Tag: music

Tomato ketchup and mayonnaise – 15th May 2005

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8pm – bar open, melbourne – with the stabs, twitch of the death nerve and vincent over the sink

everyone stirs themselves slowly and we sort ourselves out with coffee and bread before loading gear out to the car and taking the quick trip to bar open. we’re all a little bit disorgansed and not sure how to arrange tonight’s show – finally we agree to set gold coin donation as entry.

there’s people milling about everywhere and suddenly show time arrives starting with vincent over the sink – these guys are so quirkily cool – their tunes are simple, arrangements odd and style bizarre and uncomfortable – just what interests me in a band. i’m so happy that they had this opportunity to play to a bunch more people than they might usually do and nao-san has tweaked a perfect sound for them.

twitch of the death nerve and the room is getting packed with just a little space in front of stage which singer dan soon takes the opportunity to stomp around. twitch are awesome in their complex and dynamic structure and dan is more than just a capable frontman – he has a great voice too. things get a little bizarre mid way through the set as dan covers himself in tomato ketchup and mayonnaise and then continues to throw himself around the room – crashing into me one time, i give him a big shove which splatters him across the floor but he gets up without missing a beat and continues on his merry way. needless to say the crowd loved the craziness.

next the stabs performed their fucked up aural sonic bliss – they take some standard rock elements and pound them out and the crowd appreciated it greatly. i was kinda distracted trying to organise everything during the stabs set though – hopefully they’ll make it up to sydney one day and i can get a proper dose.

bar open is now packed to the gills and there is anticipation in the air. after a nice introduction from mark (who really does believe limited express (has gone?) are the greatest band in the world!) they unusually kick off the set with tiger rock and we’re treated to yukari bouncing around the stage and floor space and some almost silent subtlety during the bridge section with breathy whispers of tiger rock (supposedly a dedication to yukari’s favourite baseball team).

yukari straps the bass on and here comes special show time in full force with the beginning refrain of aloha! i skip this song on the cd having heard it so many times but there’s something new and fresh about it every time they play it live because the band and audience both respond with big smiles and big bounces and everyone is caught up in the moment – from here on out the audience is captivated – totally sucked in to the experience!

the band are happy enough to play in front of just a few people but when they have the attention of a couple of hundred people up close and personal they turn into pure magic. i’m anticipating jinichiro craziness during stop>go and beckon him into the crowd and he willingly obliges and i soon get the message he wants to go upwards so i squat down and slowly lift jj up on my shoulders, i do my best to stagger and sway to the rhythm! i get a tap on the head and lower jj down and he hops off perfectly in time with the next section of the song. when the song finishes i remind jinichiro that i’m an old man!

the rest of the set maintains the high level of excitement – peaking for me with the new song (possibly titled “ichi ni san shi…”) which is rivetting in it’s typical limited express (has gone?) madness – i’m in heaven right here! talk to me, all right closes out the set with jinichiro throwing his guitar to the audience and performing his almost trademark windmill jump (it’s not like townsend, believe me!). soon the chant of ‘we want more’ is raised and limited express (has gone?) are happy to oblige for a bassless version of mophin’ fellet before finishing off band like with an ass kicking run through free style ridin’ – yukari overcome with emotions and happiness runs up to koji behind the kit and falls forward with her bass flailing and the drum are rendered unusable – this is the end – yukari, not sure what’s going on, goes off to the side and curls into a ball before being beckoned back to the stage for a final bow!

everyone is happy, the room is full of joy. my god – that was special show time all right!

it’s a couple of hours before we manage to get out – the merchandise has halved already – after two days! jj calls japan later to get more sent out! everyone is energised and it takes me an hour or so to count out all the donation coins while the others load out and make a trip back to mark’s with equipment before coming back for us.

i was astounded to find over 500 bucks in donations including a couple of 20 dollar notes! this meant we could pay the support bands a hundred bucks or more! (twitch of the death nerve donating all their share to limited express (has gone?)!)

we find some twitch friends outside trying to get their car started – we can’t help them but as we’re driving away dan appears and races up to the car, dives through the front window and shouts ‘aaallllooohhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!’ much to the amusement of us all!

when we get home mark teaches jj some classical spanish guitar – it’s great to watch mark showing jinichiro the song and see him struggle to play it (it’s pretty complex)! i give in to weariness and fall asleep happy and smiling.


