My
favorite place that would never be in any guide book is a little place
called "Chaotic Noise." Chaotic Noise is the name of a record shop/live
house situated in the main shopping arcade of Kochi city called
Obiyamachi. The shop changed locations back in August to a more central
location in this main shopping strip, and since that time I've only been
twice. Being the music-enthusiast that I am, I go to a lot of live
houses around Shikoku. I've been to about 8 different ones within the
four prefectures that span this island, which I feel is a lot
considering the time it takes to drive between the major cities on this
island. There are some that I like better than Chaotic Noise because of
the music-scene in that particular city (Kochi hosts more hard-core
shows at the venues I frequent, and I like indi/melodic punk better).
However, none hold the same type of emotions and memories that Chaotic
Noise does for me.
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| Little "hallway" outside the basement venue where everyone goes to smoke between bands. |
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| Friends from a band called "Parkmates" |
Firstly, Chaotic Noise was the first live house I
ever
went to in Japan. I've been to this country four times and I had never
been to a live-venue before last year. Secondly, it's the place that
really marked the beginning of something new and special to me. I've
always loved music, been to plenty of shows and concerts in the US and
have always played instruments my entire life. I've played the piano
since I was three years old and during middle school and high school I
played clarinet in band class. I search out new music
constantly, and love singing along to my favorites
anywhere I am, but especially the car. My car in either country (America and Japan) is my singing-safe-haven.
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| The sign they put out in the street. When it's out, you know what's goin down. |
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| The old venue smooshed a live house with a record shop so, needless to say, it was crowded. |
However,
going to Chaotic Noise for the first time back in September of 2010
with my good friend Matto was the beginning of something for me. It
sounds really lame to say, but going to that first live show changed my
life a little. I can say without hesitation that my life would be
quite different
right now if I had never started going to shows at Chaotic Noise. The
type of friends that I've been able to make, the trips I've taken, the
slump I had at the beginning of the year, the late nights out, the band I
was a part of and the new one that has just started... All of these
things and more were only possible/happened because I started going to
live shows at this venue.
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Crowd surfing on a bass case. People like to stand on things and play music here in Kochi.
|
Actually, when looking through the photos I
wanted to use for this post, I noticed that more than half of the
people I took pictures of that were at the
first show I went to are now friends of mine/we've had a few good chats by now. Bands that I was unsure about back then, I'm a
huge
fan of now (it always takes me two listens to give my initial
like/dislike status). People that I was nervous to talk to back then, I
can easily joke around with/have been on a road trip with/gotten drunk
with/slept on someone's floor with after a show. While the place and
people may change, what I appreciate about the original "Chaotic Noise"
and what it means to me will always stay important and be a place I
think fondly of when I'm no longer in Kochi.
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A UK band came to the new Chaotic Noise about two weeks ago.
|
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| The new venue is a split basement place with a hall in between the live house and record shop. |
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