磔磔 is a live house I’ve been meaning to check out for donkey’s. This converted brewhouse opened as a coffee shop in 1974. In those days the master would spin a few discs for the clientele and there would be one or two live performances a week, but gradually the performances increased and it became the famous live house we know today. I was impressed to see the names of those who have performed here decorating the walls, legends like: Los Lobos, Screaming Jay Hawkins, The Staples Singers, John Lee Hooker… Last weekend I went to see some homegrown talent however; Soul Flower Mononoke Summit, and their guest Oki, an Ainu musician. It was a fun night, but I won’t waste words describing it for you (at least not here). See for yourself! Below is a video of Soul Flower Mononoke Summit after inviting Oki up on stage to join them.

If that tickles your fancy, you can read a review of Oki’s performance over on Ted Taylor’s fine blog Notes from the Nog, and you can see another video up here.

TakuTaku has live music almost every night. Check out their website for details. To find it go south from Shijo on Tominokoji Dori, the second road down is Bukkoji Dori and it’s just a little further on from that on the west side. Here is a most excellent map. Open from 18:00 ~ 23:00. Tel: 075-351-1321