How I didn't sleep with the lead singer of Mindless Self Indulgence or any other famous rock singer for that matter...

Punk Spring was TEH SHIT!!!

Hightailed it to the big O Friday evening, checked into Lion’s Rock as per usual, so conveniently located 5 minutes from Rock Rock. Dressed up and went out, taking Rebecca with, hoping to run into some famous people. Luck was not so much on my side that night, but at least the music was good and so was the crowd. We grabbed a drink and a small spot on one of the counters at the back, attempted chatting while standing between two huge speakers… not the best plan in the world. Also took to observing the kids next to us, a pair of Japanese boys who, I swear, looked like they were my middle schoolers’ age.

The night wore on and the cigarette smoke drove Rebecca out while I sucked it up and stayed, heading for the dancefloor. The kids, who had as much energy as 12 years old on a sugar rush, followed me. Well, one of ‘em did. We ended up in a cluster of people, jumping up and down, prancing around and airguitaring like there was no tomorrow. Finally, feeling high on a mix of music and endorphins and feeling like breaking the law, I grabbed Junior by the neck and asked him if he drank. He told me yes, so I went to buy him and myself a drink.

We yelled in each other’s ears a bit. His English was all kinds of awesome, and he was really cool to hang out with. Unfortunately, all too soon, his buddy came to get him and they left. Hadn’t it been Friday night, I would have thought it was not to be too dead for school the next day. Also I realized, with some measure of disappointment, that I had forgotten to ask him for an e-mail or number. The music made me forget all about that soon enough though. Chance encounter, was fun, good times, oooh that’s my song!!!

I dragged myself back to the hotel, sweaty and gross at around 3h30 am. Felt so grimy that despite the late hour, I decided to take a much needed shower. But I felt that washing my hair could wait until the next day.

Groggily woke up that morning and soon enough Rebecca and her Mom came knocking. After quickly getting ready, washing my hair and all, we headed to Starbucks for breakfast. During that time, I also got texts from Hiromi and Ness, working out the kinks in our plans for later in the day.

Went to Mexican (again, I <3 that place) for lunch before meeting up with Hiromi at the hotel to put her luggage in my room. She had just been to the Nagoya show the day before, was coming to Osaka and then heading to Tokyo to see the show again the next day, following Madina Lake like the devoted fangirl she was.

We headed to the venue under the rainy sky with our borrowed umbrellas, met up with Mayu at CosmoSquare Station and headed to Zepp. Surprisingly, there was almost no one there! It didn’t take 5 minutes and we were in, fucking front row, middle left, and waiting for our show to start.

PunkSpring was a show of 6 bands, Marky Ramone (the original drummer from The Ramones), Oreskaband, (an all-girl Japanese ska band), Madina Lake (the ones I had come to see because they fucking rock), Mindless Self Indulgence (that I had heard of but didn’t know any of their music) and finally, Less than Jake (popular ska band that I had also heard of but never seen).

Marky Ramone was a good opener. The guitarist was right in front of me and for a guy over 50, damn he had energy! Put the singer (who couldn’t have been older than 30 something) to shame. Overall a good act, though to me, a lot of the songs sounded kinda the same. I still held my hand out at the end when Marky Ramone himself came to throw his drunksticks into the crowd… and HANDED ONE RIGHT TO ME (or to the guy behind me, but I’m the one who got it in the end. The guy got a guitar pic.)

And just then, as I’m admiring my shiny new drumstick, guess who tapped me on the shoulder going “Didn’t I meet you at RockRock yesterday?” Junior! My little guy!!! We talked for a bit before the next set started, he told me he was here for Less than Jake and that he’d be at RockRock later on that night! Saweet!

Oreskaband was a nice surprise, really genki and entertaining. However, I always find it hard, no matter how good, to appreciate a band playing right before a band that I really really want to see. But if I ever get the chance to see them again, I most assuredly will. And then, as they finished, came Madina Lake.

