As we mentioned, Masashi Imanishi had earlier announced on his blog a followup to this year’s Japan Shoegazer Festival ’13. This announcement, not surprisingly, coincided with the news that My Bloody Valentine would be returning for a second stint in Japan at this year’s Tokyo Rocks Festival. That event was shortly thereafter canceled, but we still get to look forward to what should be two more excellent nights showcasing Japan’s shoegaze scene. With the Tokyo leg of the event coming this weekend and the Osaka show to follow two weeks later, there is a lot to be excited about.
Koenji HIGH will play host to yet another shoegaze event in Tokyo. The first show will be a one-man show with Lemon’s Chair, with special guests The Sodom Project (who featured on this year’s Yellow Loveless tribute album) and Musu Bore (participants in this year’s Osaka show). Though the lineup is not as stacked as the earlier Tokyo show, those in attendance will receive a special present; a 4-track CD (we’re not entirely sure as the packaging is actually DVD-sized, but we presume it’s a CD) featuring two Lemon’s Chair tracks and one apiece from Musu Bore and The Sodom Project. Of the Lemon’s Chair songs, one is a demo titled “The End” and the other a cover of the Cure’s “The Only One.” It’s a pretty neat show of appreciation for the loyal shoegazers who are certainly looking forward to this follow up event.
Back to Kita-horie’s Club Vijon we go for the Osaka leg of this event on May 18th. This lineup is absolutely stacked. In addition to Lemon’s Chair, which is always a treat, this card boasts two great bands who have recently put out fantastic new albums in the last couple months: Shelling and Sugardrop. Add to that Hiroshima shoegaze giants Speaker Gain Teardrop and some of my personal favorites in Ether Feels, Euphrates and Silica Gel and this show is something to be legitimately excited about. The not-so-shoegaze-but-still-awesome ASTRO ATTACK will also be playing and the event is rounded up with moonlight, Doyoubi to Jinchou to Coffee and Akushumi. I was in attendance at the earlier Osaka Shoegazer Festival this year and I certainly have no intention of missing this one.