OFF: Gong in Tokyo

[Christopher Bruce]

Dave Greenhalgh wrote:
>
> Hi list,
>
> Excuse the mistakes in this, typing in a straight line is
> not my strong suit this morning.
>
> Not  sure what I was expecting from the Japanese incarnation
> of the Global Family.  What we got was good, though.  The
> gig started at the inhumanly early time of 6pm at Shibuya's
> On Air West, a venue which is little larger than a good
> sized pub hidden away behind a Sushi bar in Shibuya's Love
> Hotel district.  In keeping with a Gong show the waiting
> audience was eclectic to say the least.  Businessmen in
> suits along side the brightest coloured, longest hair this
> side of Glasters.  And, of course,  my challenge.  Would
> Manami the Morrissey fan be converted by the end?
>
> Set one was provided by The Canterbury Family which for
> tonight was Hugh Hopper, Chris Cutler and David Allen.  This
> was a semi improv'd set based around a number of Allen's
> 80's and 90's compositions.  Don't expect a set-list here,
> the Kirin was doing its stuff and I can barely even read the
> names on my scrap of paper, never mind the song titles.  The
> trio were joined half way through the set by Mark Hewmin (If
> that's how it's spelt), a local based synthesist whose name
> I didn't catch and a trio of J-Pop songstresses called the
> Ex-Girls.  All together they produced an hour of soaring
> atmospheres and madness that thoroughly pleased those
> members of the audience who had believed Tokyo Classified's
> description of Gong as "the british Grateful Dead" and left
> bemused the ones who had arrived on the strength of DJ
> Takayoshi being the support.
>
> Half an hour later and it's time for part 2.  Things get
> blurry from here.  The second set was from Goddess T with
> Gilli and the band joined by Mark Hewmin, David Allen and
> the Ex-Girls.  This was, without any doubt at all, the best
> Trance set I have ever seen. Gilli's ululations fitted
> perfectly with the harsher J-Pop sound of the Ex-Girls and
> Allen's gliss guitar provided a superbly ethereal backdrop
> to Orlando and (Sorry, forgotten/can't read the name) mix
> of  loops, live drums and live bass.  There was a good
> thread on the merits of sequence based Trance on this list a
> while ago, all I can say is that this was how it should be
> done.  This time it was the turn of the GD-ers to look
> bemused.  Much dancing and much beer were indulged in and
> the Ommriff was heard.  Mind you it didn't sound very happy
> on top of a 140bpm 4 on the floor beat,  but once it got
> used to the idea it flew.
>
> Not "Classic Gong", so after over two decades of musical
> sentience I _still_ haven't caught that act, nevertheless, a
> bloody good night, and to my never ending surprise, a
> Morrissey fan was converted to Canterbury Gong.
>
> --
> Dave Greenhalgh
>
> ICQ#33513470


And its high time!
ChrisB