Yet another great event at Urbanguild
Two weeks ago I attended Ben Anderson’s going away party at Urbanguild. As so many of Ben’s friends are dancers or musicians, he put on a spectacular cabaret with himself as the singing/dancing host “Herr Ben”. It was a wonderful night, and once again I was impressed by just how much talent there is here in Kyoto and what a great venue Urbanguild is. In addition Ben told me later that the event raised 27,455 yen which has been transfered to the Japanese Red Cross Society for disaster relief. Great job, Ben! Urbanguild has been badly hit with cancellations from overseas performers since the Tohoku disaster, and has even had to close some nights because of this. Yet still the staff there struggle on, sometimes without pay. Up and down Kiyamachi, the story is the same, many businesses are suffering because many regular foreign customers have returned home or because tourist numbers have dropped. The best way we here can support them is to go out and enjoy ourselves once in a while and spend a bit of money! And if you are overseas and considering visiting Japan, remember that here in west Japan, other than economically, we remain largely untouched by the disaster, radiation levels are normal, natural and safe and – there’s so much fun stuff to do! So please do come and visit.
Right – that said, here’s a pictorial and video record of yet another great night at Deep Kyoto’s favorite live music venue: Urbanguild.
★HERR BEN★
Oh boy, that fella can cut a rug! And his choice of a Willkommen-style intro to the event made me very happy indeed.
★YEAR OF THE BULLDOZER★
– Wesley Cheek
– Robert Hall
– Ian Wilson
I detected more than a hint of Black Sabbath in the following song – and I liked it! It was also very nice to meet their bass player, the multi-talented Wesley Cheek at this event. A charming chap, he noticed me skulking by myself in a corner and made a point of engaging me in conversation. I liked him immediately.
★DODO★
– Charla
– Kota
– Kanji
– Naoki
I think Chara’s voice perfectly complements the music of the band she joined just 6 months ago!
★MITSU & RYOTARO★
Another thought provoking and humorous performance from the uncrowned King and Queen of Kiyamachi avant garde!
★CHRISTOPHER FRYMAN & ANNA FIRE QUEEN★
Christopher Fryman – trumpet
Shoko Yokoyama – violin
Komaki – drums
& Anna Fire Queen
As I said to Christopher later, “Every band should have fire dancers!”
★RAW ELEMENTS WITH DODO★
– Max
– Ryotaro
– Yung Tsubotaj
– DoDo
Another superb performance from the elemental legends and their avian proteges that had everybody dancing! By this time the memory on my camera was all but done so I had to resort to using my i-phone. The picture aint great but the sound quality I think you’ll agree is superb.
Related: Friday 22nd April – The FINAL JUNKROOM IN KYOTO @ URBANGUILD!!!
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