Don't Stop the Jrock

I've been sick all week, my head growing cloudier with each day until it hit its zenith yesterday. Trying to write has been discombobulating at best. Trying to sleep is even worse. Last night, I attempted to clean my room at 2 a.m. just because every time I tried to fall asleep, I would sneeze or cough. Despite feeling as though my sinuses might explode, I headed down to Little Tokyo last Thursday night with Carlos and my friend Ms. Penny Pop so that we could check out Tune in Tokyo. You can read more about the event over at the LA Weekly.



There was para para action at Tune in Tokyo, which made me scream, "Just like The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya," which you really must see if you haven't already. I explained to Penny Pop about how I relate to the show's heroine, when I am bored, there is bound to be trouble.

But, back to the event. This was new terrain for me as my knowledge of contemporary Japanese music is based mostly on the Shibuya-kei sound of the 1990s (Pizzicato Five, Fantastic Plastic Machine, Cornelius) and a few other assorted indie-ish things like Guitar Wolf and Melt-Banana. Despite watching tons of anime, I never really paid attention to the bands who do the opening and closing credits, mostly because in my mind, the themes rarely match the show. It was quite interesting to hear what is going on now in the Jpop and Jrock world. I kind of like Perfume, capsule and Aural Vampire. I'm terribly interested in the sound of the visual kei bands, but I appreciate their attention to appearance.

After so many years of dissheveled hipsters, it was refreshing to see a club where everyone seemed to put forth some sort of effort into getting dressed. Even the more casual looks appeared weren't quite sloppy. I do, however, lament the lack of guro Lolitas in Los Angeles. Below are a few more of the looks spotted at the club.