Music! Sushi! Soft-Serve! and Nails! in the Month of May, 2016

My routine activities (except movies) from last month, put together in one again, this time mashing up everything in chronological order.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

The Lao trip update on hold as I am going away today to London via Amsterdam.  Decided to do the trip only last Friday to attend a funeral tomorrow in the south of England.

 

Music! in the Month of February, 2016

Have been back a couple of days from my trip to Luang Prabang, Laos and there are lots more to write about that but for my record, taking a moment to review my music activities from last month.

noon at Motion Blue Yokohama

David Bowie Is, a documentary film of the artist’s exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum

Victor Rock Festival 2016 @ Makuhari Messe

Hit the Road, a soul bar in Asakusa I happened to stumble upon

A. J. Croce @ Cotton Club

Adam at in-store event at Tower Records Shibuya

Schroeder-Headz in-store event at Tower Records Shinjuku

Brian Setzer’s Rockabilly Riot! at the Tokyo Dome Hall

Around the World in 50 Concerts, a documentary about the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam

Wrecking Crew, a documentary about a group of LA studio musicians that played on tons of hit records by some of the biggest names in music

Sarah Maeda at Motion Blue Yokohama

Here is the trailer for the David Bowie film which does not really do justice to the film which I thought was more interesting than the trailer seems to suggest.

 

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.

Music! and Movies! in the Month of September, 2015

My musical experiences from last month in Tokyo…

The 14th Tokyo Jazz Festival over two days. Saw Bob James, Esperanza Spalding, Adam at, Lee Ritenour, Fourplay with Lee and Larry Carlton at Tokyo International Forum

Idemitsu Music Awards Gala Concert honoring this year’s three recipients at the Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall

The Manhattan Transfer at Billboard Live Tokyo

“Music Storm 2015”, an industry convention at EX Theater Roppongi

The first Japanese cast of Chess, a London musical from the ’80s with music by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus of ABBA at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre

And films during the same period.

Phoenix

Learning to Drive

Danny Collins

St. Vincent

Wild

Kingsman: The Secret Service

The Best of Me

Who am I – Kein System ist Sicher

This month’s surprise hits were St. Vincent and Who am I – Kein System is Sicher, the latter being a German film from which I was not expecting anything.  It had a clever storyline and was highly entertaining although the trailer may not fully convey that.