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Post by lazybone712 on Oct 16, 2014 7:18:15 GMT -5
Video of "Hot Chocolate" from Shonen Knife's show at LA's Bootleg Theatre on 8 Oct 2014: youtu.be/lkZXejzNCkU
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Post by jaicee on Oct 17, 2014 22:39:15 GMT -5
Ritsuko said the Portland show had one of the best crowds! www.shonenknife.net/blog/archives/17267 I'll write about it sometime in the next month or two when I have more free time, after I get it down in my journal. I won't forget all the details since I wrote down a bunch of notes when I got home. Whenever I see a band live, my obsession for them is reignited! I've been listening to nothing but SK all week!
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Post by mikado-AKA-Shoknifeman on Oct 22, 2014 8:51:09 GMT -5
THIRD TIME'S A CHARM... OR, BAD LUCK SONG DAY , MY THIRD SK CONCERT (part 1)
It was the worst of times, it was the best of times, thus begins the novel, A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens and it pretty much sums up my third SK concert! The concert itself was amazing (best one yet), but, the rest of the day was a bit of a mixed bag!
The day was one of the warmest late September days in years, with the temperature hovering near 30cel, but, it was also one of those days where you have a constant, drizzling rain; the kind that you barely get wet, but, it just never seems to end; that being the case, I decided that I wouldn't leave early (Besides, it had been only a month since my last visit to Toronto, a day when I had spent nearly $300 on anime stuff, so, I wasn't planning to do any shopping anyway.). I had a real quick late lunch and left around 5pm. giving me plenty of time in case of heavy traffic; I was expecting a drama-free drive, as I had just gotten a tune up and oil change, however, once around Mississauga (about 40 mins outside of Toronto), my speedometer suddenly, without warning, or squeaky sounds, died on me! (Fortunately, the GPS has a built in speedo) That was just a taste of the bad luck to come. 15 mins later, I somehow missed the entrance to the Gardner Expressway , not to worry, I knew I could get there by Lakeshore (which is a much nicer, more picturesque route anyway); however, while Lakeshore was almost devoid of traffic at that point, I soon found myself in the kind of traffic that has pedestrians walking past and laughing at the motorists! The last 15 (in normal traffic) mins, took me an hour to get through! Eventually, I found myself in front of the venue, there was a small lineup; I hurried to find the nearest parking garage, a 10 min walk away. I was in a hurry to join the line, obviously made up of fellow SK fans, such as myself, who couldn't get advanced tickets and were "taking a chance" that there might be tickets at the door (As it turned out, they had 25 tickets at the door and I was 15th in line! phew!). The parking garage offered a new irritation, as it was set up very strangely, with each level being half of one level and half of the next, thus, you had level 1, went up a ramp and youd be on level 1 (b), which also comprised half of level 2 (and so on)... extremely confusing, but, more about that later! From there, I walked the 10 mins to the venue (The Silver Dollar Room), which had apparently hosted SK some time back, but, it was to be my first visit there. The lineup, which had been 3 people 10 mins before, had filled up a little and I found myself to be 15th in line, still with NO idea if I was to be able to buy a ticket, the time was around 7:15 pm; so I figured I would be waiting in line for about 2 hours for a CHANCE at a ticket, but, unlike the Horseshoe (The venue where I'd seen SK twice previously), they opened the doors about a half hour later, just for the at the door crowd and let us buy our tickets early! (phew!) Between getting in line and the buying of tickets, I chatted with some of the other fans in the line; we chatted about how we got into the band, the new CD, the old CDs, etc., about 10 mins later, the tour van arrived driven by Robb Takac, who had a couple roadies, his wife Miyako (who was forced to take Atsuko's place, when Atsuko had a gallstone attack) and their 2 year old daughter (She was still in Miyako's womb, the last time I saw her). Strangely, the girls weren't with them... it was kind of cool seeing their luggage come out of the van, the bright pink walkabout suitcase, being particularly recognisable. I wanted to take a picture, but, found my camera battery dead (More bad luck... for the first time, I have no pics for you all!). About 5 mins later, the girls showed up, having come from the opposite direction (presumably having eaten in one of the many ramen shops, there in Toronto China town) I recognised them and gave them a polite "Irashaishimasu" (Welcome [to Canada]) and they all smiled and nodded my way, as they went into the bar. After paying for the tickets, I had about 90 mins to kill and as the drizzle became rain, I wended my way back to the parking garage, to get my umbrella (which I had stupidly forgotten, in the car)... it took me at least 20 mins, to find my parking spot, thanks to their strange level marking system! (end of part one..... next time, I meet Ritsuko on the street and watch one killer concert!)
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Post by jaicee on Oct 22, 2014 11:28:35 GMT -5
I was wondering why I didn't see Atsuko at the merch table! And hey, you were actually pretty lucky after all! The bad luck day might be your good luck day. Looking forward to the detailed account of the show!
