Introduction What do you get when you combine Tokyo Jihen, Zazen Boys, Soil & "Pimp" Sessions and the lucrative Hibiya Yagai Ongakudou? The first of a hopefully long-running series of spectacular concerts titled "Society of the Citizens." All three bands brought their A-game, building up towards a terrific climax in the event's final moments. back to features		Society of the Citizens Vol. 1 Society of the Citizens gave fans of Japanese music a huge window of opportunity in presenting three top-tier bands all in one event: Tokyo Jihen, Soil & "Pimp" Sessions and Zazen Boys. It was to take place in the Hibiya Yagai Ongakudou, an outdoors venue in a tree-framed corner of Hibiya Park. Although it took place right smack in the middle of Japan's rainy season, the music gods smiled down on Hibiya that day and gave us a perfectly clear day to enjoy an afternoon of aural pleasure. To the surprise of many in attendance, Tokyo Jihen opened the event. All of the band members save vocalist Shiina Ringo walked out on stage, looking very relaxed. Picking up their instruments, they immediately began playing "Gomatsuri Sawagi." Fan favorite drummer Hata Toshiki, nursing a broken arm, wasn't behind the drum set. Sano Yasuo, well-known support drummer, took his place and truly delivered, bringing the same familiar energy and proficiency that Tokyo Jihen fans were used to seeing and hearing from Toshiki. Shiina Ringo joined the band seconds later, singing the first verses of the song as huge cheers erupted from the crowd. The next few songs went along smoothly. The individual member introductions of "Kabuki" garnered loud cheers from the fans. Later, Tokyo Jihen surprised the crowd with a re-arranged version of "Kuki" from Shiina Ringo's solo album Karuki Zaamen Kuri no Hana. Despite the stronger, more rock-oriented arrangement, the song retained its haunting quality due to beautiful backup vocal support from guitarist Ukigumo and pianist Izawa. Following "Kuki" were two new songs, and for the second, Tabu Zombie and Motoharu, the trumpet and saxophone players from Soil & "Pimp" Sessions joined the band on stage. Their guest performance was extended to the song "Service," in which Shiina Ringo replaced her electric guitar with a megaphone. Tabu and Motoharu, two amazing performers, brought some extra energy to the stage, electrifying the crowd with a taste of what was to come in their own respective set. Finally free of any instrument, Shiina Ringo was able to pace the stage freely during the last song, "Himitsu." Two girls in front of me, waving frantically, managed to catch the beautiful vocalist's attention and, after Ringo herself waved back, they exploded into squeals of glee and laughter. Next up was the bebop jazz outfit Soil & "Pimp" Sessions, and they wasted no time in kicking it into high gear. Frontman Shacho did exactly what his job description says, agitating the crowd into a fierce fervor as Tabu and Motoharu, free of any restraint they might have felt during their guest stint with Tokyo Jihen, prowled the stage like two uncaged tigers. It was truly a sight to behold, seeing them stalk around, climbing on the drum risers, getting as close to the crowd as they possibly could and just simply giving a fantastic performance. On a CD, the drawn-out soloing might feel tiresome, but on stage I only wished they would go on forever. For the third song "SCOOP OUT," Tokyo Jihen guitarist Ukigumo walked back on stage as Soil & "Pimp" Sessions keyboardist Josei stepped down from his riser and jammed with a keytar center stage. It quickly turned into some sort of Wild West guitar/keytar duel, with both men feeding each other, freaking out on their respective instruments and having a great time. After Ukigumo left the stage, Soil & "Pimp" Sessions played two more fantastic songs, getting the crowd involved with some call-and response screaming and finishing off their set with "Satsuriku no Theme" from their first album. Next up was Zazen