Yamaguchi

After looking round the Peace Museum in Hiroshima we headed straight for Yamaguchi for a dinner date with Little Phrase, the headline band we played with the following night. Taka(guitars/keys/vocals) and Tatsuya (drums) took us to a tiny restaurant that was more like someone's flat, up a fire escape off the main streets of town. One benefit of touring is definitely being invited out of the tourist traps! The restaurant specialised in organic food and beer, and it became clear why Little Phrase were regulars - the walls were lined with rows and rows of CDs (including Little Phrase's own album on display on the counter) and the owner happily played us recommendations throughout the night. Broken conversations about the universal nature of music, of Little Phrase's influences in Western bands (and hence their decision to sing in English themselves) were the theme of the evening.

The following day we met up with Taka and Tatsuya again at Yamaguchi University, who had managed to blag us a slot in their practice rooms. This was the first of our collaboration attempts with Fumi, a reworking of our song 'Imprint'. The session was sadly dogged by technological issues, but was nevertheless fruitful helping us clarify the sound we were aiming for, and the steps needed to get there. We then rushed to lunch and then to soundcheck.

The intimate Organ's Melody in Yamaguchi

The venue itself, Organ's Melody, was the smallest venue we played at on the tour; according to Taka, it is also the only music venue in Yamaguchi. What it lacked in size, it made up for in character - lanterns hanging from the ceiling and carpets lining the walls. Even by the time the first band came on the place was fairly full, and by the time we came on the place was packed. We took to the stage after a rather confusing (but enjoyable) act which involved dancing, spoken word passages, a drum machine, and a man wearing a lampshade on his head.

Would you like to see more lampshade wearing at TIMNS shows? Please send all comments/suggestions to normal.state.band@gmail.com

Despite worries that our music might have been 'too large' for the venue(!) we had a good response, and then eagerly awaited Little Phrase's set. Their music, a combination of post-rock/ambient elements with an indie rock attitude, translated well live. The indie side was provided by Taka, looking like he was born on the stage, and Tatsuya, thrashing the drums with gusto. This was contrasted by Taka's brother Tosh (guitar/vocals) and bassist Fumitaka's more laid back presence; they provided beautifulswirling guitar drones and imaginative basslines to complete the sound.

Tosh and Fumitaka of Little Phrase

Action Shot

After the gig we headed to a nearby restaurant for another round of shared plates of food similar to our experience after the Kokura gig, as well as beers for the majority and calpis (a freshing, milky soft drink) for the designated drivers. Sadly, we had to leave early - an 8 hour slog to Kyoto in order to arrive for our soundcheck at 2pm awaited us the next morning.