Day Three: In Tokyo for Yoko Kanno Concert
The show @ Saitama Super Arena was absolutely incredible...3 hours long! It was a real mix of J-pop, symphonic, musician's music (jazz-rock, funk, etc) and beautiful ballads. I sang The Garden Of Everything duet w/ Maya Sakamoto - @ rehearsals I was having a rough time memorizing the crazy words (even more trippy than Hendrix or Lennon) but in the end I nailed it. When I did "Could You Bite The Hand" the crowd went nuts clapping in time throughout the song, just my acoustic guitar and 17,000 people! It was the biggest crowd I've ever "fronted" before - what a rush man. When I got to Call Me, Call Me they were like putty in my hands. Later in the show I came back and did a killer version of Rain as a duet w/ Mai Yamane. It was really good to see everyone again....I only wish we could do this more often.
Day Two: In Tokyo for Yoko Kanno Concert
The 1st rehearsal was a trip, lots of staging, etc. The first time I appear onstage I perform 3 songs in a row starting with a duet w/ Maya Sakamoto "The Garden Of Everything". We start out on opposite ends of a long stage and move toward each other by the end. As I reach the other side of the stage with my wireless microphone, an acoustic guitar and mic stand rise up from out of the floor, I strap on the guitar and do "Could You Bite The Hand?" - When I'm done I set the guitar back down, it disappears into the floor with the mic stand and I finish with "Call Me, Call Me" backed by the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra. Pretty Awesome. Later in the show I come back for a duet of "Rain" with Mai Yamane and back her up on "Gonna Knock A Little Harder". It's gonna be an amazing show!
Day One: In Tokyo for Yoko Kanno Concert
Happy July 4th! I am just now waking up in Tokyo. On the plane there were many people wearing surgical masks and constantly washing with Purell. It was a 12 hour flight so I slept a bit, worked on learning the words for Yoko's concert that I'm singing on here and watched some movies/tv. Typical boring flight. When I got in to Narita airport my contact, Cherry met me and took me to where I"m staying - Hotel Sunroute Plaza in Shinjuku section of Tokyo. After I cleaned up we went out for something to eat and although I had my heart set on sushi she took me to a place called Momma's - a homestyle Japanese place that serves little dishes of different stuff, like their version of tapas. Anyway, I did have some octopus sashimi...but also uni flavored tofu, raw scallop and a strange salad with lettuce, red pepper raw tuna & octopus, raisins, cashews & cheese. When I got back to the hotel and passed out right after. I just awoke to white skies and bizzare shaped buildings outside my window. Now I'm off to have an equally adventurous breakfast...