RAISE A FLAG gig at Shibuya Cyclone

17 Sep 2023

‘Raise A Flag’ at Shibuya Cyclon

I start writing this having just listened to the new demo CD I got at the Raise a Flag gig as a present from the band and it takes me straight back there. I wanted to put a few words together about that gig and publish it here, as I can easily say that this event set up the whole tone for my very first visit in Japan, which was full of live shows, and was a very, very exhausting experience....in a positive way, of course.

The gig was a part of an all day festival, I didn’t know a single other band playing apart from Raise a Flag, which I always really liked and consider one of the best oi bands in Japan. In fact, Japan is home to lots of great oi bands I could talk a lot about, but anyways, not this time.

So I decided last minute to check them out live, without pre-booking the ticket. I’m glad I did.

Now think about that.

It was my very first gig in Japan and I didn’t know what to expect. 

How different the energy is, the crowd and generally everything? 

What the sound is like in venues, are sets always on time, sharp like bullet trains? 

I had lots of questions like that in my head. Maybe stupid questions. But who wouldn't wonder? And I have to admit, I was heading for this very first gig, the following gigs too, with so much excitement, but also a tiny little bit of anxiousness.. Totally unnecessary.

So the whole festival started around midday. Raise a Flag’s set was scheduled for 6pm, and I plan to arrive around about 5-5:20pm, just in case. I was so right to give myself that little extra time! If you think that finding a venue in Tokyo is obvious and easy - you are so wrong.

I’ll describe it better another time, but I was holding my phone with GoogleMaps open in my hand and I still missed it a good few times! 

Shibuya especially is so full of different shops and places, some of them crammed in one building, and finding anything there is generally a nightmare. Especially when it’s your first trip and you still don’t know the rules at all. 

Regardless of my considerably good orientation, wink wink, I have to admit, if it weren’t for the people outside, I’d have missed it. In fact, I walked along the street and back a few times before I realised where I should narrow my search zone, after spotting a familiar, punk looking crowd. I thought this must be the place. No signs or posters outside, then I had to go three floors downstairs into the basement and… yay! I was home! Forgot all the struggles, got my ticket (and compulsory drink ticket) - yes, they were luckily still available, and I was ready for some live music.

I’ll be skipping the other band reviews, just have to say that it was generally a very unexpected (although, I totally expected that) mix of bands. I managed to see the most bizarre band in my life, and what a surprise, it happens in Japan. And it happened that very first night! That’s all I’ll say about it..

I need to mention that even though I was the only non-Japanese person in the venue, I didn’t feel weird or unwelcomed at all, but I could sense at first the sneaky looks, as people were probably curious of my reaction, wondering if I got there accidentally or what  the general craic was... But once they realised I was actually enjoying the gigs, especially going bonkers during the Raise a Flag set, it was that kinda relief, like “oh, it’s fine, she’s just one of us”. 

I can’t describe it any other way, that’s how I felt then. It’s like from that moment the connection was set and people were trying to talk to me and generally they’ve been super friendly. Regardless of the language barriers, we tried anyway. You don’t need much when you’re amongst like minded people, right? Also, I so loved people’s enthusiasm and appreciation when I tried to use my rudimentary Japanese.. It was super cool and the atmosphere was just amazing. It was that overwhelming feeling of excitement for me that I’m sure it was more than visible!

I have to stress that my opinion is super subjective, especially that I’m talking from the perspective of someone who has listened to all these bands for years and just went to see them live for the very first time. It’s mind blowing, like a sudden manifestation of your lifelong dreams just in front of you. If I sound pathetic, well… I probably looked pathetic as well, like some overjoyed psycho, but that’s the reason I was so glad to do this trip on my own. Plus, who cares at the end of the day?

Without going into too much detail - the sound system was on point, almost too good if I can say that. All the sets were on time, well, at least the sets I managed to see. And the crowd was wild! Raise A Flag were on fire. I enjoyed their show a lot, even though they didn’t play my favourite song (you can’t expect too much I guess haha). It was just solid, hard as fuck street punk.. And they’re definitely one of those bands, which just makes you wanna stand up, march, dance and sing along from the very first sound, making every song sound anthemic. I was taken by it entirely. 

I ran to the merch stand after and got myself a T-shirt plus had a nice little chat with the band. Super friendly bunch! And then later on, when I was catching some fresh air outside, the bass player came over with said CD and other goodies, handed them all to me and said “Welcome to Japan”... It was so sweet. And I have to admit, I couldn’t feel any more welcomed.