spinshell

Live Music Venues

by spinshell

By Emily Devan

Whether it’s the bouncy beat of a pop song, the grinding guitars of rock or the sweetly, sad vocals of a ballad, nothing releases the stress of life in the big city like a little live music. And, like all big cities, Tokyo has plenty to offer. The real problem is where to start. Here are five good bets.

Shibuya O
Buried in the backstreets of Shibuya, finding O can be a bit of a chore, but once there, finding something worth listening to is easy. The reason: O is not one hall but a complex of four. From tiny, bar-like O-Nest, to O-East, whose wide stage and tiered floor make even 1,100-person events intimate, O has all it’s bases covered. The acts are equally diverse. On same night, one might see a punk act ravaging O-Crest, whose low stage and 200-person capacity make it perfect for such mayhem, while a young songbird sings her heart out in O-West. Although most of the acts are Japanese, foreign musicians have been known to make appearances as well. To further sweeten the deal, the entire complex was redone in 2003 so the sound, lighting and amenities are all modern. The O is definitely worth the search.



Shinjuku LOFT

Most of Japan’s biggest and most admired rock acts have played a gig or two (or 20!) at Tokyo’s answer to Manhattan’s CGBG. Sprawling beneath the heart of the infamous Kabuki-cho, the 800-person LOFT boasts two bars, several lounges and, in one corner, the small, low main stage. Acts that have graced the stage include garage rock heroes Thee Michelle Gun Elephant, pop-punk superstars Ellegarden, alternative rock chart-toppers the pillows and, many, many others. Any night of the week you are guaranteed a no frills, no filler rock experience, while you absorb the club’s history in the battered walls, low ceilings and lingering scent of cigarettes. “LOFT is Rock!” declared the joint’s 30th anniversary campaign, and it’s hard to disagree.

Shibuya Club Quattro
While Japan’s music scene is one of the most-varied in the world, sometimes you want a little taste of home. One popular venue for foreign artists touring Japan is Club Quattro. Quattro’s location on the top floor a department store is not exactly inspiring, but once you enter its dark, neo-industrial confines, visions of sale rack after sale rack of sportswear are banished. The beauty of the wooden floor, extensive lighting and easily visible stage belie the venue’s nearly twenty years existence. On top of that, the venue’s 500-person capacity means you could be seeing a legendary act like Dinosaur Jr. in a much smaller venue than you could ever dream of back home.

Yoyogi Park
Of course listening to music cooped up in a black box is not to everyone’s taste, so on nice weekends, a stroll around the edge of Yoyogi Park might be just what the doctor ordered. While street musicians don’t come with guarantees in experience and charisma, the ones around Yoyogi Park tend to be a grade above what your brother and his friends sounded like in high school. This is perhaps due to the proximity of the Tokyo School of Music. To increase your listening pleasure there are always plenty of stalls selling food and a constant festival atmosphere in the area. So whether you prefer the bands that gather on the outskirts of the park or the pop groups that line the avenue across the street, Yoyogi Park is a great way to experience the raw zeal of Tokyo’s street scene and up-and-coming artists.

The Nippon Budokan
The 800-pound gorilla of Tokyo’s live venues, the Budokan is in fact primarily host to 300-pound wrestlers. But starting with the Beatles in 1966 this traditionally designed martial arts arena opened its doors to rockers and has been the stuff of musicians’ dreams ever since. Have you ever seen a “Live at the Budokan” recording? Yes, that was here. With a capacity around 14,000, the Budokan can hardly be called intimate, and newer venues might have more to offer in terms of faculties and sound. However, you are guaranteed a spectacle as artists, domestic and foreign alike, aim to inscribe their name into the legend of the Budokan.

No matter which of these venues you choose, make it a point this summer to experience Tokyo’s live music scene for yourself.

About The Writer:
Emily is a freelance writer and translator living in Japan and always heading to wherever the best music is.

  • E-mail this story to a friend!
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • BlinkList
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Twitter

Related articles:

  1. Tokyo Club Scene: Large Venues
  2. Open Mic Nights
  3. Big in Japan: The Foreign Music Scene
  4. Summer Beer: 6 Great Venues
  5. Live Theater in English

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

16 Responses to “Live Music Venues”

  1. Chormusiker Says:

    Wow dass ich letztendlich doch noch etwas zu dem Thema finde, hab ich fast nicht mehr geglaubt. Danke sehr!

  2. Guadalupe Levell Says:

    Hello,Superb blogging dude! i am Fed up with using RSS feeds and do you use twitter?so i can follow you there:D.
    PS:Have you thought putting video to your blog to keep the readers more entertained?I think it works., Guadalupe Levell

  3. live music Says:

    nice live music to show, i enjoy this show, thank you

  4. Kennesawga Garage Door installation Says:

    I found your blog on google and read several your other posts. i added you to a Google News Reader. Keep up the good work count on reading more from you down the road.

  5. cityville Says:

    Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed browsing your blog posts. After all I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again very soon!

  6. Twanna Poister Says:

    This post was very properly written, and it also accommodates many helpful facts. I loved your skilled method of writing this post. You’ve gotten made it very simple for me to understand.

  7. Skat Regeln Says:

    fabuleuse a deisomos si agrantos nceis con amensa. presa fruzirla se tôncion son taroncia mi ranadia amencu y fespa nceis penta.

  8. ana gomez Says:

    Estoy de acuerdo, me gustaria tener cibersexo sin pagar soy chica quiero respeto mi email anaruiz19e (arrroba) gmail.com te presentas y si eres educado te doy mi msn siempre gratis y con respeto por favor

  9. API Camps Says:

    I believe this website has got very superb written subject material articles .

  10. koha ditore shqip Says:

    http://jibbin.skipass.com/blog/index.php/2009/11/flow-videos/

  11. Otha Manlito Says:

    Hello just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The words in your article seem to be running off the screen in Opera. I’m not certain if this is a formatting issue or something to do with browser compatibility but I figured I’d post to let you know. The style and style look great though! Hope you get the issue resolved soon. Cheers

  12. crazy cabbie online game Says:

    you are my aspiration , I own few web logs and occasionally run out from to brand : (.

  13. albania airlines Says:

    An interesting dialogue is price comment. I believe that you should write extra on this subject, it won’t be a taboo topic however typically people are not enough to talk on such topics. To the next. Cheers

  14. John Says:

    Such superb article! No idea how you were able to write this article..it’d take me long hours. Well worth it though, I’d suspect. Have you considered selling advertising space on your blog?

  15. legalpowder.cn.com SCAM warning Says:

    This manufacturer stole my money so i want to make consumers aware of it, you should assist us spread around the word so they can not steal other peoples bucks!!! They took all my funds (1250$) and just do not respond anymore… same occurred to people previously but i found this too late. Now i am hoping to notify people so they do not loose their income like it has happened to others… The name of the website: legalpowder.cn.com

  16. moma schuhe Says:

    Ich würde zu überprüfen mit Ihnen hier. Was nicht etwas I normal zu tun! I Freude an lesen a Aufmachungen Mai Leute denken. Auch , vielen Dank für erlaubt mir comment !

Leave a Reply