ABSTRACT
On any given night, the curious novice or expert prowler can visit any of the many bars, clubs, and livehouses that can be found throughout Tokyo. Many of these spaces are small, dingy, and terribly diffi cult to fi nd without a knowledgeable taxi driver, intricate map, or, better yet, your own personal guide. Located in the basements of buildings, down shopping arcades, or tucked between a coffeeshop and Italian restaurant, hip-hop, techno, noise, punk, and various types of hardcore music pour forth from the distorted sound systems, sometimes reaching the streets despite the double doors. These spaces offer an opportunity to make music, dance, or drink until dawn breaks, and perhaps most important, to escape from the daily social pressures of family, school, and work. Such establishments promise a warm, family feeling for the regular; by offering moments of repose or rebellion, which are desperately needed in the busy, socially stratifi ed, impersonal mass that is Tokyo. The opening concert review introduces one such space featuring a hardcore performance. The following backstage view of the same event reveals additional details of the night.
