023 Two Nights In Tokyo

The fourth in our series of five memorable Hey Mercedes moments takes place in early 2002. Sadly, the story begins with the departure of one member and the very frantic search for a replacement... with a passport. We had 15 shows already booked and two of them were in Japan! So I called up my old high school pal and occasional bandmate Sean O’Brien, and asked him what his plans were for March. His schedule was open. I then asked if he had a passport. He said no. I responded, in true game show host fashion, “you better fucking get one fast cause you’re going to Japan!” Cue the balloons and the streamers! Woohoo! Over the span of 3 weeks, we learned all of the songs in my kitchen, practiced with the boys in Milwaukee, and hit the road.



How did this happen? Well, out of nowhere, a promoter from Japan sent us an email saying he was a big fan and that he’d pay for our tickets to come to Tokyo and play his fest. How could we refuse? I wish i could remember more about the first show. It was a small headlining affair at Shibuya Nest with two really great bands: Creaks and Come Back My Daughters.



It was night number two that i won’t forget. The festival was literally across the street and was an all night affair. And i mean that quite literally. The first band started around 3 or 4 pm. Our set time was 2 am, immediately after Album Leaf & Tristeza... and there were 2 bands playing after us! The place was packed and as I shimmied my way through the hallway to the backstage, i noticed a good deal of people actually sleeping against the wall. Hmm. An indie rock sleepover... We hit the stage right on time and thank goodness for the all day nap or else we would have been zombies up there. The show was incredible and it was now time to hit the Sapporo. Todd & Damon decided to head back to the hotel, but Sean and I stayed. Backstage was abuzz with drinks and chatter and I remember thinking to myself how excited I was that Sean could come along for this. I then realized that it was almost 5 am, even though the darkened theater hid all natural light.



Just then, Jimmy from Album Leaf busted into our room and said “holy shit, you have to see what is going on onstage right now!” We all filed out, mad with curiosity. This was my introduction to 54-71. I’ve tried to describe this many times and i’ll try again, but you really should just try and check it out for yourselves... The huge stage was empty except for the four members. The drummer was stage far right facing the middle of the stage. The bass player was in the back where the drums usually are. His amp was right next to him but he was facing backwards and had a mic for backups. The guitar player was stage far left sorta facing the crowd and then the singer creeped around the front of the stage dressed in what appeared to be some kind of ceremonial robe. He also did what you could loosely describe as interpretive dance... Ok, i have set the scene, now the music... I could say this. Imagine if Shellac turned off the distortion and Steve Albini decided to sing a little more hip-hop. Yeah I could say that... or i could just post mp3’s tomorrow! Uh oh! I know, you can’t wait. Neither can I.

And as 54-71 left the stage, the place begin to empty out, and Sean and I, drunk as ever, stumbled out into the... morning sunshine. It was 6 am.

Thanks Sean for the pix!



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I started reading The Da Vinci Code. The first word of the prologue is "renowned." I'm on page 163. Holla. I'll have a lot more to say tomorrow tomorrow tomorrow...