Best "live" j-music acts

[kuro_neko]

Originally Posted by TeslaGuy

Aha. The swastika vs. the rising sun in the US. I suppose the fact that the swastika is still a common anti-Semitic symbol, and that white supremacist groups have adopted it, and that racial prejudice is such a sore spot here has a lot to do with it. I can't really think of another symbol of a foreign power that triggers anything close to the feelings that it generally does.

I imagine that people who lived through WWII might take offense to the Imperial Flag, but that conflict was so long ago that I am not surprised that Japanese symbols from that era don't provoke responses in most people today. I think some Americans also feel uneasy about some of our behavior during the war in the Pacific Theater, with our use of the atomic bomb and the internment of Japanese Americans, and that may temper our emotions when confronted with reminders of that conflict.

Not that you aren't right, and it is an interesting observation. But most people aren't as intelligent and educated as you are.

well the swastika vs. imperial flag wasn't my comparison, it was a couple friends who are much more informed on the issue. rather, I was commenting just on how alarming it is that people who aren't japanese take up such a flag and use it in fashion not entirely aware of it's history. that being said, the swastika is used quite a bit in modern japanese pop culture, such as anime and manga, and thus in cosplay and some fashion, so it goes both ways. I guess it is like an inside joke, people who know might wear a shirt like that baka gaijin shirt as a statement and inside joke, but there are lots of people who have no idea and I was just remarking on how alarming that can be at times.

back to topic, YUKI YUKI YUKIIIII

[TeslaGuy]

The swastika is an ancient symbol symbol of good luck, sacred in both Buddhism and Hinduism, and still used as such in the East. In the West it's image has been tainted by it's adoption by the Nazi party, but I'm sure that will fade over time.

And back on topic, COCCO COCCO COCCO!!!!!

[Tokyo Jihad]

Originally Posted by TeslaGuy

In the West it's image has been tainted by it's adoption by the Nazi party, but I'm sure that will fade over time.

And back on topic, COCCO COCCO COCCO!!!!!

You really think so? I doubt it alot, I think it's so engrained with that connotation and so many in the west (or at least America) just aren't familiar with it meaning anything else.

But anyway, is Cocco really good live? I never looked into that aspect of her. But then, I forget to look into alot of her aspects

[TeslaGuy]

^You could be right. Time will tell. I was thinking about a hundred years from now. The swastika has a long Western history, being used by the Celts and Greeks, among others. I don't think that the Nazi's permanently usurped it. Probably for the rest of my lifetime, but one day they will be part of the distant past.

And yes, Cocco is as intense live as she is in the studio. I think that the stress of live performance was one of the reasons she retired for a few years.

[pocket]

In some really old churches in the UK there are swatiskas incorporated into the designs of things like stained glass windows.

[narusy]

Originally Posted by kuro_neko

YUKI is hand's down the best performer I have ever seen. Not all artists are great performers, their music tends to be a personal thing and putting that on display and creating an interesting and fun show can be difficult.

Utada Hikaru, for one, doesn't put on a very fun show, despite having fun music, because her voice is a bit weak and doesn't hold up very well after repeated lives, which is probably why she very rarely does national tours (she has only ever done two).

But YUKI is so head over heels into her own music, she sings from the bottom of her tiny frame, all the way up through her body and into her arms and legs. When she performs she wears crazy dresses but always simple athletic trainers, because she runs and jumps and dances all around like a pixie. It is completely infectious. I've seen her three times and it was the most insanely infectious show I've been too. I could watch her perform live for years and not get bored.

this is one of my favorite songs from her first album.


she also does ballads really well live, this is another favorite song


edit: that shirt is quite amazing. It is quite alarming how many people don't know the difference between the Japanese Flag and the Imperial Flag. I was recently at a Dir en Grey show and there was a kid in cosplay with the Imperial Flag spread out across his back. This is a bit of a strong comparison, but I have heard wearing the Imperial Flag compared to wearing a Swastika since it was only used in correlation with defense forces (nowadays) and with the military during WWII. It is a nice design but it is kind of stupid to walk around wearing it given it's history

If you're talking about YUKI, why not add in that Judy and Mary had great live shows. I have the DVD for the Pop Life Suicide 2 Tour, and they were amazing! Warp Tour Final was when Judy and Mary were at their finest hour.

[bebio]

Originally Posted by kuro_neko

well the swastika vs. imperial flag wasn't my comparison, it was a couple friends who are much more informed on the issue. rather, I was commenting just on how alarming it is that people who aren't japanese take up such a flag and use it in fashion not entirely aware of it's history.

Yeah I notice that too, but not just with Japanese imperial flags...
Whenever I go to the design section of a big bookstore, I see books compiling North Korean, Sovietic Stalinist or Chinese Cultural Revolution propaganda posters, as if they were a fashionable thing. While I do admit there is impressive images and hard work in some of those images, I can't help but feel sad at how many people (designers, lay men, etc) will pick up these symbols and use them without conscience in random album designs,band posters, fashion exibits... as if wearing clothes "Cold War-style" was so "in", and people could just forget the implications of these symbols in many people's lives.

In the end, it's a dillemma. As my Architecture Theory teacher used to say, there is no such thing as an "innocent, virginal, shape". All shapes and forms carry symbolic and cultural connotations, and we should be extra careful when we remove symbols from a certain socio-cultural context and apply them in the here and now...

I can appreciate the hard work of men and women that sacrificed their lives making North Korean propaganda posters, for example, and in that sense, I think a book compiling these works can be justified, but I would probably never use such "styles" in a normal, generic band poster.


Back to Topic:

Boris are one hell of a live band. I saw them live last year and man, what a show.

I really love Tokyo Jihen's live act, which I have only seen in DVDs. I would much rather see TJ live than Shiina Ringo solo, if I was forced to choose between the two. Especially Hata's drumming often steals the show
Shiina herself isn't doing much, I'm afraid

I would love to see live Toe or Lite. I can't stop watching their live videos on youtube. They are so intertwined, that it's like they share a telepathic connection. Tight as a swiss clock. In the same vein, Mouse On The Keys, or Pimp And Soil Sessions, or Pe'z...

Also, Envy and Midori would be wonderful to see, because of their intensity and energy in the live shows. And that Mariko Goto chick is absolutely, wonderfully crazy.