Subtitled "Adult Frustration!?" Yebisu Cultural Festival returns for its fifth installment to Tokyo nightspot Milk on April 1. As usual, it boasts a diverse lineup of live bands, DJs and special performances.
The event first took place in December 2004 as a festival organized by -- and for -- those living in the Ebisu area of Tokyo, but despite the modest ambitions, it now attracts people from all over Tokyo, as Yahaman Motto, one of the original festival organizers and member of the "Yebisu Garden Planners," explains: "I started off just thinking, 'Let's do an event' to put on my own band [Majestic Band]. I thought we'd only do one event but we decided to carry on, and two years later we are still here."
Alongside Motto's six-piece reggae outfit Majestic Band, which includes two Jamaicans, will be another four live acts including call-and-response punk-groove band o.n.c. (imagine The Libertines if they'd grown up on '80s hardcore punk).
The Yebisu Garden Players will be behind the decks throughout the evening, DJing an eclectic mix of ska, punk, jazz, soul, house and techno. Motto is especially looking forward to the "reggae dancing" which he says will be a "sexy and acrobatic female dance performed to dancehall reggae music."
Yebisu Cultural Festival Vol. 5 starts at 10 p.m., April 1 at Milk, ROOB6-B1F, 1-13-3 Ebisu Nishi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo. Milk is a two-minute walk from the JR Ebisu Station's West Exit. Tickets are 2,500 yen, including one drink. For more info and to get a discount flyer, visit www.milk-tokyo.com
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.