It’s hot in Tokyo! We’re heading into the scorching Obon season—and we’re all set here at Decoboco!
Today I headed to Shibuya AX to catch Benji, aka Kenichi Asai, for the first time in ages.
It’s been a while since I’ve been to a proper live show, so I was pretty nervous.
Takuma and I arrived on the two-wheeler in the rain.
It was a tag-team format with four artists, and I figured Benji would obviously be the closer, but…
1. Miki Furkawa 2. 8 (otto) 3. Teruru 4. Kenichi Asai
I missed the start of number one, which was a shame! Miki Furkawa is actually really good—she brought this crystalline quality that reminded me of Supercar,
and I was moved by that whole world she created. Really good!
Next up was number two, “8”! The intro alone gave me chills. The guitar and bass were both incredibly tight, and the balance across everything was perfect!
And here’s something unusual—the drummer was also the vocalist! I’d never seen that before!
And that vocalist’s voice was really lovely and memorable. They seem to be based mostly in Osaka,
so I definitely want to catch them again, and I’ve decided I’m buying their CD for sure.
Number three kind of got lost in the mix with these other artists—which is a shame, because they’re not bad at all. But to borrow someone else’s words,
there was an undeniable “oldies” and “cheesy” vibe to it.
In the context of tonight’s crowd, it landed in a pretty different world.
Number four! The closer was Benji, aka Kenichi Asai! How long has it been since I’ve seen Benji?
This was Benji’s first solo outing, so I was a mix of excited and nervous. Takuma and I squeezed our way up to the front-center area
to see what was what.
It was amazing! He mixed in Blankey Jet City songs too, and I was bouncing up and down the whole time, sweating buckets like I hadn’t in ages.
On the way out I forgot to buy a t-shirt, so I waited for Takuma, but he’d already grabbed a cute “8” t-shirt
—though they only had size S, so oh well!
Man, Benji’s whole world really is something! Morbidly brilliant! Pure ear candy!
Next month I’m hitting up Zepp Tokyo’s blacklist—that’s Chiba and Q-chan!!
This time I’m definitely buying a t-shirt!
I really want to catch Benji at the outdoor venue too!
