Koenji Pop Festival 2010 Timetable

The timetable for the 2010 Koenji Pop Festival on September 18th (Sat) is sorted now, and if things go according to plan, should run like this (note: things almost never go according to plan).

4:00 open
4:10-4:25 Natasha Forrest
4:40-5:05 Owllights
5:20-5:45 Issei Kuramoto
6:00-6:25 Yamaco
6:40-7:05 Quick Explosion Scratch Hurricanes (Ex. Andersens)
7:20-7:45 Praha Depart
8:00-8:25 The Students
8:40-9:05 Creepy Pop
9:20-9:45 The Mornings
10:00-Finish Zibanchinka

Koenji Pop Festival 2010

This year is the sixth annual edition of the somewhat ambitiously named Koenji Pop Festival and the third at Koenji's venerable and, erm, "intimate" Penguin House. As usual, there will be a cornucopia of musical fucked-uppery, with the messed-up all-girl garage punk of Kagoshima's Zibanchinka, the explosive post-punk of The Mornings, the delicately-formed new wave pop of Yamaco, the quirky alt-rock of Owllights, and various happenings inbetween.

As usual I'll be doing that thing with the horrible wine.

To accommodate all the bands, the event starts pretty early (4:00PM), with my never knowingly over-rehearsed band Natasha Forrest kicking things off, so if you don't want us to be lonely, come by for the start.

Place: Koenji Penguin House
Date: 9/18 (Sat)
Time: 4:00PM
Price: 2000yen (adv) / 2300yen (door)

Bands:
- Zibanchinka (from Kagoshima)
- The Mornings
- Creepy Pop
- The Students
- Praha Depart
- Quick Explosion Scratch Hurricanes (Ex. Andersens)
- Yamaco
- Issei Kuramoto
- Owllights
- Natasha Forrest

Fashion Crisis (March 2010)

Still resolutely refusing to settle on any one particular day, Fashion Crisis is back to Saturday again, with the usual aggregation of pop scientists and amateur indie miscreants. Special live guest Yamaco, a.k.a. Yamada Noriko, formerly of indiepop duo and longtime Call And Response friends Her will be playing for the second time, and post-punk heart-throb Urano from Creepy Pop will DJ. Also spinning discs will be Slovenia's sexiest Bret-from-Flight-of-the-Conchords lookalike N'toko and his lovely wife Caroline from Paradise Kiss, as well as regular Koenji ne'r-do-wells James Hadfield and myself.

Date: March 6th (Sat)
Place: Koenji Bar One
Time: 7:30 P.M. till late
Price: FREE

Live:
-Candles
-Yamaco (ex. Her)
DJs:
-Urano (from Creepy Pop)
-N'toko & Zana
-James Hadfield
-Ian Martin

Switched On! Side B (January 17th)

After all the amazing fun of last night's Bar One event, there's more. Switched On! has one of its occasional "Side B" events, this time at Shimo-Kitazawa Three, featuring a more rock and electro orientated sound than the usual new wave and technopop experience.

1/17 (Sun) Shimo-Kitazawa Three
5:30 P.M. - 11:30 P.M.

2000yen adv. / 2500yen door

DJs
Ian Martin (Call And Response Records)
Mince (The Frap Frap Fraps)

LIVE
Yamaco (ex. Her)
The Bitchs
Creepy Pop
Diskow & give.me.wallets
N'toko (from Slovenia)
Dr. Usui