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Post by mikado-AKA-Shoknifeman on Oct 23, 2014 20:39:02 GMT -5
THIRD TIME'S A CHARM... OR, BAD LUCK SONG DAY , MY THIRD SK CONCERT (part 2)
After retrieving my umbrella from the car, I went into a few stores, just to kill some time, then, started back towards the Silver Dollar, as the stores were beginning to close (The rain was getting much harder) and, who should walk by, going the other way? Well, it sure LOOKED like Ritsuko, but, in the dark, in a place where most people going down the street were Asians, I couldn't say for sure, so, I walked along with her until I got a good look at her profile and reluctantly said "Ritsuko-san?" she stopped. looked at me and smiled, yes, it was her, the beautiful bassist of our favorite band, we walked together and chatted a little, I asked her why she was wearing a ski jacket (seeing as it was about 30 cel - 80f and rainy/humid); she answered that it was the only rain-proof jacket she'd packed. After about a block or so, she stopped and told me she was off to meet someone, she said a name , but, I really didn't understand... I playfully said "Hope you give us a good show tonight" and she left for her appointment. finally, they opened the doors (a bit late, due to a missing drummer*) and I went to see Miyako at the merch table, strangely, Robb wasn't with her (it turns out he was driving the baby home, I think maybe she couldn't take the volume of the in house music system (which was playing "canned" music at an ear-bleeding volume!); poor baby was crying her eyes out!) after making a few purchases.... well, 10 or so.... I went to listen to the first band, I have to give Robb a lot of credit here, all the bands were excellent this time! With 4 bands on the night, only SK did a long set. After the first band was done (with a borrowed drummer, as their own drummer never showed) I went back to talk to Miyako and buy a second SK wristband... for $10, I was expecting a full set, not ONE in the bag! So, I spent another $10 and got a second one (I wore them during the show and held up my duck on bike all night, to show my SK fandom... it was too damn hot in there to wear a black SK T-shirt.) Afterwards, I sat in the end of the bar by Miyako, set up as a place where the bands left their luggage (I HAD to get away from that loud canned music); a few mins later, who should walk in, but Emi; she barely noticed me there, made a pillow from her jacket and fell fast asleep on the long bench; I sat there quietly, not wanting to bother her. Soon afterwards, I went back to my seat, to watch the next band, and noticed Naoko come in, greet Miyako and lay down at the other end of the same bench that her drummer was already laying on, fast asleep! (Maybe they need to have more nights off on their tours?). It was unbearably hot in the room, it was about the same size as the music room at the Horseshoe, but, in this case, it was more crowded as the stage was set against the near right wall, rather than at the back of the room and the main bar was on the left wall (At the Horseshoe, the main bar is in a separate room, with only a small service bar near the bands). After all the warmup bands played (All the drummers... well, the same guy did the drumming for all 3 bands... played on a miniature drumkit [Emi included], that looked like one of those starter kits, for teens!), I went back over to Miyako and asked her if she needed anything (With Robb gone, she couldn't leave the merch table), she declined, but, I got her a large glass of water and put it on the table where Naoko and Emi were still dozing and said, "Well, if you get thirsty, you can just grab yourself a drink." She gave me a smile , but, I have no idea if she ever got around to taking a swig. As the roadies began to set up the Knife's kit, there was still no sign of Ritsuko... but, almost on cue, she walked into the place, just in time! END OF PART 2 NEXT TIME, SK AND THE CUTE GIRL!
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Post by thegl0r on Oct 23, 2014 20:43:12 GMT -5
THIRD TIME'S A CHARM... OR, BAD LUCK SONG DAY , MY THIRD SK CONCERT (part 1)... That sounds like a suitably stressful start for a fun night out, especially with the added worry of will or won't you get in. Luckily that part worked out stress-free. Looking forward to reading part 3. It's a real shame that your camera died, but saying that you've got no pictures... Hmm. Surely a person with your talents should be able to whip up something suitable for us to look at. Sorry.
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Post by mikado-AKA-Shoknifeman on Oct 23, 2014 20:46:35 GMT -5
LOL ^^^^^
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Post by thegl0r on Oct 26, 2014 15:23:44 GMT -5
Here's a cool pic that Good Charamel posted.
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Post by mikado-AKA-Shoknifeman on Oct 26, 2014 16:39:00 GMT -5
It's a real shame that your camera died, but saying that you've got no pictures... Hmm. Surely a person with your talents should be able to whip up something suitable for us to look at. Somehow, I posted this and it got deleted... Ritsuko making a standing jump (The stage was very small), she nearly hid herself behind her guitar! image post
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Post by thegl0r on Oct 26, 2014 17:15:53 GMT -5
Somehow, I posted this and it got deleted... Ritsuko making a standing jump (The stage was very small), she nearly hid herself behind her guitar! image post Excellent pic! You managed to capture the essence of the show. That perfect moment showing a Rock Goddess in flight - when Ritsuko jumps behind her big beautiful bass.
