One Year On

Yesterday (12 July) AZNPopCulture turned one year old. So I'd just like to say a big thanks to everyone who has visited and read any of the content here. Big thanks to all who have commented on anything and shared on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.

This week also saw the highest number of page views I've ever had, with the majority of visitors viewing the VAMPS live at Download Festival page, and also the recent BABYMETAL London Forum gig review. I hadn't realised how popular VAMPS were, but that post is now the most viewed page so far, with the BABYMETAL post being the third most viewed in just a few days! So thanks to everyone who has read them and shared them.

Incidentally, yesterday was also a birthday for Crayon Pop twin sisters ChoA and Way. So happy birthday to them!

Anyway, please do continue to come back; I really do appreciate it. Please comment on anything you find interesting; it's always interesting to hear others' opinions, and any ideas or suggestions you might have are welcome, so if you do have any, please message me using the contact page.

Thanks again!

BABYMETAL, World Tour 2014, Live At The Forum, London, UK

Edit: Since the release of this performance on CD, DVD and Blu-Ray, some of the videos have been blocked. Please support them by purchasing their music. Links below.

BABYMETAL were in the UK this past weekend promoting their self-titled debut album, as part of their first world tour, with a short set at Sonisphere festival on the Saturday, followed by their own show at The Forum in London on Monday 7th July.

The concert was originally scheduled to take place at The Electric Ballroom, and I was lucky enough to purchase a ticket before they sold out the same day they went on sale! Then, due to the high demand, it was decided that the concert would be moved to The Forum, which is more than double The Electric Ballroom's 1100 capacity. So, luckily for some of those who missed out on the initial run of tickets, another 1250 or so extra became available.

Early afternoon on the day of the gig, I met with a friend, who had had a job interview in the vicinity of the venue. He told me that he had already seen people queuing up for The Forum at around midday! I've read elsewhere, that some fans had even started queuing at 6am! By the time my friends and I got to The Forum, the queue was already snaking around several blocks, and took a while for us to reach the end of it to begin our wait to get in. Someone uploaded a video on YouTube of the queue; check it out below!



By the time we entered the building, it was already heaving with BABYMETAL fans of all ages, from young teenagers to middle aged men. We got ourselves a drink each, and then I decided to purchase two BABYMETAL t-shirts. We then made our way as far forward as we could, in order to get a decent view of the show.

Marty Friedman - Live at Queen's Hall, Nuneaton, England

Marty Friedman, one-time guitarist for thrash band Megadeth, came to the UK for two live dates; I managed to get to the Nuneaton gig on the 22nd May.

So why am I writing about an American guitarist in a blog about Asian culture? While obviously not an Asian artist, Marty Friedman now lives and works in Japan, and has done so for many years now. He is fluent in speaking Japanese, has made and appeared on several Japanese TV shows, and has performed on records of a number of Japanese artists' music, such as Suzuki Ami, and Nanase Aikawa. He is also married to a Japanese cellist.


I first heard about Marty working in Japan when I saw clips of his TV show "Rock Fujiyama" on YouTube. He, along with singer/guitarist of 90's Japanese rock band Scanch, invited famous musicians onto the show to play music-based games, and talk about rock music. The show was a lot of fun, with some great guests, including one of my favourite guitarists, Paul Gilbert, and there was also a lot of guitar playing on the show too, which for me was what made the show so great. I've since managed to see all the episodes, and ever since then, I've followed Marty's career more closely than before. So it was great to find out he'd be on tour not only here in the UK, but actually playing a venue not too far from where I live. Often, musicians of his calibre only play in London, which can be a bit of a pain to get to sometimes.

Another reason for his inclusion here is that in Marty's band, the other guitarist is Takayoshi Ohmura, who I believe is considered a bit of a "guitar god" in Japan. I thought I had never heard Ohmura before, but it turns out I had! He is also one of the guitarists in BABYMETAL's backing band Kami Band, who I'll be going down to London to see live next month. He was sporting one of their t-shirts that night too.

BABYMETAL To Make UK Debut At Sonisphere Music Festival 2014

Sonisphere Music Festival have confirmed that Japanese idol girl group BABYMETAL will be making their UK debut, performing a set in the Bohemia tent on Sunday 6th July 2014.

Edit: Their scheduled performance has now changed, and they'll be playing the Main Stage on Saturday 5th July 2014.

Eldest band member SU-METAL (sixteen year old Suzuka Nakamoto) said:

“I am so honored that we are confirmed to play Sonisphere Festival UK,”

She continued:

“There are so many different types of artists playing this festival but I hope to deliver a one and only, unique style metal –BABYMETAL – even to those who will see us for the very first time. This will be our very first time in the UK, which makes us nervous, yet excited just imagining what type of people will come and see us, what sort of show it will end up being, and whether the audience will enjoy our show. We’ll hopefully get to see Metallica-san’s performance again after witnessing them at Summer Sonic festival in Japan which we are very excited about.”

You can BUY TICKETS from the Sonisphere website. The festival is headlined by The Prodigy, Iron Maiden and Metallica.

***

Formed in 2010, BABYMETAL started out as a subunit of the idol group Sakura Gakuin, releasing their first video in 2011 "Doki Doki☆Morning". They described themselves as Kawaii Metal.

Doki Doki☆Morning (ド・キ・ド・キ☆モーニング)