Please note that things below are written mostly from memory, so I probably got a bunch of details incorrectly.

2024.02.06 A-POP BAR

First and last visit to MOGRA on this trip, also my first time going to A-Pop Bar. I think the only remaining regular weekday event that I haven't been to is Pure Ibiza now.

I must admit, despite listening almost every week, I never really paid any attention to who's DJing because there is very rarely a timetable available and I usually use audio-only mode on my phone since I listen on my way home from work…

…so I was pretty surprised when I found out who was DJing. I recognize OROCHI and Shanshizu, I think HaL and OHASHI DISCO was also DJing that day? And there were definitely some other DJs that I missed. It was not a lineup I expected on a weekday event, too good.

Speaking of OROCHI, it's a funny coincidence that he's always DJing on at least one event that I go to on every trip so far (2019 was on Xi-lium final, 2022 was on Otakou, and last year was on Tokyo Geekstyle). Well, given that he appears in quite a number of events, It'll probably continue on the next trip even if I didn't plan for it lol. 

Also met beatrooper again! It was nice meeting him after a while. We chatted for a bit and then I went to B1 first but I can't remember why, but shortly after he also went downstairs because an "L" song was playing. As expected of an official "L" DJ (?).

The event itself was pretty fun. I guess people mostly go after work to unwind and listen to some anison before going home. Also since there aren't too many people, pretty much all the requests got played which is nice. I wish we have this kind of event here in Jakarta, but weekday events are usually just karaoke nights (I think, if there's something similar please let me know).

During the last hour or so, Frizz suddenly came and I was too surprised. We just talked about random things and went for kebab after the event ended. By the end we were the only customers left in the club I think, which was pretty awkward because we were too busy chatting and didn't notice at all.

By the way, I was really happy when someone with a very cute Yui Funami phone background complimented the cap I was wearing that day, but sadly I didn't quite get your name. If you're reading this, or if you know the person, please let me know! I'll buy you a drink next time we meet! I don't know when that will be though! Hopefully soon!

I also forgot to eat moguchiki, so someone please remind me next time.

2024.02.09 White Label 5th Anniversary

It's club JB'S! Always wanted to go here someday. I was planning to go in January, but then this happened and the plan was quickly canceled.

Thinking about it again, it happened right after I retweeted the guest announcement, so it was probably because of that. I'll try to stop retweeting things like that from now on…

But if I did go back then I wouldn't have been able to watch OMRK though, so maybe it was a good thing.

My first impression of the club was "wow the floor is literally shaking" and my second impression was "damn cola costs 600 yen". I still don't know how they make the ground shake like that even if the overall volume in the club is not too loud, it's a really fun club.

I think I met Renka early in the event? Apparently his birthday was the next day, so I got him extra joss. I like people's confused reactions when I give them extra joss randomly in the club, so I'll continue doing it.
(Renka is the second victim recipient so far, first one was HRKZ last year)

I forgot when, but Shita also showed up at some point. I was too surprised because he didn't say anything about going before and suddenly said hi. It's like accidentally running into the final boss while you're wandering around in an RPG lol.

Sometime after that, I went to the bar counter to grab a drink when Shita was there talking to someone. 
"Do you know Kamiwa…(I can't hear the rest)?" Shita said while trying to introduce the guy he was talking to.

I can't seem to remember anyone by that name (keep in mind that I can't read kanji at all, so I have no idea how most people's names are pronounced). After looking at his face again, I felt like I'd seen him on the internet before, but when I tried to confirm it by opening his twitter on my phone the internet was too slow, so I used something else to confirm.

I guessed correctly somehow, so that was pretty funny.
By the way, 神と和解せよ translates to "Reconcile with God" on Google Translate. The name is too strong. Thank you for uploading clips of your set on twitter.

About the event itself, how did you even manage to have a 7.5-hour-long event where the energy is constantly high? I feel like in most events I've been to, there was some downtime where I could go buy drinks or sit down and play deresute or something, but here it just feels like I want to be on the floor all the time and not missing anything. It was too crazy.