pic: andrew watson

After the gig – 14th May 2005

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8pm – northcote social club, melbourne – supporting the rogers sisters and love of diagrams

despite numerous phone calls and cat’s crying we wake up well rested and enjoying the sensational sunshine as we, again, lazily head to the city and wander around cafes and stores. there’s a strange tension as i’m sure everyone is thinking about the shows tonight and how important they are.

mark takes us up to the northcote social club and we get acquainted with the setup and introduced to everyone, band members, organisers and staff. limited express (has gone?) do a quick soundcheck and make sure everything is perfect.

the merchandise table is setup and the doors open – it’s great to see a big turn out for a support band – something which has been worrying me about the rogers sisters support slots. it soon becomes obvious that everything will be fine as the band put extra effort into special showtime and the crowd love it. it’s a short fast set and everyone is happy.

the merchandise stall soon becomes very busy and remains that way through the night except when the bands are playing.

love of diagrams, despite worrying about how to follow limited express (has gone?) pull off a nice tight set – the sound in the venue is extremely good.

the rogers sisters put on a good show too and the sold out venue is packed with happy punters. the merchandise stall is still busy for limited express (has gone?) even 30 minutes after the gig has finished and we are trying to pack everything up – occassionally having to run to the car to get more cds for people! amazing!


pic: andrew watson

2am – the pony (late show), melbourne – with the new


but the night is young for us.

mark drives me and the gear to the pony while everyone else gets some food.

at the pony the japanese grind band palm are still playing their show despite it being time for the new to load in and get ready. the pony is packed with people – many who have come from the northcote to see limited express (has gone?) again and after getting all the gear up the stairs and passed all the people myself, dan (singer in twitch) and our friend darius start blowing up balloons in anticipation of extra special show time!

the new play some cool emo punk rock and enjoy themselves in the hot sweaty confines of the pony. a mad scramble to swap out gear ensues and soon people make their way to the front to see what all the fuss is about.

a quiet start with the quirky plinks and plonks of donuts as i hand out party poppers and kick around the balloons before it’s straight ahead into aloha and a set that includes a couple of new songs with yukari taking the mic stand into the crowd to sing right up close and personal. the drunken throng respond and it’s party time at the pony.

yukari finishes off with ‘thank you – i love you’ and dives headfirst into the drumkit while jj’s feedback staggers to a halt. and it’s all smiles for crowd and band. it takes us another hour or so to load out through the mob of drunks – still going at 4am! a few of us wait outside chatting with the new and sipping coffees to keep warm and stay awake.

we eventually get home and to sleep as the sun comes up.


pic: andrew watson

Conquered all – 28th November 2004

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

builders arms with grey daturas, young prfessionals, bug girl

we get very little sleep as we have to get up early to make an apperance on the japanese program on 3zzz – the host koji being a recent convert to the wonders of the special show time – the band feel very comfortable being able to talk in japanese and all goes well with many laughs.

we split up later as jj and koji go to the city to buy some bits and pieces and yukari heads up to 3cr for a radio interview on the ‘girl’ show (sorry – forgot the name of the show) with another recent convert, larissa. yukari gets to introduce limited express (has gone?) and her other band ni hao! to the listeners and does well for a solo interview in English.

we all converge back at robert’s place and fall asleep for a few hours.

we make our way to the builders arms around 7pm and pretty soon bug girl are up the front bashing out some nifty rock – the small room makes for a nice atmosphere and i have a good feeling about the show tonight (as each band plays the room fills more and more).

next is young professionals who were fantastically amateurish and entertained us all no end – my kind of music!

grey daturas crank the volume with some huge slabs of noise and big pounding beats and most everyone has their fingers in their ears but enjoying it nonetheless.

the room packs full as limited express (has gone?) set up and with a gambatte, break into a familiar start of ‘free style riding’ and ‘aloha’ which has the audience boogying with big smiles. tonight is the culmination of an exciting few days and the band excel themselves (yet again!) with a lot of guitars held high, jazzy craziness and bouncing bass players (‘4-7-3-5-8-1-0-tiger rock!’ (or something!).

the crowd refuse to let them leave after ‘talk to me, all right’ and they rip through one of their high energy, high intensity tracks from the new album with such a ferocity it’s impossible not to just laugh at the absurdity of the amount of pleasure that is being connected and interlinked between everyone in the room. even the landlady and door guy come back with favourable comments and surprise at the size of the crowd for a sunday show.

limited express (has gone?) conquered all tonight and the merchandise box is favourably lighter for the trip to new zealand. we make lots of new friends and contacts yet koji can’t overcome his shyness around pretty girls! packed up and home – the excitement keeps us up until 2am despite having to get up again at 6.30am.


yukari – “i promised myself i will come back to melbourne because so many people enjoyed with us – that was my pleasure too”
koji – “i was happy for many people coming and i could do my best. i appreciate melbourne people”
jj – “thank you melbourne! thank you melbourne’s punk rock! we are rock and roll!”

