A first-hand journal of The Reducers' Japan Tour 2004.

The Reducers at the El 'N Gee Club, New London, CT

Wednesday - June 30 11 am

Posted by Peter

Well, it's going to be hard for me to describe last night's gig at the Fiddler. For one thing, my expectations for this show were not very high to begin with. And once we arrived at the place, my worst fears appeared to be confirmed. The rude guy behind the bar suggested that since it was our first time in Tokyo and we were an unknown commodity at the Fiddler, we'd probably be playing for "a couple of our regulars." Then he enquired as to the name of our band - he had no idea who was even playing that evening!

Fast forward a few hours, during which time we ate, drank and got set up and sound checked, and everything had changed! The mood was positive, the room was rapidly filling to capacity, and the band was psyched to have a good time. And what a time it was! Three wildly careening sets of loose, rough rock and roll, egged on by the ecstatic, jam-packed crowd of Japanese kids. I don't really know what to compare it to, but it brought to mind very early shows at the El n Gee Club. It's hard not to get emotional in thinking about, or trying to describe the response, and once again I don't really have much to compare it to.

The crowd was absolutely nuts! With us every single moment of every single somg, despite forgotten chords, missed notes, tuning disasters (I'm guilty on all three counts,) and general mayhem. None of it mattered - everyone was just on some different level. Musical perfection was out of the question, but rock & roll nirvana was attained again and again and again! I use this description a lot regarding this trip - it was mind blowing. From our vantage point on stage, all we could see was a mass of ecstatic, raving Reducer maniacs!

Single images stood out - an adorable tiny Japanese girl go-go dancing furiously on a bench against the wall to my right,... a group of three young guys tucked into the furthest corner, once again on a bench above the heaving crowd, screaming the chorus of "Pub Rocking" and punching the air with all six fists,... the solid mass of grinning, lunatic faces directly in my face all night, singing along and gesturing "more, more, more!" Etc. etc. etc. I could go on and on.

None of us will ever forget the night we played at the Fiddler! Richard claims it was the best Reducer show ever, and I can see what he means. There's no way we'll top this show, either in the remainder of our time here in Japan, or anytime else. Maybe we can try, and I'm certain that we will, but it seems unlikely.

After the show there was some ugliness regarding, (what else?) money (some things transcend cultural differences I guess). But I was determined not to let anything spoil what to this point has been the easy high point of this trip of ours. It's all been a gas, but last night was a once in a lifetime evening. Richard took photos and video, and I snapped occasional shots from the stage - I hope they come out so I'll be able to show people the phenomenal scene that was taking place before my eyes for a few hours last night. I'll say it again - I will never forget it!

Punk rock Kings?....I'm not sure. Pub Rocking?...most definitely!!!!

Today we have off, and it's raining unfortunately. The weather here has been sunny, hot and very muggy, but today the skies have opened up. We'll attempt to do some more exploring in this huge city. Tonight I'm going to try and get us into a baseball game. The Yomouri Giants are out of town, as are the Swallows. Howvever, Tokyo's third team, the Nippon Ham Fighters(??) are playing in the Sapporo Dome, so the game will go on despite any bad weather. Now, we just have to locate the place!

We miss everyone at home, and look forward to returning to familiar faces and routines, but as you can tell, this has been an incredible adventure that we're on.

ROCK AND ROLL!!!!!!!!!!


Posted by Peter on June 29, 2004 at 10:50 PM EDT

Comments

I might just cry... I wish so much I could have been there for this show. So happy for you and for everyone that was lucky enough to have been there.

Posted by: martha at June 29, 2004 at 10:57 PM EDT

Peter,
Do you realize that in hind sight, this could have been a Reducer Road trip.
A travel agency could have worked out all the details and a bunch of us could have been in the audience shouting, " Pub Rocking.."
Except we may have been a little older and not as good looking as our Asian persuasian counterparts..
Sounded like a great show.
Hey is Kaika on this trip ?? or what.
Tell him I said, hey.
Can't wait to see the pics.
Later,
Kevin
PS you ran out of Guinness at the Tavern and you now serve burgers at 9:00pm..
Ha..

Posted by: Kevin Gallerani at June 30, 2004 at 06:40 AM EDT

Peter-

SOOOOOO glad you guys are kicking ass and having a blast over there. Thanks for the detailed posts... it's really entertaining and a welcome distraction for those of us stuck back working in the states........

Hope the SGs holding up okay!

Keep rocking... best to all of you.

-BP

Posted by: Ben Parent at June 30, 2004 at 10:33 AM EDT

Peter,

What'd I say about mass adulation?
It's high time. Reading up on you guys every day makes me happy. Hope the rest of the trip is more of the same. Cheers to all.

Rock on,
Tim

Posted by: tim heap at June 30, 2004 at 12:21 PM EDT