April 5, 2014 ... A bit cloudy afternoon but the sunshine seemed to celebrate such a wonderful day for a little while. Yes, it was the day Djamra's 20th anniversary, with 6 great musicians. A lot of Djamra freaks came to Nakatsu Vi-Code, one of their important venues, regardless of full-blown cherry blossoms outside ... oh of course, I was one of them. I've enjoyed this fascinating event not as a reviewer but as a so-called fan.
In that day and night, 7 artists / combos (as below) appeared on stage. - Strawberry Song Orchestra (a post-punk project with full of showmanship ... not on PA)
- The Brown (Heavy Prog)
- Kitsune No Yomeiri (folk, jazz-based rock unit, not on PA)
- Le Silo (RIO / Avant)
- Hibiya Katan (a incredibly skilled guitarist, already had some bookings with Djamra ... not on PA)
- Korekyojin (RIO / Avant)
- Djamra (the host of this event; Jazz Rock / Fusion)
A bit too difficult for me to explain / review the event for over 11 hours (sorry) but I'm happy to do a quick introduction (only about PA artists) for you all who read this thread.
2. http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=8671" rel="nofollow - The Brown (Heavy Prog)
A promising heavy rock quartet featuring a guitar, a bass, drums, and female voices. This was my first attendance at their gig, and honestly I got pretty immersed in their powerful play, especially their strict rhythm launches, ATARI's speedy (and sharp-edged) guitar plays, and EYE's enthusiastic and sensitive voices. They played some tracks in their newest album "MelloW", which got more and more powerful, stronger and deeper than last autumn, according to what Masaharu says. Indeed, what an addictive appearance EYE singing over with a flood of passion and ... beautiful sweat.
4. http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=2744" rel="nofollow - Le Silo (RIO / Avant)
Yeah quite renowned in Progarchives already. A funky, spunky experimental rock trio mainly active around Tokyo. Heard they will appear upon stage at RIO Festival in 2014. Let me say they are a Japanese Avant-rock pride. Even after a long trip for Osaka, they played as powerfully, funky, and amazingly as usual ... "Paroparo", "Kenji", "Haa-Hii-Hoo-Hii" ... we Osakan fans are not so familiar with these songs, but we could shake our bodies and dance to them surprisingly ... guess their play is always natural and with much pleasure. And perfectly played "Numazapa-mix", such a difficult one. Excellent!
6. http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=3034" rel="nofollow - Korekyojin (RIO / Avant)
No more mention needed about them I consider, but only quickly ... A experimental / heavy / avantgarde rock trio featuring three rock superstars (Tatsuya YOSHIDA, Natsuki KIDO, and Mitsuru NASUNO). They played a couple of long, complex, and magnified / dignified songs mainly via their albums "Tundra" and "Jackson" ("Jackson" has been reissued and rereleased, with new drumming added-on and bonus tracks including "Yes Medley" according to their announcement). Hmm, their play is a rock gem or something as well ... I always feel so when I attend their gigs. An amazing matter ... ATARI, the guitarist of The Brown, is a great fan of them, and listened to and "watched carefully" Natsuki's guitar play, and got pretty excited. :)
7. http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=4699" rel="nofollow - Djamra (Jazz Rock / Fusion)
Our experimental jazz rock hero. This year is their 20th anniversary, and this event was held for celebrating such a wonderful year. They've experienced not only good things but also bad ones for two decades, but never given up and never changed their intentional policy to play originally and pleasantly. The fact we can call them an Osakan pride.
Pity they had a slight mistake upon playing "Ash*tsuri Pierrot" but a full of strong intention for music and politeness for lots of fans made them more aggressive. They played more stuffs than usual, including a cover song "Taiwa No Kanosei" (by Hibiya Katan) or "Komurakaeri" featuring Yoshiharu IZUTSU (the guitarist of Le Silo) (anyway ... Yoshiharu might play this song for the first time I guess, but amazingly he played WITH PERFECT TECHNIQUE. Oh God). Djamra's anniversary event completed, with BIG cheers and lots of BRAVO words, and magnificent love and affection.
Thanks to DJAMRA for giving us excellent sounds and talks. Hope we fans will attend your 30th anniversary a decade later. ;)
Oh btw another news ... Djamra has released their live album titled "Under Tracks" just a while before. In this album their gig in Nakatsu Vi-Code in November 2013, "featuring a female trumpeter Sayaka KAWADA for the first time". My humble review coming soon ...
Thank you to read my review for Djamra 20th Anniversary upon April 5, 2014!
------------- http://www.facebook.com/damoxt7942" rel="nofollow">
|