I’m sad to say that the sound for the first two songs was not what it should have been. Not their fault, but it still sucks and takes away from the show. However, the boys were on fire as is their habit. Nathan talked to the fans more than any other band up until then, saying his thanks and how cool it was for us to have come out and see them, the fans cheering every time he uttered “Arigato, domo arigato!”. Their songs were solid, the energy was there, only the sucky sound screwed things up a bit, but by the time they show ended, everything was right as rain and my voice was hoarse from screaming along to every song I knew. They finished with True Love, my personal favorite, and by that time I felt like I had been hit by a bus. Or several.

We were supposed to head back after Madina Lake, but Hiromi had heard of Mindless Self Indulgence and wanted to see their set. I excused myself to go to the bathroom, buy merch, get a drink and came back to my spot, right on time for their performance to begin… and god was I glad Hiromi insisted we stay.

Mindless Self Indulgence… fucking blew me away! Whereas Madina Lake are excellent performers, MSI are excellent entertainers. The music, though great, seemed almost an excuse for them to pull the craziest shit on stage. Their stage antics were quite amusing, and I suddenly found myself falling head over heels for yet another “I’m a rock star therefore I’m the shit, watch me strut on stage and do a striptease” lead singer. So yeah, they were…gah, words fail me. They fucking rocked.

We left before Less than Jake came on, and by that time I was positively dead. Was quite dead by the time Madina Lake was through, but luckily got a second wind as MSI came on (or rather, when I saw how much they rocked). But now, I was just BLERGH. Ready to drop. Still managed to go buy MSI’s CD and got Steve, the crazy guitarist to autograph it.

We made it back to the hotel, I showered and washed my hair again while Hiromi and Mayu chilled in my room, and soon enough Nessa came to join them. Another Japanese friend of Hiromi joined us a bit later, and we ate chips and drank coffee before splitting up, Hiromi and her friend taking their bus to Tokyo, Mayu Ness and I heading to RockRock.

The place wasn’t packed and that was a good thing I thought. To my disappointment, there was no Madina Lake in sight. But, as I had overheard at Zepp, Mindless Self Indulgence were indeed present and busy mingling. I pointed them out to Nessa, who hadn’t been at the show, as we got ourselves drinks. We managed to move a bit further in, finding a table near the back, where we chilled quietly while I furtively glanced at the musicians walking around. And soon enough, we were immersed in conversation with Jimmy, the lead signer. How the hell did that happen… I can’t quite recall as my brain was busy drowning in hormones and alcohol.

He was a nice guy. A really nice guy, fun to talk to and interesting. Rockstar or not. I surprised myself by actually being able to carry a bit of conversation with him, without turning bright red and stuttering as soon as he came within a 3 foot radius, what usually happens when I meet famous people. He was awesome.

The evening was pretty much a repeat of the night before, made even more awesome by the fact that we were hanging with a really cool bunch of musicians. As promised, Junior was there, and while MSI’s lead singer was busy flirting with Vanessa, she pointed out that Junior seemed to really like me and I proposed we trade men, since she was finding him real cute. And while I also do find him real cute, he really looked too much like a kid for me to feel “attracted” to him.

Also ended up talking with Aaron, the drum tech for MSI, who was really cool and talked to me about life on tour and such. I gave him my facebook, and also had the bright idea of writing it out another time and handing it to Junior, at his (drunken) request.

The band left quite early, but with another show to play the next day, that was understandable. And then, the most pleasant thing happened. Jimmy, who had been mingling closer to the exit door, came all the way back into the club, kissed Mayu, Nessa and me on the cheeks and stated that it had been a pleasure to meet us and that he hoped to see us again someday. A small gesture, but damn if that wasn’t the highlight of my night.

So what I have been doing since I came back yesterday? Adding MSI on pretty much all the websites on which I lurk and flooding their walls with comments. And if it wasn’t for the fact that I’m at school, therefore ipodless, I would certainly be listening to their music as well.

Verdict: This weekend was TEH SHIT!!!!


Quote of the weekend
Ness (referring to Junior): “You know… the more I drink, the cuter he gets. …Val, I think I’m a pedophile.”