“Senkou Hanabi” by GaGaGa Sp

Four years ago, Shonen Knife had just finished playing their set and I had half a mind to leave. Over the weekend, I saw Shonen Knife play for the very first time at venue called Big Cat in Osaka. I was awe-struck seeing a band I’d loved for years playing in their hometown no less. When I realized they were playing again as part of a two-man show in Kobe only a few days later, there was no question that I would be there.

They played in a tiny place called Star Club; a venue situated directly underneath the Japanese Railway line so that you could hear and feel the vibration between sets as trains rolled by. The room (because it was only a single room) was so small that it was packed at 100 people. That night, there seemed to be three times that number standing shoulder-painfully-pressed-to-shoulder as Shonen Knife’s final notes rang out into the night.

Uncomfortably cramped and worried about staying out too late when my morning wake up for work was already looming had me seriously thinking about heading for the door. Instead, I stayed, figuring I’d listen to a few songs from the headlining act before bolting into the night. That’s when GaGaGa SP (pronounced Ga Ga Ga Special) took the stage.
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