Adventures in Japan Part 1 - WOMB
Halloween 2009, Chris and I attended Womb, which is one of Tokyo’s best night clubs. The Plump DJ’s were headlining, and I was very excited about the show, as I had seen them spin new years in New Zealand in 2007, and they were outstanding. Our costumes were a little bit budget, but given our baggage size restrictions I think we did okay. Chris wore a plush lobster on his head, and I bought this weird frog head that turned out to be quite successful (more on this later).
Finding the club proved to be a more difficult task than we assumed. The difficulty was exacerbated by regular stops at Lawson’s (7-11) to procure One Cup of Happiness Sake’s — later revealed to be the drink of choice amongst Japan’s homeless — and a few language barriers. We met a group of Japanese party kids on the train, and could you believe it?!! they were also going to Womb! We followed them for about fifteen minutes through the alleys of the Shinjuku area and of course we made a few more stops at Lawson’s to re-up the One Cups. Half an hour later, after winding through narrow alleyways and trying to stay dry we arrive at ROOM, not WOMB and by now we’re pretty faced and completely lost, but we keep the spirits high and backtrack and get some more one cups and finally get back to Shinjuku station and start over.
Womb is possibly the coolest club I’ve been to in recent history. No pressure at the door, individual coin lockers for your stuff, and vending machines to sell drinks so you don’t have to waste time at the bar. The place is a small with a high ceiling housing the largest disco ball I’ve ever seen– at least three meters wide.
The trains stop running at midnight in Tokyo and the doors for the show were at 11, so this means when you’re partying in Tokyo, you’re in it for the long haul. Plump DJ’s killed it. Amazing show, high-energy set and kept me dancing all night. What really sets Womb apart from other venues is the multi-sensory experience. It got full in there over the course of the evening, and I mean scary full — where the stairwells and hallways were as rammed full with sweaty bodies as the dance floor. There was no escape from the heat, but as the Plump’s set hit it’s various climaxes, they would release these clouds of fog and cold air into the main room that felt like complete catharsis. To me it meant that they knew it was too hot and too crowded and that they were keeping it that way for the experience. Really advanced stuff. Eight hours of second hand chain-smoking was a bit hard to take, for a pink-lunged, West-coast Canuck.
Perhaps the most amazing part of the experience however was at the end of the night. Its about 7:30 in the morning when we leave and there’s a man standing at the door with his fingers pressed to his lips. “Shhhh,” he says with a bow, and despite being completely wrecked everybody respects the fact that the club is in a dense residential neighborhood and remains completely silent. Completely! You can hear birds chirp as dozens and dozens of party zombies stumble out to the main strip. It was probably my favourite moment in the entire trip.
THE FROG HEAD: So apparently I went as Keroro Gunso, a beloved anime character who was the head general of a race of frog beings who came to conquer planet earth. After retreating the rest of the frog platoon forgot to take Keroro with them, and without an army behind him, the poor frog is relegated to living his life under a kid’s bed, forced to do the kid’s chores. The costume was a big hit!
Letter to the Editor Published in Rock and Ice
Rock and Ice magazine has published a letter I wrote. The letter was submitted in response to comments made on one of my photos in issue 174 of the magazine. (Scroll down for details.)
It is avaliable in issue 178, or you can read it online, here.
New Art Displays
The series of black and white photos from Vietnam and Cambodia will be on display at The Whip Gallery and Restaurant at 206 East 6th ave (at Main) from May 4th until June 2nd 2009.
Also, some of my colour prints will be on display at The Wicked Cafe sometime next week until the end of the month. Wicked Cafe is located at 861 Hornby.
MJPH!
Story published in New Zealand
The Climber magazine, New Zealand’s Rock and Ice recently published Ascending The Dragon with accompanying photo montages. Though the magazine is unavailable in Canada, a PDF version of the story and spread is available here.
For my antipodean friends and readers who may be able to get their hands on this magazine, please do so, it’s a fantastic publication, and contains two previously unpublished climbing photos.
For those unfamiliar with the story, it involves a foursome of climbers laying seige to climbing fears in Vietnam’s picturesque Ha Long Bay.
Rock and Ice Publishes two Images in Issue 174
The January 2009 issue of Rock and Ice magazine features two of my photos as part of the Mammut Photography contest.
Approaching Dione, a black and white image from a trip to the Tantalus Range took runner up in the “snow and ice” category, while Unique Look Activated, a collaboration between myself and Chris Ouston, took first prize in the climbing category.
The magazine is widely available.
Word on the Street
The Word On The Street Festival was a great mystery when we jogged up the stairs from the sky train - the scope and scale of the event still completely unknown. We walked through the tents brandishing glossy books and magazines for half an hour before my nerves were put on edge: I saw the lonely little white tent I was to speak from, a microphone standing at attention and my name in black ink on the program. It was dark and cold in the shadow of the library, and the only people around seemed to be executives eating sushi from plastic trays or people rushing to return library books.
When the time came, I was introduced and tried to make my voice fill up that concrete courtyard. Everything considered, I think it turned out just fine.
Below are some photos from the event, compliments of local artist, David Burney.
