Note to all of those who will soon travel to the Southwest of Japan in search of records: even though you might have heard stories of mint copies of James Knight and the Butlers’ solitary LP and sealed copies of Syl Johnson’s Is It Because I’m Black turning up in the “Rare Groove Sale” section of random Kyoto record stores, sometimes it’s more fitting to use your off day after a sold-out show in Osaka digging for the best riverside crab tempura in Arashiyama, and spend the evening drinking Mersaults from the late ’70s….
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This much time in Japan without an update? Can mean only one thing: a sold-out show with Madlib and J.Rocc in Tokyo, Stone Coal White-vibes in a smokey basement lounge, congratulatory cakes served up at the United Arrows/Stones Throw Pop-Up Shop by a Japanese Don Draper looking sommelier while Nigerian psych resonated through posh loudspeakers, an acetate of the Mighty Riders (sic) solitary album, a $4000 UK issue of Leaf Hound’s hard-rock opus, an hour in line amongst Chinese tourists in 90+ degree heat at 7.30 am in Tsukiji Fish Market for sushi at Daiwa, boutiques named after arcane jazz bassists, and, of course, Ghetto Dining.
Sorry, that’s more than one thing….Photos from Osaka later.
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16 hours in transit to Narita Airport from LAX, 3 hours to Shibuya from Narita, good fish, a beer and a shot of sake and it’s off ’till tomorrow: records at Fillmore, the Stones Throw pop up shop at United Arrows, J.Rocc arriving, and more.
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Today, Egon departs Los Angeles towards Japan with Madlib and Stones Throw art director Jeff Jank to meet J.Rocc, already on his way there from New York City. The goal? The grand-opening of the Stones Throw “pop up” shop at United Arrows, a Now-Again special on J-Wave radio, and a couple DJ gigs in Tokyo and Osaka. Sound familiar? If so, maybe you’re thinking of last year’s tour with Cut Chemist. If you missed those dispatches, follow the links below. And stay tuned for updates from the far East this coming week.
Link: Egon and Cut Chemist in Japan, 2009, Day One. .
Link: Egon and Cut Chemist in Japan, 2009. Day One and a Half.
Link: Egon and Cut Chemist in Japan, 2009. Day Two.
Link: Egon and Cut Chemist in Japan, 2009. Days Three and Four.
Seu Jorge and Almaz final performance at Club Nokia was hailed by the LA Times as show in which “….a charismatic pop chameleon and his band subtly but decisively transform cover tunes….. (Seu Jorge) wasn’t indulging in nostalgic reveries. He was demonstrating how songs forever locked in our mental jukeboxes can be subtly but decisively transformed by a suggestive bass line, a spooky dub makeover, a shotgun blast of anguished emotion.”
See photos from the show by Kiwamu Omae, below, and read about the LA Times review in full. We’d like to close this tour diary by shouting out everyone who made this tour such a success: Seu Jorge and Almaz, Mariana Jorge, Gustavo da Lua, Francisco Hernandez, Pierre Chenne, Raquel Jorge and everyone at Cafune, Brazil, Pedja and Julien, Christian Bernhardt and The Agency Group, Havana Joe, KCRW, KEXP and all of the radio stations that helped out along the way and all of the promoters who made these shows possible. Thanks y’all!
Photos: Seu Jorge and Almaz Onstage at Club Nokia, LA.
Review: Seu Jorge and Almaz Live At Club Nokia In The LA Times.
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