I tried to pay more attention to VJs as well this trip because I'm trying to learn things, and it was interesting watching the visuals kind of evolved over the course of the event. Started with just the flyer and some loops at the start, and then the flyer got masked and became just the logo, and then some transitions/animations got thrown in, and so on until it got more and more polished as the event went by.

Congratulations on the 5th anniversary once again, and looking forward to future events 🎉

2024.02.11 MILK BACK DROP vol.84

I couldn't go when I went with mixstlh back in 2022 because we had to go back to Tokyo, so this was actually kind of a revenge match.

I had some idea about the event because it was streamed a few times in the past, but I wasn't too sure about what kind of event it was going to be. Then mahoako started playing, so it's definitely going to be good.

I had to leave for a bit after about an hour to get valentine's chocolate from Animate, and when I got back I met Mori! He then went around introducing me to basically everyone from guests to other performers to his wife (you're married??). I really do feel bad at times like this because I can't speak any Japanese and it quickly became awkward, so I'm really sorry…

Also, one of the guys that Mori introduced me to bought me a drink, but I didn't quite get your name, so if you're reading this please let me know! I'm glad that you seem to like SHY as well!

My impression of the event after a couple of hours was that there was a wide range of genres of anime being played wasn't there? I only know moemoe animesong, and events like this are pretty much the only way I can discover songs from other genres as well, so I'm glad.

Another thing was cosplay! The staff at the entrance was cosplaying, the performers were cosplaying, the crowd was cosplaying, everyone was cosplaying lol. I rarely go to club events with cosplay in Jakarta aside from anime conventions, so it's always fun to see.

I really wish I could stay until the end, but I wanted to rest and do laundry before Basspot, so I went back to Kyoto around 6 PM.

2024.02.11 Basspot vol.15

It's the long-awaited return after a year-long hiatus, and Club Metro is also a venue I've always wanted to visit for a long time, so I was really excited about this.

I think I met otobeat at the entrance, but I wasn't too sure (sorry). Also met Shita on the floor shortly after I got in. I like that the first thing he said was "Next time bring Ray=Out!". I'll do my best to drag him to the next Basspot, so wish me luck.

If you count UnderFreaks from last year, I think this is the third time I got to see Basspot crew play, and each time it feels like they got better than the previous one. If I had to pick a highlight from this event, otobeat's MC saving a DJ when the sound stops was too cool lol.

Not just the crew, the guests this time were also great. It feels like my favorite genre changes every time the DJ changes. It covers just about everything from eurobeat to baile to genkyoku to techno to chipi chipi chapa chapa and everything in between, but nothing felt out of place.

If I had to pick a favorite set it would probably ZIPPY. I never thought I could watch his set live, and damn it was really good. It was really cool to see him come out of retirement like this and put on a great show. Actually, didn't maonbass also recently come back on Bootleg Shrine? Maybe legendary DJs coming back from the dead are already a trend.

I think both me and mixstlh have the same opinion of this last time, but there's something about the crowd in Basspot that makes it different from other events in a good way, and that is certainly the case this time as well even when being held in a different city (I know it's only like 30 minutes away, but still). It's really hard to describe, so if you have the chance you should definitely go yourself.

Anyway, in summary, the DJs were great, the VJs were great, the crowd was great, the venue was great, everything was great. The only thing not great was my legs after the event because I couldn't find a place to sit and just stood around for most of the night lol.

The end

Did I really only go to 4 events? I planned for 7-8 events but couldn't go because of the snow or conflicting schedules, so I'm quite annoyed with the weather at that time. There are still a bunch of events all over Japan I want to go to, so I'll definitely come back someday.

By the way, I'm very very bad at remembering people's faces and names, so if we met in the past and we ran into each other and I didn't say anything, most likely it was because I just forgot your face, I'm really sorry…
I wish real life was more like VRChat where you can see people's names on top of their heads, that would make my life a lot easier.

See you again on the internet!