Tokyo Dec - M-FLO DJ Party at ageHa - pt 1

The real reason I came to Japan this time wasn't for made cafes, wasn't for CD shopping,  it was to attend the m-flo party held on Dec 22nd, 2010 at ageha,  a huge huge club in the Shikiba section of Tokyo Bay -

I am a big fan of m-flo (Japan's top hip-hop duo) and have seen their rapper Verbal perform in Taiwan and HK a number of times.  

So when my good friend DJ Noodles told me she was performing at this event,  I knew I had to go! Luckily I found a super, super cheap flight, so I decided to telecommute for a few days and go to Tokyo.

I got down there around 11pm.  In Japan the trains stop around midnight, so especially in a case of a place like this in the middle of nowhere,  once you come, you're stuck here til the first train at 5am.

Ageha is absolutely huge. they say its the biggest club in Asia by square feet, I didn't believe it before, but I think on second thought maybe it is... its basically just a giant warehouse split into multiple rooms.  Tonight they had 4 DJ spaces running continuously, plus some chill out areas.

Only the hardcore party all night on a Wednesday baby!  (actually Thursday was a holiday in Japan, thats why it was held on a Wednesday).

This place is HUGE!   

The main room is big enough to fit at least 1000 people and features an array of huge speakers and lighting trusses.

I stayed down on the floor most of the time.  The crowd was really enjoying themselves (Japan clubs are somuch better than HK clubs!)

DJ Kaori was playing before the m-flo guys came out. 

Verbal comes out to get a picture of the crowd while Kaori is still spinning.

The website promoting the show was careful to state that this was a DJ party and not a concert, but you knew that they were basically going to be doing a full show of their stuff on top of their DJ sets...

I took some video of both DJ Kaori and then the m-flo themselves playing one of their popular songs 'Lotta Love' - Great energy!

In case you were wondering what that hissing sound was in the middle of the video,  it was the nitro system. 

This is while they were setting up. That's Taku on the left and Verbal on the right.  You'll notice that Verbal is holding an iPad... apparently there's some app which makes the most popular club sound effect ever ( ie the infamous airhorn).  They were playing with the whole night... Steve Jobs' influence knows no bounds!

Sorry for the unclear pics,  the security wouldn't let me bring my digital camera in, so I had to take all these w/ my iPhone. No good for zoom or action shots!

Here's me amongst the great sea of people.  Noodles and Audrey moved off to a balcony after the first 20 minutes but I stuck it out. It was OK until this sweaty guy moved in front of me... yuck. :-P

After m-flo,  Tanaka Tomoyuki ( 田中知之) of Fantastic Plastic Machine was next up on the turntables.  I stayed for most of it but needed a break and a drink after a while!

I'll save DJ Noodles' set for a second blog! (stay tuned!) :-P