Metal Night

I wound up un a Japanese Metal bar last week. A friend of a friends band was playing there and I tagged along. It was great! Ever since Ive been here Ive wanted to sample some of Japan's famous heavy metal music. It has a reputation among music nerds as being one of the best places on earth to watch metal bands. So we get into this tiny concert venue, and before friend of friends band is slated to start we were witness to some of the most hilarious rock performences Ive ever seen.

First up were these guys. The band looked like a collection of nerdy Anime fans. Although the lead singer was a bit overweight, he managed to give it his all. Most of his singing sounded like weird, low chants and screams. The drummer looked like he'd be more comfortable in front of a complex set of fluid dynamics equations than a drum kit, but he kept the beat pretty well. The lead singer was going so hard, that by the end of the set, sweaty and nearly unconscious from physical exertion, he could barely manage an "arigatogozaimass"


The next band was more professional. The lead singer was a woman, and the music was fast fast fast. The drumer of this band was beyond hilarious. He had long died blonde hair and looked like he weighed about 100 pounds, he was like a living version of Animal from the Muppets, chains and all.

The final band was what we came for. They were really pretty good, as far as metal music goes. Their onstage thing was doing shots together after every song. Kampai!

After the show I talked to the Animal drummer, and he was still out of breath...nearly an hour after his set...