The Other East

Shinjuku Shin’on Kai One Man Gig! LC-Gig Shunkashûtô One Man Gig Season Natsu

Your best bet in getting to Shinjuku Jam would be to take the Oedo Line down to Higashi Shinjuku. Take the A1 Exit and turn right. You should see a Tully’s Coffee, then a Lawson, and moments later JAM. The stairway down to the basement environment wasn’t made with people over 185cm in mind, so if you’re like Shichi or I be prepared to lean forward. The actual venue is more height-friendly, with a few rows of chairs positioned between the stage and elevated tables. A rather extensive bar is hidden in the corner. Tusk’s show started about ten minutes late.

To be fair, he isn’t really Tusk anymore. Not that his Japanese fans would care, however, shouting “TUSK!!” every three or four songs (or minutes, if you’re that one guy in the back). While the vast majority of international fans best remember Tusk, 39, real name ITAYA Hiroshi, as the flashy-haired vocalist of visual demigod Zi:KILL, very little of the Tusk from 15 years ago remains. In its stead lies a singer, now singer-guitarist, whose stage appearance is similar to a construction worker, wearing baggy pants and a thick towel permanently tied around his forehead.

After Zi:KILL, Tusk took part in Junky, The Slut Banks, and Craze before forming Shinjuku Shin’on Kai, apparently consisting only of Tusk and his guitar. His playing style reflected this bipartisanship flawlessly; for the two plus hours Tusk was on stage, not a single backing track was heard. Tusk went on stage and played, barring very few MC breaks in-between, what felt like the longest medley in modern history. As anyone who has watched one of the later ZI:KILL concerts can tell you, Tusk’s guitar playing isn’t the most mind blowing and that hasn’t really changed. Sticking mainly to simple chords, and not getting very technical, Tusk’s guitarwork was merely a backdrop to him singing. Let’s face it though, if you went to a Tusk concert, you came to see him sing.

Unless you’ve followed every step of Tusk’s career, chances are you wouldn’t know most of the songs he played. Some of them were even announced merely as an alphanumeric notation (e.g, “LC 20”), a far cry from song titles like “High School Game” or “Suicide ~Omoide Nante…” but enjoyable in their own right. Given Tusk’s extensive career, there was certainly songs from all over included in his set, including some Zi:KILL gems if you paid close attention.

With his old band The Slut Banks reuniting for a set of August concerts later next week, Tusk’s certainly been kept busy as of late. While some fans might like to see Tusk go even farther back in his career to ZI:KILL whether or not that is likely is complicated. Yes, all the instruments except guitar in Craze were at the same time manned by former ZI:KILL members at one point. Unfortunately its really hard to see the band back without Ken, who was so influential on the group’s sound. A ZI:KILL reunion ultimately would depend on if past bad blood could be settled. Little could be seen or heard of Zi:KILL at Tusk’s concert today, but the fans at the live held the band and its vocalist close in their heart. That’s all you’d really need.