I am soundcheck! – 26th November 2004

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 3 Comments

missing link instore

we got up early in an effort to get down to lygon street for breakfast though by the time we were sorted it was lunch time anyway – still, the food was great and we relaxed a little in the 30 degree plus heat. we found the source of jj’s technical problems, so feel confident everything should go well today.

so – load out from the house, load in to missing link, setup and wait – thank god for the air conditioning in the store!

gray daturas play first and churn out some nice sludgey noise – the set is short and sweet and the crowd are digging it.

anticipation mounts as limited express take the stage and play through a more poppy set (if you can call it pop!) with a great rendition of ‘donuts’ and much jj and yukari theatrics. everything goes without hitch and the band are happy and the crowd are happy too!

everyone comments on how happy limited express (has gone?) are on stage and how infectious their smiles become. special show time!

jj – “i did a good show – but we forgot to sell t-shirts – sorry!”
yukari – “in japan we can’t have a show in a record store because they are too mainstream”
koji – “i was a little nervous because i haven’t played many instores. i am soundcheck!!

pony with ai yamamoto & kaigen and twitch of the death nerve

after much chat we finally load out and head up to the pony to load in again! straight onto stage and the band are jamming out and instrumental soundcheck while soundman nao sets up around them. twitch of the death nerve looked impressed as they brought their kit in and were really looking forward to the show.

the room filled up and ai yamamoto and kaigen beat out some laptop noise and curious hip-hopisms which sounded great to me.

a few minutes later and twitch of the death nerve cranked up the pressure some with some very impressive genre bending stop on a dime twists and turns – they were cool and super nice guys too.

there seemed a genuine curiousity about limited express (has gone?) tonight and the crowd eagerly watched and enjoyed the best show of the tour so far.

the pony is a nice intimate venue and nao managed to get a good loud sound cranking. with a little bit of space in front of the stage it was the perfect opportunity for yukari and jj to mix it up with the crowd and the response was very enthusiastic indeed.

it took us a long time to get out of there as we sold a ton of merch and the band were asked to autograph cds and have a chat with near everyone in the place! cool cool – damn cool – tonight was the shit – but i reckon it’s going to get better!

jj – “awesome! awesome people – lots of applause – we had lots of fun together – our music is best enjoyed together – band and audience. australian audience is nice.”
koji – “last night was the best show in australia so far. fucking great show! everyone was nice – i like melbourne people.”
yukari – “now i don’t remember everything because i was too excited. i was glad many people told me ‘fantastic’ and ‘great!'”


mark from twitch of the death nerve had this to say after ‘special show time’:
“bands like limited express (has gone?) are capable of making someone’s year or even changing someone’s life. seeing artists who have delved so deeply and passionately into a world of their own inspires others to fight harder for their art. it reinforces peoples belief in the things that they already know, universal truths which reside in the minds and hearts of all people who truly believe in the significance of art. it is clear that touring a band like limited express (no matter how mind blowing) is a low profit venture. the fact that someone was prepared to lose money on them warms my heart.”

Good Day! – 21st November 2004

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good day! green square hotel with terrapin, triangle, vincent over the sink, faux furs, kiosk

after getting to sleep at 4.30am it was difficult to get up at midday and we were running a bit late but still managed to be first to arrive at the show only half an hour before it started!

luckily everyone turned up soon and kiosk blasted out 15 minutes of superb sonic chaos to a small but enthralled audience.

faux furs were up next – they play a cool minimal fall-type music that made me happy – again quite chaotic and fun. i think these young bands are great – they seem to have a complete disregard for any normal rock conventions and the attitude of ‘fuck it if you don’t like it’. and then…

vincent over the sink! boy, these guys were amazing! and just their 3rd show – this two-piece take structure from ruins, sounds from indie types yummy fur and quirk out like the minutemen – bands which they’ve never even heard of!

triangle psyched us all out with distortion-drenched rhythmics and swirling acid patterns.

at this stage i went in search of the missing yukari to find her curled up asleep under a table at the side of the stage – how she slept through the noise i don’t know – but she seems to fall asleep anywhere (as did jj and koji at various stages of the day) – samurai-koala is becoming an ever more appropriate name for this tour.

