Yesterday one of my favourite hang outs in Koenji The Clurakan Irish Pub http://theirishrover.info.pub.html held a charity event DON’T GIVE UP TOHOKU which although we had torrential rain for most of the day still managed to attract quite a large turn out
It was scheduled to kick off at 6pm with youthful guitarist vocalist Daiki Hayakata He played beautifully & his singing was very relaxing He received a splendid round of applause after each of his songs & I’m sure we’ll hear a lot more of him in future
http://www.myspace.com/daiki-hayakata
Then came the group My Triangle Man which consisted of two guitarists who demonstrated their impressive instrumental ability
At this time there was an address by a married couple who had visited Miyagi as volunteers during Golden Week & talked about their trying but worthwhile experience Soon after another Japanese women reiterated their comments
Next was a Slow Jam (R&B Soul cross) with animated percussionist Raigen Nomura leading a guitarist & a very gifted alto saxophonist who had the pub applauding throughout their performance At one point a female vocalist joined them and in a melodious soulful voice she had us swinging in time to her rendition It was really great
The last group Sipa Baled Clone which was fronted by a vocalist guitarist with the support of a manipulator cho- the usual third & fourth members a bass cho & a drummer were not in attendance These guys were exceptionally good & had a somewhat large following in the audience & I soon understood why The vocalist has such an amazing range & they acted like seasoned performers They were the last group & were therefore cheered on to provide us with an encore which they did willingly If Sip Baled Clone appear near you I recommend that you get along to see them
http://cacuu.jp/artist/sipa.html
I was disappointed when the show came to an end at about 10pm & was so happy that a few of my Smith’s School of English Koenji students witnessed this really rollicking night with me
Of course a visit to an Irish pub would not be complete without a pint of Guinness and/or Kilkenny with fish & chips-which by the way are the best I’ve ever tasted in Japan
Three of us soon moved off to our second drinking spot BanKan a boutique draught beer restaurant/bar, which has beers from 17 different locations throughtout Japan, where we had just one beer with some sausages & a tomato based stew with crisp bread We called it a night at about 11:15
http://www.ban-kan.com
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