Of course, when I saw the concert line-up for the semester, it was impossible to resist. Now I know, concerts happen all the time in every city in America. And I know, American bands play them. But this is different. I rationalized that seeing a concert in Tokyo would be a great and new experience. It was really an excuse to see a legendary band that I will probably never get to see live again, and one of my favorite bands of all time. Turns out, the first concert was worth every penny...and not because of the band.
I bought tickets for Rage Against the Machine (on 2/10) and Foo Fighters (on 4/13) just because I wanted to see them. Who knows how long Rage will stay together touring, and if there is one place in the entire world you should see the Foo Fighters play, it's in Tokyo - where they have a HUGE following.
Anyway, for those of you who don't know, RATM was once the most relevant - and dangerous - rock band of the mid-late 1990's and early 2000's. Lead singer Zack de la Rocha has kept the band in the media by taking stands against corporate America, and oppression around the world. I can't say I agree with all of their views, or their methods...but I do respect them...and I do love their music.
Turns out, the Japanese do too. But I'll get to that in a second.
First, let's talk about this venue. Makuhari Messe integrates the International Exhibition Hall, International Conference Hall, and the Makuhari Event Hall on a sprawling 210,000 square meters of land to form one of the most well-known convention facilities in Japan. With an ideal location just between the heart of Tokyo and Narita International Airport, and a parking area with a capacity of 6,000 vehicles, getting to Makuhari is remarkably convenient.
The Hall set aside for this concert was 54,000 m2 and, like the show the night before, was sold out. I don't know the number of people in attendance, but that is a huge venue...and it was packed like a subway during rush hour.
But here's the part of the story where it differs from an American concert: order. Before we got there, I was telling the guys I went with about an article I read talking about the Japanese, and their behavior. In everyday life, they get no release. Their lives are so formal, quiet, and structured, that they essentially become, well...not Americans. But the article went on to say that when they are placed in a situation where it is socially acceptable to release, they do...and much moreso than anything we could relate to.
However, entering the convention center, going through the coat check, buying our souvenier t-shirts, and finding our place in the crowd we such painless...and quiet...processes, that no one really believed it. In fact, we almost thought it was going to be a dull show because of it.
When you enter the complex, you get a feel for how many people are going to be there...and how big this place is. In the first door, you enter on the 5th floor of what looks like a huge airplane hanger. They have dozens of shelves stocked with trash bags filled with peoples coats…we just entered the world’s largest coat check. But instead of people fighting for position, and employees hating every last one of them, there was a patient calm. Everything ran so smoothly it was scary.
… but not as scary as the line to buy merchandise. Imagine 6,000 concert-goers at a Rage Against the Machine show. Now imagine them waiting in a line that zig-zagged across a massive hanger like the world’s worst line for a ride at Disneyworld. In my mind, that’s a scenario for a riot to start. Here, it was like people were waiting in line to check out books from the public library. You had people (guys and girls) dressed in every kind of crazy outfit (from mechanic’s overalls and metal studs, to 80’s neon track suits…from leatherheads, to punks, to Goths, to hipsters…and everything in between) just waiting in line and moving forward. What’s even stranger than that (and the ridiculous level of quiet for that many people) was how fast the line moved. I was fully prepared to stand there for 3 hours…but it took less than half an hour. I still haven’t figured it out. Shirts were selling for Y4,000 and sweatshirts for Y9,000 (in addition to the Y9,000 ticket price – for your own information, Y1,000 is equal to about $10.00), and they were out of my size…so I passed and promised to pick one up at the Foo Fighters show.
Then, after that we head into the main auditorium…or the real “world’s largest airplane hanger”. They had two giant jumbtrons on either side of the stage, and about 14,000 speakers. Pretty much exactly what I expected from a Japanese concert. The place was big, but they separated the audience by section. It was all ground-level standing, but they had about 7 different “pens” set up with temporary barricades that kept everyone in their place. But since everyone was just standing, perfectly still, I didn’t think that would be a problem.
There was no opening act, so while the roadies finished setting up, we were treated with some NWA (sidenote: hardcore gangsta rap is the default music in Tokyo. It is played in restaurants, elevators, and anywhere else you’d usually expect to find Kenny G and Rod Stewart).
The lights went down, and for a second, the place erupted. It actually hurt my ears for the 3 seconds it lasted. But then, something really strange happened. All the stage lights turned red. And from the speakers came what sounded to me at the time like the music you would hear in a Soviet propaganda film (or like the kind played when Drago is introduced in Rocky IV). I didn’t get the connection Tokyoites at a RATM concert would have with the USSR, but I got chills when thousands of Japanese went dead silent and raised a single fist.
Turns out, here’s what was going on….
There is an underground segment of the population (sort of what I imagine the Black Panthers were like) that resents the current Westernized government for surrendering to the U.S. to end WWII. The music being played was the Imperial March of old-Japan. One of their biggest issues is that the U.S. forced Japan to restructure it’s written language (eliminating some ancient Meiji-era symbols that duplicated others). I don’t know if I’d call their current system (3 groups of letters: Kanji, Katakana, and Hiragana – numbering well over 3,000 characters) a restructuring, but it left a bad taste in a few mouths…among other things.
What’s even crazier is that, after hearing the background on this, I saw them the next day. This organization drives through the city in huge charter busses adorned with the ancient characters that read, loosely translated, “Get Out Foreigners”, while blaring the same Imperial March from PA systems on their roofs. It was the most disconcerted I’d been in over a month in Japan.
…So, after that ridiculous start, the lights got killed again, and Tom Morrello (or, as more than a few fans shouted, “Tom-me More-ey-leo”) laid into the intro. of the first song.
Never in my life have I seen a crowd turn on energy like a light switch. It went from dead silent one second, to a tidal wave of people pushing forward, screaming and cheering the next. Halfway through the first song, I didn’t know if I’d actually survive a 2-hour concert. It got to the point that it was so tightly packed, and there was such a push forward that when the crowd jumped, I didn’t have to. I was literally picked up off the ground in unison with everyone else. The temperature on the floor must have been at least 95 degrees…and everyone was dripping with sweat. They knew every word to every song…and didn’t quit the entire 1.5 hours that Rage, well, raged.
The band took a break halfway through to switch guitars for a track…and once they stopped, so did the crowd. All I could hear for the next 3 minutes were my ears ringing because everyone (tens of thousands) just stood there in silence, wondering if the show was over…
Zack came back to the mic and said, “Arrigatoo Gozaimas” (thank you), and “we’re not done yet…” to a huge ovation.
Then, like before, Tom laid into another ridiculous solo…and the crowd exploded again.
Here’s the set list:
1.Guerrilla Radio
2.People Of The Sun
3.Bombtrack
4.Testify
5.Vietnow
6.Bullet In The Head
7.Down Rodeo
8.Bulls On Parade
9.Tire Me
10.Know Your Enemy
11.Sleep Now In The Fire
12.War Within A Breath
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13.Freedom
14.Killing In The Name
....and when the show ended, a voice recording played in Japanese asking everyone to leave...and they did. They flipped the switch off and went back to being Japanese. It was quiet, and everyone exited immediately, and orderly. Like they were at a movie, and it just ended.
I've still never seen anything like it, and it might just go down as my best memory...at least until the Foo Fighters come in April...
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