar in hand, for a short walk and then meet up with the band at their soundcheck at Shelter.

Enocky's neighborhood was much like many in Japan, narrow streets with mixtures of mom and pop businesses side by side with more recent arrivals like restaurants, and fast food joints. In fact, I was fooled by one restaurant which had an "antique" look to it. Only to find out that it was new and made to LOOK old. Silly tourist is me.

The area had a nice older feel to it though. It was obvious that this wasn't a "hip" area but one that had withstood the trends throughout the years, only to grudgingly accept one or two.

A real interesting spot we came across originally looked like a pool. Enocky explained that this was one of the last areas in Tokyo that provided fishing for anyone who needed to unwind. For a price of course. He added that it was not uncommon to see businessmen in full suits sitting quietly with a pole in their hand. No doubt wishing their "satcho" would become the next over-work casualty.

While we had originally scheduled to meet the others at Shelter at 4PM, the cold weather made us decide to put the kabosh on the strollin' and high tail it to Shimokitazawa.

Once there, we decide to kill some more time at the local record store, Disk Union. DU is one of the largest "chains" in Japan but unlike, say, HMV, the late-Virgin or Tower, they actually seem to care about what they stocked. Used records and DVDs sat comfortably alongside new items. Some larger stores in Shinjuku and such even had entire floors based on specific genres. The one we were at in Shinokitazawa was formidable.

I mean, lookee what I found. The NY garage fans will know this one. 400yen ($4.80) a bargain. Sorry Bobby, Frank and Tony...

OK, Mr Enocky, lets head to Shelter....