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Post by mikado-AKA-Shoknifeman on Oct 27, 2014 16:49:05 GMT -5
Somehow, I posted this and it got deleted... Ritsuko making a standing jump (The stage was very small), she nearly hid herself behind her guitar! image post Excellent pic! You managed to capture the essence of the show. That perfect moment showing a Rock Goddess in flight - when Ritsuko jumps behind her big beautiful bass. Ty, I never saw anyone make themselves that small while seeming to float in the air
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Post by skswede on Jan 4, 2015 17:04:06 GMT -5
THIRD TIME'S A CHARM... OR, BAD LUCK SONG DAY , MY THIRD SK CONCERT (part 1)... That sounds like a suitably stressful start for a fun night out, especially with the added worry of will or won't you get in. Luckily that part worked out stress-free. Looking forward to reading part 3. It's a real shame that your camera died, but saying that you've got no pictures... Hmm. Surely a person with your talents should be able to whip up something suitable for us to look at. Sorry.
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Post by skswede on Jan 4, 2015 17:07:31 GMT -5
Will we ever get part 3 of this story
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Post by mikado-AKA-Shoknifeman on Jan 4, 2015 18:02:47 GMT -5
Will we ever get part 3 of this story I have been so busy with the Holidays, hockey and drawing PKGs lately, I will try to get it done this week sometime.
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Post by mikado-AKA-Shoknifeman on Mar 5, 2015 0:25:34 GMT -5
THIRD TIME'S A CHARM... OR, BAD LUCK SONG DAY , MY THIRD SK CONCERT (part 3) SK is on! As I said previously, Ritsuko arrived JUST on time, and within a few mins, the 3 girls were on the stage, in front of me, sadly, I couldn't get my usual place in front of Ritsuko (I wound up at centre stage, where I was only about 6 feet from Emi...for once, I could have taken a great pic of her...damn camera!) As per usual, the band went straight into the music, with introductions to come later and man, were they "on"! In 3 concerts, this was the most electric one I've seen, I guess the naps must have helped, they all seemed to be on ginseng, or something! Jumping, singing, playing hard; including Rits-chan's guitar jump (as per my drawing above); they played almost nothing but fast ones, for the entire set, it was tiring and yet, inspirational! (I was sweating like a horse, almost dancing to the music.) Mind you, my eyes weren't ONLY on the band, over to my left was a reaaally cute girl (Sadly, much too young for me, but, a guy can look), and she sure knew how to move! lol... anyway, more about her later... Speaking of hot girls, there was also one behind me... and she was NOT SHY! As Emi's beats became stronger, this girl literally began to ummm.... bump into me, and it didn't seem to be accidental, as she was thrusting her pelvis hard into me; strangely, her BF was right behind her; talk about awkward!!! Maybe they were hoping for a threesome? Now, in the past, I was very near Ritsuko, but now, I could almost have touched any one of them, as the stage was very shallow and they didn't have a whole lot of room to move around, so, they did a lot moving in place; it was literally the most crowd pleasing venue, for those who like to be close to the band! the show seemed to end in no time, the only sour note being the encore, which consisted of 3 versions of Tortoise Brand Pot Cleaner, a cute song, but, not really the kind of song you want to end with, as it was a bit of a downer, compared to all that powerrock they played, most of the night! After the concert, I managed to grab Naoko's playlist, but, I really wanted to TRADE it for Emi's (The only one of the three that I haven't got yet), however, the guy wouldn't trade, so, I put it in my pocket; seconds later, the same cute girl I'd been watching earlier, came up to me and asked me if she could see the playlist, I took it out and showed it to her, as she kept saying "You're so lucky, I wish I could get one!" A few mins later, I walked up to her and said, "This means more to you than it does me!" and I handed it to her, she thanked me profusely as her beautiful face lit right up; the nicest TY of all! With that, I waited til the signing party died down and, while the girls were signing the box for my "Duck on Bike" I told them how incredible the concert was, how it was by far the best of the 3 (The truth) and the three girls got right in my face, apparently with interest.... unless they were trying to remember me from before! haha! I mentioned about the comic and how Glor had them sign the posters he made and how he sent one to me, but, I wonder if they had any idea, what I was talking about! After leaving the club, I found myself chatting with the cute girl and her friends, as we walked back to our cars; after that, the bad luck began again, as it took me 1/2 an hour to find the exit of the parking garage (As I said, the thing was the most confusing place imaginable!); Finally, I found the exit and, although I'd already paid, the attendant refused to let me out, insisting that I pay for the extra half hour, I told him all I had was 20s (which is true) and since they didn't take Debit cards, that he would have to make the change...So, he let me out! I finally made it home at about 4am, dead tired and glad I got to see them again! THE END
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