Movies! and Music! in the Month of October 2016

Before I go talking about Yangon, Myanmar, here is what was happening in my world of music and film last month.

Mu:Con in Seoul, Korea

Loud Park 16 @ Saitama Super Arena

The Beatles: Eight Days a Week

Zardonic @ Space Odd

Hysteric Panic @ Liquid Room

Janis: Little Girl Blue

Candy Dulfer @ Blue Note Tokyo

Peter Barakan’s Live Magic! @ Ebisu Garden Hall

Tim Burton & Danny Elfman Halloween Concert @ Tokyo International Forum

TIMM opening reception @ Womb

TIMM showcase @ Tsutaya O-East

Tsukiji Wonderland

Un + Une

Jason Bourne

The Beatles: Eight Days a Week

El Clan

By the Sea

Janis: Little Girl Blue

Corn Island

Genius

A War

Hungry Hearts

Un Homme et Une Femme

Our Kind of Traitor

Seymour: an Introduction

Tangerines

Jane Got a Gun

And here is one movie I did not get to see due to a work commitment despite having won tickets to a special screening at the Tokyo International Film Festival.  What’s more Hugh Grant (my ultimate favorite actor) and Meryl Streep were going to appear in person.

I did manage to get to the pre-viewing greeting session but it was just Meryl that came on the stage.  Hugh had another movie to shoot (good news) and sent a pre-recorded video message.  Sigh.

I have yet to see the film which opens on December 1 in Japan.

Music! and Movies! in the Month of September, 2016

Music!

And movies!!

Race

Miraculum

The Measure of a Man

Macadam Stories

Hip Hop Eration

Now You See Me 2

Colonia

The Treasure

Microbe & Gasoline

The Idol

Sully

God Willing

Cannot say which one was my favorite but this one was surprisingly funny.  And I don’t even like unrealistic plots but this was OK.

April Sushi! Movies! and Music! All Packed in One

Yes, I could go on eating sushi everyday actually…

So that covered the sushi bit.  Now the movies.  Wow.  So many good ones, new and old, deep and funny.

The Lobster

My Mother

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Love is Strange

Magical Girl

Absolutely Anything

The Danish Girl

Babettes Gæstebud

This Must be the Place

The Tree of Wooden Clogs

The Whole Truth

Serial (Bad) Wedding

Sicario

Omar

Drive

Apocalypse Now

As for music, different genres, lots of in-stores.

For the funniness I choose this French film as my film of the month.

Music! in the Month of January, 2016

To kick start the new year, it was mostly rock in terms of live performances. And there were a couple of great classic music films one of which I never got to see completely due to Blu-ray malfunction in the theater.  😦

Hysteric Panic @ Diamond Hall, Nagoya

The Blues Brothers!! which I did not see til the end due to faulty Blu-ray

Hysteric Panic @ the Garden with a couple of other acts

Film The Glenn Miller Story, a classic

Tahiti 80 @ Club Quattro

Platina Jazz Orchestra @ Billboard Live Tokyo

Amorphis @ Tsutaya O-East

Stratovarius @ Studio Coast

Mary’s Blood @ Shinjuku Blaze

 

Music! in the Month of November, 2015

A good variety of musical events throughout the month of November.

Hysteric Panic and Angry Frog Rebirth, both Japanese bands, playing at O-West

The good ol’ Glenn Miller Orchestra @ the Orchard Hall

Lee Ritenour and Dave Grusin, the classic GRP line-up at Blue Note Tokyo

Blue Note red!

A music bar in Shinjuku that plays music in vinyls and “high-resolution” digital files

Mary’s Blood in-store event at Tower Records Shibuya

A Canadian music showcase at the Oscar Peterson Theatre at the Embassy of Canada

A Canadian music seminar where I was a presenter

Friends at a Danish record label celebrating its 20th anniversary had brought the celebratory wine to Tokyo

Attended an award ceremony at the Brazilian Ambassador’s official residence in honor of Sadao Watanabe, a Japanese saxophone player closely associated with Brazilian music

Rajaton, a Finnish a cappella group, at the Oji Hall

La Famille Bélier, a French film

Benny Sings, a Dutch singer-and-songwriter/producer at Billboard Live Tokyo

Chico & the Gypsies, a French “gypsy” group, at Blue Note Tokyo

The Crunchy Frog wine, Sauvignon Blanc produced and bottled by Charles Smith Wines in Washington, USA

So glad to have heard Rajaton perform live though I missed the first half of their concert due to other commitments.