terrapin, now a 5 piece, threw out a quick set of their ever-improving rock and tonight some quieter and poppier moments – very nice and jj liked them a lot.

anticipation mounted and temperatures rose as limited express took the stage and once again amazed a reasonable-sized crowd – i don’t know how they do it but they seem to be getting better each show, jj’s stage theatrics playing a bigger part tonight with yukari bouncing around as usual and eventually, during tiger rock, into the audience and with jj breaking a string yet again – that was it, to much rapturous applause and the sale of many CDs.

big thanks must go out to all the bands, especially those prepared to lend equipment and to toby who did the sound for the cost of two beers. good day? it was a fucking great day!

koji “this show had a great sound and was easy to play”

jj “i loved terrapin – i was excited”

yukari “i couldn’t see the audience faces because of the lights but i could feel their vibrations – so nice”

Fuck, that was cool! – 20th November 2004

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fbi interview with nick findlay

had to stir the band at 9am otherwise, they would’ve slept all day. after some pumpkin gnocchi breakfast koji and i played some soccer at the park while the others got ready. packed the car, dropped off the gear at the bowlers club, made a quick appearance at paint it black record store in newtown. the band are all keen to hear new australian music.

had a successful interview at fbi despite all our nerves and excitement. much kudos to nick who was very professional despite a crushed vertebrae. another quick look around red eye records and it was off to lunch and an interview for japanese newpaper info-m. the band is tired so we head up to the bowlers club where they all fall asleep on chairs as the sound guys work around them.


bowlers club with la huva, love of diagrams, youth group

just got the soundchecks finished in time – the sound guys aren’t too sure what to make of limited express (has gone?) but i know what’s coming. many introductions and friends were made with the other bands and with about 50 curious people through the door yukari, koji and jj ripped the place apart with their huge grins and bouncy theatrics.

must say many thanks to tim from la huva for coming to the rescue when jj broke a string and tim loaned his guitar for the final two songs.

so 30 minutes after the start of the samurai-koala show and there seemed to be 50 new fans all eager to talk to the band and purchase cds. yukari slept through some of la huva’s set – they were certainly different after limited express (has gone?) but had some really nice pop songs that everyone enjoyed. can’t stress enough – la huva are cool people.

had to pack up a lot of stuff and only managed to catch a few songs of love of diagrams whose music is as good as ever. we hope we can catch youth group another day.

koji “i was a little nervous because it was the first show but i enjoyed it very much”

jj “yeah – i was very nervous – we hadn’t played a show for one month until now. i was happy many people enjoyed our show”
yukari “i was so glad to see everyone’s smiling face”


maggotville show with pure evil trio and many other dj’s and bands

wow – now this place is cool – a warehouse location with a great diy feel, drunk punks and dogs running around and all. after grooving to misanthrope everyone got setup and the room started to fill – it was party time. champagne was served and the audience popped poppers (among other things i’m sure) and the balloons started flying.

with a much more intimate environment the bands grins were reflected right back at them and it was a joyous occasion for all. jj jumped straight on to the speakers and urged the audience on and surely, halfway through some drunk punks decided to join in during stop-go and even picking up the bass during tiger rock (and doing quite well at that!).

again many friends and fans were made. we all hung around to check out pure evil which all the band enjoyed for various reasons – yukari scoring a free album after smiling sweetly at pure evil’s bass player.

finally, at 2.15 am, it was time to head back for some food, some ping pong club and maybe even some sleep.

jj “the australian audience has a great reaction – i like the australian underground scene”

koji “i was a little scared of the punk crowd but they were cool”

yukari “when the guy got on stage and picked up my bass i felt it was great to have this kind of interaction and participation”

christine (new fan): “fuck that was cool!”

Live in awareness of the fact you’re alive – 22nd August 1994

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Sat here in my room, next to the train line. Reading Ginsburg’s America. The planes coming down around me threatening to pass through my window. I wonder how quickly I can move if the nose ploughs in through the fern curtains. Into my life into my room.

The trains carry on past just glimpsing in as they go. The flowers outside dance in the wind, God’s breath giving them life. And the three cats sit and laze knowing attention will come their way, sooner or later – not bothered. Waiting.

The piano begs my fingers, though they know no melody and rhythm but I’ll let them dance over the keys, tapping out my song. When the right notes hit it feels me full of majesty, happy, high on life like no drug.

