In regards to being nervous on stage, the fellow had the advantage of being a member of a band. He wasn't at centre stage. Instead he was stationed near the front on the audience's right hand side of the stage. The solo artists were dead centre on stage and both admitted they were quite nervous. Actually, if I recall correctly, both asked Goro-san who was manning the sound board and lighting system to not use the stage lights which shone on the audience. Megu, the older one, managed to finish her performance with only a minor hitch but the younger one who goes by her stage name of "Yatte Mo-taro?" hit a big bump. Prior to launching into one her songs she announced that she wasn't going to perform it any more. That became apparent once she started singing and playing it. It was a song about high school life and wondering about the future. As a high school graduate, the time and place for the song had passed. Things went fine until the third verse. She stopped mid-song, froze for a second, and said "Oh. I've forgotten the lyrics (to the next verse). Does anyone know what they are?". There was no one around who could yell out the start of the verse so it was few awkward seconds until she was able to recall it. After she finished the song she removed the school necktie from around her neck (she was on stage in her school uniform) and tossed it into the crowd. She quickly stormed off stage, leaving a few in the audience wondering what to expect next. I heard someone say "She's probably changing out of her uniform". Sure enough that was the case.
After they had finished their sets, the three grads were assembled near the stage to receive congratulations and bouquets. Ms. "Yatte Mo-taro?" was given a potted flowering plant. I'm not sure if there was any significance in that. There was plenty of bowing, words of appreciation, and taking of photos. Then things were handed over to the last flight of bands to finish off the night's proceedings.
The last band to take to the stage was from Nagai, a city north of Yonezawa. They go by the name "Vanishment This World" which Mr. Shimanuki provided a loose translation of. I didn't get anywhere close to thinking "Yeah, but it doesn't really mean anything in English". Their music is a form of "speedcore" but they advertise themselves as "A three piece, bass less, downcore" band. Labels aside, they were loud and fast. The vocalist was hardly didn't sing so much as he belted out guttural sounds that resembled low frequency yelling. What was more noticeable were the youths who took to the floor to "dance" to their music. It wasn't dance so much as it was high intensity bursts of mock fighting moves. When four of them were going at it in the space in front of the stage, the rest of audience having wisely backed off by about a couple of meters, it was a miracle that no one came out of all that flailing about without taking a kick in the mid-riff or a swinging fist in the back of the head.
By the time it was all over the whole event had clocked in at around 5 hours in length. I had arrived after the first hour and a half but it was still a long night after a day of work so I was quite tuckered out when I got home.
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On Sunday, the next day, I was in the mood to wander off somewhere again but wasn't exactly sure where or for what purpose. I hastily came up with an idea and found mention on the Internet of a shop which seemed to fit the bill for a place to check out. Its location was in Nagai city which is north of Yonezawa. To get there one heads up to Akayu and then hangs a left to head west for a short distance. I don't think it took me more than 45 minutes to drive there.
Once I got to Nagai I parked my car in the lot of a park more or less in the centre of town. I headed off to find the shop...and discovered it was no more. Hence my statement that "its location was in Nagai". Nonetheless, I took the time to stroll through the side streets back to my car. I stumbled across a soy sauce shop where they make and sell it in a rather traditional looking building. Interestingly enough it was located next to a fire bell tower. Another interesting building featured a thatched roof. A local temple had a small structure on its ground which housed an altar and had massive 2 meter long straw sandals hanging on its walls outside. So I didn't go home empty handed. Well, literally yes, but that didn't matter.
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Over the years, every now and then I have heard a particular song being blasted over a PA system. It's no more than a single verse and chorus but it is quite loud. At some point in time I thought it was related to an election campaign but I kept hearing it after voting day. Until recently I thought it came from a nearby nursery school.
This morning I went for a walk over to Uesugi Shrine and thereabouts. On my return leg, as I turned onto the street leading up to my apartment a large truck passed me. And then I heard that song! It was delivery truck for a local co-op food service. Ah! Mystery solved...more or less. I may time my next walk so that I can shoot a short video of the truck and its song. Then I can listen to it to my heart's content to try and figure out what the heck its about....
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