Boys, but before the stage assistants finished setting up for them, Shiina Ringo, Ukigumo and Izawa from Tokyo Jihen took control of a small corner of the stage. After a brief MC, they performed "Ichijiku no Hana" from the analog version of Shiina's solo album Karuki Zaamen Kuri no Hana. It was a very intimate and touching performance under a spectacular pink sky at dusk, Shiina Ringo shyly handling her microphone, Ukigumo calmly strumming an acoustic guitar and pianist Izawa playing a pianica - the perfect prelude of the madness that was to come when Zazen Boys took the stage. Wearing a stylish fedora hat, frontman Mukai Shutoku immediately brought the crowd to its feet, with his chants of "Hibiya Tokyo City!" in between the chaos that was the opening track "SUGAR MAN." As big as Tokyo Jihen are, it would have been an injustice to not let Zazen Boys close this event. Their manic, frantic, no-holds-barred approach to rock was the perfect ending to a spectacular event, as everyone's tension exploded into fits of screams and dancing. "HIMITSU GIRL'S TOP SECRET" and "SEKARASIKA" were both simply spectacular. The sudden change of rhythms and seemingly random complete stops were devoured by the hungry crowd, whose jerky movements were more similar to an electrocution than dancing. I did not particularly like Zazen Boys III, but hearing the songs in a live setting has done much to change that. "FRIDAY NIGHT" in particular left a bad taste in my mouth, but as soon as those familiar keyboard notes resounded through the outdoors arena, I found my cheers joining everyone else's and resounding towards the exposed night sky. After a particularly rousing performance of "RIFF MAN," Zazen Boys left the stage and the encore chants began. After a short while of barely-synchronized clapping and shouting, one by one the Zazen Boys returned to the stage and began to play around with their instruments. As the components of a song started coming together, Tabu from Soil & "Pimp" Sessions walked out and added his trumpet to the aural barrage. Eventually the jamming evolved into Zazen Boys' own "CRAZY DAYS, CRAZY FEELING" and I immediately felt my heart drop. Although Shiina Ringo provided guest vocals in this song, and although she was present in the event, the arrangement was completely different and I could not imagine how she would be able to fit in. However, I breathed a sigh of relief as she walked out and joined the band, received by cheers. Hearing her sing the familiar chorus, albeit more slowly, was up until then the highlight of the event for me. However, this idea was shattered as soon as they played the second and final song of the night, a duet version of "KIMOCHI." It was really a culmination of everything that had happened in the event, with Mukai and Ringo trading off on vocal duties, backed by the rest of Zazen Boys as well as Tabu. Eventually, it ended, with each member leaving by his own accord until it was just Zazen Boys guitarist Yoshikane Sou and Soil & "Pimp" Session trumpeteer Tabu, who after a brief two-man outro, departed as well, effectively putting a close on the first volume of Society of the Citizens. Setlist: Tokyo Jihen 1. "Gomatsuri Sawagi" 2. "Shoujou Robot" 3. "Kabuki" 4. "Kuki" 5. "???" (new song) 6. "Mirrorball" with Tabu and Motoharu from Soil & "Pimp" Sessions (new song) 7. "Service" with Tabu and Motoharu from Soil & "Pimp" Sessions 8. "Kenka Joutou" 9. "Himitsu" Soil & "Pimp" Sessions 1. "FULLER LOVE" 2. "Hirameku Yaiba" 3. "SCOOP OUT" with Ukigumo from Tokyo Jihen 4. "SAHARA" 5. "Satsuriku no Theme" Zazen Boys 1. "SUGAR MAN" 2. "HIMITSU GIRL'S TOP SECRET" 3. "USODARAKE TAKE2" 4. "SEKARASIKA" 5. "COLD BEAT" 6. "Friday Night" 7. "RIFF MAN" (Encore ) 8. "CRAZY DAYS CRAZY FEELING" with Shiina Ringo from Tokyo Jihen and Tabu from Soil & "Pimp" Sessions 9. "KIMOCHI" with Shiina Ringo from Tokyo Jihen and Tabu from Soil & "Pimp" Sessions - Ricardo Vilaro
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