Photo by Andrew Morris
・anmorris – Photoblog
・NagaZasshi
５／４／１０、火曜日、Tuesday
なんか、ゴルデンウィークってすごくない？あらばき（仙台）から東京まで移動するのにほぼ９時間かかった。僕は初めて車で移動だったけど普段よりめちゃめちゃ長くない？！？やっと渋谷に着いて皆で回転寿司の店に食いに行った。最近アメリカにも回転寿司は普通にあるけど日本の店は驚くほど種類がいっぱいあった。でも一番ビクリする事は値段だった。アメリカと比べると日本は安かった。その後は渋谷の中心地を少し見回って人々のおしゃれなファションを見て感心した。
次の日は無事にサウンドチェックを終えた後、ビンテージギターの店を見たり美味しいタイ料理（アーロンの勘違いで豚足が出て来た以外は．．．）を食ったり洗濯したりして演奏の時間を待った。そして予定通りにちょうど６時に（さすが日本）Ohbijouをやり始めた。Ohbijouは４年間ぐらいトロントのインディーズのシーンで音を鍛えてきてすごくきれいな歌を作ってる。その上にバンドのみんな一人一人優しい人だ。必ずおすすめです。その次の東京のバンド、Sleepy.abもとてもきれいな音を聞かせてくれた。ついにTMTSの番になってきた。バンドの皆がやっと時差ぼけが直って元気な様子でステージに登場して あらばきロックフェス以上にエネルギッシュなパフォーマンスを見せてくれた。観客の反応もとても良くてアンコールまで続いた。ライブの後残っていたファンとゆっくりしゃべたり、一緒に写真を撮ったり、CDをサインしたりした。最後に渋谷の居酒屋で『お疲れ』乾杯を酌んでもっと深く日本のうまい料理を探検した。少し意外だったけどみんなの一番好きな料理はエイヒレだった。結構雄々しい奴らじゃない？じゃ、それでは明日、名古屋に行こう。
My God, Golden Week is insane! It took us over 9 hours to go from Arabaki to Tokyo. It’s the first time driving that length for me but I’m pretty damn sure that’s way longer than usual. After we finally arrived in Shibuya we all went out for some conveyor belt sushi. Nowadays we have a bunch of conveyor belt sushi spots in America as well, but there were still a few new concoctions for the boys to enjoy. Probably the most surprising aspect though was the price. It’s definitely cheaper over here which is a little unexpected. After that we went for a stroll around Shibuya and oogled all the über fashionable locals. What a crazy place…
The next day after a great soundcheck the band oogled some vintage guitars in Shibuya and we enjoyed some great Thai food (aside from poor Aaron not realizing what “pork shins” quite meant), and did some laundry. After heading to the venue, the show kicked off right on schedule at 6PM, as shows tend to do in Japan, with Ohbijou taking the stage. Ohbijou has been deep in the Toronto indie scene for like 4 years now honing their sound and it shows. They were really fantastic. On top of that each and every one of them is a really awesome person and we had a great time hanging out with them that night. I highly recommend checking them out. After Ohbijou came Tokyo band Sleepy·AB who also specialized in beautifully crafted atmospheric pop. Then it was finally time for TMTS’ turn. The band had finally gotten over their jet-lag and they took to the stage with a newfound energy that suited them well. The audience seemed to be into it as well and they returned for an encore version of “Groundswell”. Post performance, they hung around and signed some CDs and posters for the fans who stuck around to say hello. Finally we all headed over to a Shibuya izakaya for a drink and to let the guys further explore Japan’s wonderful cuisine. A little unexpectedly, everyone’s favorite seemed to be manta ray fin. Pretty darn brave I’d say. And with that it was time to rest up for the next day’s gig in Nagoya.
SHIBUYA O-NEST