I wanted to write about number 41 when I was there but destiny altered that desire and now it will have to be done with hindsight. Though hindsight is better than no sight at all I wish I was there to clearly describe to you that plain old building, fifth along in the row of twenty or so. And with the events surrounding us leaving that blackens the view, dim’s the picture – which will have to be dragged from my clouded memory anyway. I’ll go away and think about it and return to disclose my secrets.

Victims Family, Blowfly – Edwards, Birmingham, West Midlands, UK – 22nd March 1992

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VICTIMS FAMILY/BLOWFLY
Birmingham Edwards No. 6

Being a relatively short drive to Birmingham, there was plenty of time to hang around before leaving. I had a pretty bad cold, but I didn’t feel ill or anything – just coughing up loads of phlegm. Chatted with Ralph for a while about the upcoming elections in both our countries, the recession, Nicaragua and the BCCI bank. He thinks the business with the BCCI and the recession are interlinked, and it’s quite possible he’s right.

After saying our goodbyes, we took off down the M6 to the sounds of Urban Dance Squad, which was pretty good. Once we got into Birmingham, we were half expecting to be looking for the venue for a couple of hours, but by some stroke of luck, the band recognised where they were and it was right outside the place!

It was still quite early, and the place wasn’t open yet, so we checked out Birmingham for some food. It was nice and quiet as it was Sunday, and I actually thought it was an ok place, though it looks worse as you’re driving in. Most places were closed but we tracked down a Pizzaland and munched out. Larry had some kind of pasta in sauce, which also came with some nice, sharp pieces of plastic!

We went back to the van and waited around for a while. We’d heard throughout the whole tour that this gig may not go ahead and were contemplating buggering off. However, much to my surprise, the place opened up at six. The club is really nice and had lots of lights and stage equipment etc. A bit of a bummer was having to heave the gear up two flights of stairs, though it got done quickly with four of us doing it (Ralph had disappeared off somewhere just at the right time!).

I met a chap, Alan, who I’d seen in Wigan, who’d travelled down for this show. He was practising his four-ball juggling when I spotted him. I wasn’t sure where I’d be staying that night, as the band thought they might head back to Leamington Spa. Alan also wasn’t sure where he was staying, and due to poor advertising of the show, there weren’t many people there to ask – about 40 at the most!

Anyway, Blowfly were the support band and they were ok, though they could do with a bit more practise. I felt a whole lot better after a couple of lagers (at the extortionate price of £2 a pint) and prepared myself for the Victims Family final UK show. Even though it was sparsely attended, I thought they fuckin’ ripped! Maybe they just relaxed as there weren’t many people there, though Ralph commented later that he didn’t feel at all relaxed (hm!).

They played pretty much the same set as the night before, and 3 or 4 of us cheered them back for more, to which they gave us ‘Sinatra’ and finished with three goes at ‘Stupid’ (a token thrash song off ‘ Things I Hate To Admit’).

Lo and behold, in the audience was that man Nick Evans (now of Alternative Tentacles) who’d come up from London. I found that the band were going to stay with him that night and wondered about a place to stay.

As Alan and I were chatting to Ralph, a couple of locals joined us and we managed to blag a place to stay with them. We took some final photos in the backstage room and headed outside, where the gear was being loaded up. Alan bought the only cassette in the UK of the new LP ‘Germ’ – only on vinyl and CD over here. Ralph told me his final thoughts on the tour, but due to alcohol consumption, I didn’t recall precisely what was said, except that they considered it successful and really enjoyed themselves.

I wished everyone good luck with the rest of the tour, and hoped to catch them on their last date, a festival in Amsterdam. That sure would be good, but finance may dictate otherwise. After bidding everyone a fond farewell, Alan and I headed off to the bus station. Halfway down the road, all the band shouted out “Hey, hey dude…later!” (which some of you may recognise from the White Bread Blues’ LP).

The place we were staying was out of town a bit and we had to catch a bus there (unfortunately, we couldn’t get a lift with the people we were staying with). We then had to find the house and throw stones at the upper right-hand window.
It all sounded a bit dodgy to me, but I was too drunk to care by now! We found the place ok and were welcomed into the flat to the sounds of Jethro Tull (Wow, have I heard some different styles of music on the tour!).

The two people (John & Gita) were extremely nice people. I think Ghita was a small-time celebrity with her multi-pierced ears and 3 chains to a nose ring, red, green and yellow hair and tattoos – a particularly cool Celtic design on her head and a smart pattern on her wrist. I think they liked my Circle Jerks tattoo too! We talked about all sorts of stuff from music to religion, and finally went to sleep to the sound of the Violent Femmes LP.