Catalyst for Change
- Nov 4, 2016
- 5 min read
Unfortunately, it looks as though molotov cannot go on as it is for much longer. The Tokyo trip was the final straw and we all decided that a change was for the best. It has been nice while it lasted but I'll get into that later. Let the story begin!
Our final practice before heading to Tokyo was Friday night at Cabbage's Patch (aka. Hayashi Studio). There was no doubt we were ready for anything Tokyo could throw at us. The night ended with Luke and Mike crashing at my house, with the three of us continuing to drink and laugh well into Saturday. The next morning, I thought healthy green drinks would help with the recovery and prepare us for the day ahead. After I force fed delicious green drinks (utterly repulsive by the look on Luke's face as he downed it :D ) to the guys, Mike suddenly gained enough strength to deal with excitable children who had gone to bed early. He is now officially the king of hide-and-seek and the coolest guy my son knows!
As Pete and I headed off to work on Saturday morning, and Mike and Luke headed to the beach (the lucky bastards!), all of us had one thing in mind...Tokyo!
At 12:30, it was finally time to head off! We loaded the van, piled in and left our beloved Toyohashi behind. The travelling time seemed to fly, probably due to the Celebrity Heads/20 Questions style game Pete started, with the speed at which we travelled playing a part. I think we broke the Toyohashi to Tokyo world record, taking less than 4 hours to get there. It was all smooth sailing, we were in high spirits, and the anticipation and excitement was building.
We followed the trusty smart phone navi and dropped off the equipment at What the Dickens, then headed to the concrete cell we were going to sleep in. It was pretty good for the price actually. Thank you Mike and Air b'n'b!
When we went back to What the Dickens for sound check, I was really impressed with the place.It's a cool, very genuine British style pub with a good vibe and amazing grub. We were offered a complimentary meal and all jumped at the steak pie meal. It was worth the trip to Tokyo for that! My mouth is watering at the thought! There is also a cool second floor balcony seating area that overlooks the stage.
Set up/technical support at the place was the only let down. That said, we understood that it wasn't a live house and did the best we could. Sound check finished at 7:00 and we were set to go on at 9:00.
We hit the streets to kill some time and ended up at a pub that promised 180yen beers before 8:00. Sweet!!! We finished a beer and got ready to leave, had my 180yen in coins out on the table, and was told that it only counts if we buy a second full priced beer. Cheeky buggers! There was only one thing to do...buy a second beer. I wanted that 180yen beer as much as the others and we were going to do whatever it took to get it!!
When we rocked up to the place, there was a meager crowd that was growing. Feeling amped and a little tense, I got up on stage, and after a little hiccup with tuning, we ploughed in to the first song. I really love the bass line in Interstate Love Song and felt great after we finished playing it. The crowd continued to grow and were helping to create a nice vibe, except for one dude who kept giving me death stares and looked super pissed off. Because of the size of the stage, I was pinned in a way to face his direction and at first had avoided looking that way. I wondered why he even bothered coming out. Maybe something happened to him on the way to the show. I was going to make a point of having a chat to him before the night was out!! I was going to make him have a great time whether he liked it or not! Second song, here we come!
1, 2, 3, 4...boom boom ching, boom boom boom ching. Mike starts coming in.... I hang a little and don't come in at the start when I should....Pete looks at me....I look at him....desperately looking for a cue...Mike stops drumming....There is some uncomfortable discussion on stage.....Pete tries to help by strumming his part....Mike counts us in again....I play all the notes I should be playing but with a totally different rhythm....I grab hold of the mic stand hoping for something miraculous to happen...and nothing happens. The brain fart is just too powerful. Pete announces the next song. I lock in with no problem,...and we're off!! Seconds into that song, I start singing the previous songs bass line. Damn it! I look over at the dude...death stare!
By the time we finished the first set, the pub was filling nicely. There wasn't any sitting space left and there were plenty of people standing. Beer time and a 15 minute break. The second set was a comedy of errors. They say that things happen in threes. Whether you believe that or not, that's exactly how it seemed to work out that night, no shit. Mid song, my bass died.
[Insert: Troubleshooting for a period of time] In the end, it turned out to be issues with the pub's amp jack. By the time we got a replacement, half the crowd had left, including the guy that wanted to kill me.
We got through it in good humour with Mike, Luke and Pete being very forgiving for the temporary amnesia in the first set. We stuck around for a few beers and feedback. As it turned out, 'Death-stare-guy' came to see Molotov (the four-time Latin Grammy Award winning rock, hip-hop band from Mexico) that night in a small, very cool British pub in Tokyo and wasn't happy that we weren't Mexican. Racist bastard! :P This is the second time someone has made that mistake and came to one of our gigs this year. Possibly time for a name change in the near future. What do you think?
We got back to the room with a few bags of beer and other goodies, and at some time we must have gone to bed because I remember waking up in the morning. Mike or Luke had the most awesome idea of a Taco Bell breakfast. Did I mention it was an awesome idea? That was a mission in itself.
After that, we headed to Yokohama for an afternoon gig at the live house 7th Avenue. It was so nice to have other people set up all the equipment besides our instruments, and to feel secure that there was nothing to worry about except the performance. Do I sound a little traumatised by the previous night's ordeal? Maybe at the time but I was determined to redeem myself and feel that I did!
Now we have a month off from performing to write new songs and prepare for the next instalment of live shows, first one being Toyohashi on December 17th. The Toyohashi crowd will be getting the first taste of the new stuff. Can't wait to play here again!!
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