Toyko

I had a special day and night yesterday. For one, I rode the bullet train, or Shinkansen, from Osaka to Tokyo, and to see some of the country side and small villages as we roared down the tracks from 130 to 160 mph, was quite impressive. Second, my cousin was in town (passing through from his travels in China which perfectly coincided with our concerts here in Tokyo-crazy!), and so, we were able to hang out and catch up, which leads me to the next highlight of the evening: a sold-out show at the O-East. Even though we had some technical things (Rhodes kept going out, strange monitor mixes, feedback, etc.), the concert was a success, and the Tokyo crowd was full of love and energy. I can't wait for tonight; it will be a better experience all around.

Nagoya & Osaka Japan

November 16, 2009: Nagoya:

Even though I had one of the roughest monitor mixes in a long time, this show was so much fun. I really love the Japanese audience. The energy of the room was intense, with people singing and dancing. I hope that Osaka show sounds better on stage. Unfortunately, Paul blew out his voice early in the show. I hope he can recover for the next three concerts.

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November 17, 2009: Osaka:

I’m on the bullet train now, traveling between Nagoya and Osaka. The landscape is moving. I feel like I caught between an ancient and modern world. Life is strange. The world seems smaller to me after so much travel, but still huge at the same time. I feel so far away from my loved ones, but yet I’m able to communicate with them probably easier and faster than any other time in human history.

I’m happy to be here in Japan. It is remarkable country, full of respect and innovation. I have much admiration for this culture and for who they are.

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Room with a view (of Osaka, Japan):

Armistice Tour Over

Now, the U.S. portion of the Armistice tour is over, and I find myself in Japan. I feel like I can temporally decompress over here, even though it's been a long journey to get to this beauty country (14 hour flight from JFK) because things are a bit slower. Four more shows (Nagoya, Osaka, and 2 in Tokyo) and we are officially done playing for 2009. I can't believe how fast this year has gone by!

Anyway, trying to blog after the fact is quite difficult; so, I won't write about every show but below I've written a few things about my favorite moments. Overall, the shows that stood out to me from October 22 until November 13 were (in order of most to least favorable):

1) New York: Nokia Theatre

I was truly surprised at how much I liked this show because this was the fourth show in a row on the very last show of about a 40 city tour; needless to say, we were all extremely tired and hadn’t slept much the night before due to difficulties in scheduling. (NYC makes it so difficult for bands to play in the city!). Anyway, why was this my absolute favorite show of the tour? Well, because it was the last, of course! Seriously, it sounded really good to me in that room, even though we had heard quite the opposite, and I think we all performed extremely well in front of an audience that was ready to have a good time, which is the most important part. If the energy of the room is in union with the music, it's impossible to have a bad experience; it wasn’t a flawless show, but no show ever is, which is why we strive to continue to out-do ourselves. I hope we play this room again.

2) Ft. Lauderdale: Revolution

Finally, I arrived home! It’d been three weeks since I been in the glorious presence of my lovely wife and beautiful son, which is way too long for me to deal with. I hope I can avoid such prolonged distance in the future. It is amazing how fast he is growing and developing, and it makes me super sad that I miss out on those moments. Emotionally, it's been a lot to handle this tour.

As far as the show goes, this was the best crowd ever of the Armistice tour! South Florida is where our craziest fans live, and I can’t wait to do more shows here in my adopted home.

3) Dallas, TX: The Palladium

I was extremely happy to see my sister, mom, and many other friends in my old home-state. This was MM's first time in this rather new venue, and it was pretty good. But, the bottom-line was that I loved this show because I was surrounded by lots of people that have shaped my live in positive ways, and I felt like I gave something positive back to those people tonight.

4) New Orleans: Voodoo Fest.

Probably the best festival experience of the year! The rain cleared; the weather cooled down; and the sound on and off stage was best we've ever had at a festival. We played a solid hour, and it felt good to be in the city where I grew up musically. NOLA was given a lot to me in that regard, and it will always been a part of me. Also, I was able to see some great bands during this time. The most enjoyable for me was Lenny Kravitz; his band was ridiculously good, and I loved that he played mostly songs from Let Love Rule. Flaming Lips were an amazing spectacle as normal, and the nostalgia of the whole event was Jane's Addiction, probably one of the more influential bands for me around the age of 12 and 13.

5) October 23, 2009: St. Louis, MO: The Pageant

I loved this venue, and I clearly remember this day. It was the first day of this fall tour that felt cold to me; it was raining, which prevented me from going across the street to one of my favorite places in St. Louis: Blueberry Hill Restaurant. I love checking out all the collectables and the pictures of artists on the wall, which was the reason I truly enjoyed meeting the owner and getting our picture taken with him. I feel like I officially joined a special type of club of sorts. I know: it’s kind of stupid and superficial sounding but I’m glad that there are people out there who still appreciate music and its creators; that’s what all those photos mean to me – a sort of commemoration to music and the arts. That’s why it’s so great over here in Japan: the Japanese truly appreciate the arts and support it.

Until next time . . .