Okay, I admit it, I got pissed last night and have a mild hangover, which has been partly cured by eating noodles on the train platform. It was a late one last night and we had a great time.

Nagoya is a huge industrial sprawl and home to Japan’s Toyota factory. It’s about an hour from Tokyo on the train (we’re on our way to Tokyo for an in-store at Tower Records in Shinjuku today). The gig was the most rock ‘n’ roll we’ve encountered so far. The backstage toilet didn’t even have a warm seat. It was a tiny club but had a great vibe. I get the impression that Nagoya likes to rock, or perhaps to rockabilly. We didn’t have much time to explore but did encounter some guys dancing in the local square dressed head to toe in black leather and sporting astonishing quiffs. They’d set up some speakers in the square and were trading Elvis moves (including some back-flips and break-dancing). It all seemed quite surreal.

The first support band was MJ Classical, but I missed their set as I got lost from the hotel to the gig. The other support band, called Golden Goose, was an astonishingly good metal band (think of a more accomplished Iron Maiden played by 18 year olds). The musicianship was awesome and made us look very shabby by comparison.

We changed the set around a bit, which hopefully keeps it interesting for the fans that come to every show and it keeps us on our toes. We blasted through the songs at breakneck speed and the crowd was fantastic. The promoter, DJ Hideo, was a really cool guy and his wife Michiyo presented Steph and Michelle with beautiful sleeping eye masks she’d made herself. Every member of the band was also given gorgeous lucky rocks and gifts by Moe (a fan who has been to lots of the shows).

We ate at a really fantastic restaurant after the show. It has some of the best food I’ve tried in Japan; yam in raw egg, garlic miso, marinated shitake mushrooms… it just kept coming (as did the Sapporo!). We then staggered to another club until stupid-o-clock to sample the local tipple, which is a shot of gin in a pint of lager. I think there was some dancing. It was a really memorable night until that point. Now it gets a bit hazy.

More news tomorrow.

Jez x

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