Sum 41
Mar. 3

Sum 41 is big in Osaka … a little too big, apparently.
When the group played Summer Sonic 2003, security was faced with a rare conundrum. Even before Sum 41 had started, the huge hall was packed to capacity, with a crowd of festival pass-holders waiting to get in. In a tactic deserving of a Darwin award, guards appeased the mob of restless punks by promising them a private encore by the band. As you'd expect, when Sum 41 finished and the mob realized they'd been had, the guards were (wisely) nowhere to be found. Had this happened in a number of other countries, a riot would have ensued. As it did not happen in a number of other countries, a pane of glass was cracked and some angry words were spoken.
When Sum 41 returns this month, they'll treat their ticket-holding, seat-allotted crowd at Osaka Jo Hall to a night off anthemic, metal-edged punk.

OSAKA JO HALL
19:00 • ¥6,300 Z 06-6233-8888

For more handsome young Canucks, check out …

Simple Plan

Mar 19

Some would say that punk has been hijacked, de-clawed, made too radio- and parent-friendly. Take Simple Plan, for example. Years ago they were a melodic hardcore band called Reset. Now, these Montreal lads would get mom's approval if you took them, or their CD, home. Punk or not, Simple Plan's youthful, melodic rock is hard to resist, so head to Mother Hall on March 19th. Go ahead, punk — make your day.

MOTHER HALL
19:00 • ¥3,800 Z 06-6535-5569

Jiang Jian Hua
Mar. 12

The erhu, China's upright violin, translates as “barbarian's stringed instrument”. If the erhu is indeed barbaric, virtuoso Jiang Jian Hua has turned the two-stringed pig's ear into a musical Prada purse. With every draw of her bow across the ancient instrument, she has drawn audiences around the world on to its sad, evocative sound.
At an early age, Jiang Jian Hua was taught the erhu by her uncle, also a master player. She entered China's Central Conservatory of Music at the age of 12 to hone her remarkable talent. Before long, the child prodigy was performing for notable guests to the school. Jiang Quing, wife to Chairman Mao, was treated to Jiang Jian Hua's playing on each of her bi-annual visits, and composer Seiji Ozawa sobbed through a performance by the 14-year-old, returning the same evening to hear more.
Although having performed with the Berlin Philharmonic and Boston Symphony Orchestra, Jiang Jian Hua's most widely recognized work remains her haunting passages from The Last Emperor's Oscar-wining soundtrack. Hear them played live on March 12th and you'll know why.

KYOTO CONCERT HALL
14:00 • ¥5,000 Z 075-211-0261

For more Chinese strings stretched westward, check out …

Twelve Girls Band

Mar. 14 & 15

Yes, they've got the pasted-on smiles, the pre-fab exoticism, the gaudy outfits and the most unimaginative name in music, but hey — how many chances do you get to hear a Coldplay song rocked out on yang qin and dizi?

FESTIVAL HALL
19:00-14:00/19:00 • ¥8,000 Z 06-6233-8888

Bright Eyes
Mar. 20

“Tokyo was so futuristic and depressing,” said Conor Oberst when asked, in a past interview, to recall a Japanese promo tour he did for his musical vehicle, Bright Eyes. “The whole thing was so surreal … I've never had my picture taken so many times in my life.”
Oh Conor, you've no idea what's in store for you when you return this month. That promo tour was five years ago, when Bright Eyes
was a just glimmering buzz-name on the indie music scene, when your fragile voice and melancholic pop songs didn't trickle much further than your cult following. That was before you were being hailed as the next Dylan, before you jammed with Springsteen on last year's Vote for Change tour, before your singles Lua and Take It Easy (Love Nothing) bumped past Jessica Simpson and Snoop Dogg on the Hot 100 singles chart, and before your consecutively released albums,
the emo-folkey I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning and electronic-flavoured Digital Ash in a Digital Urn, debuted in Billboard's Top 15.
It was also before everyone had camera-phones. Say cheese, Conor.

CLUB QUATTRO
18:00 • ¥5,800 Z 06-6535-5569

For another emotionally-raw singer-songwriter, check out …

Buddahead

Mar.30

Many songwriters draw upon break-ups and withdrawal cramps for their most poignant stuff. Raman Kia digs deeper. War-torn streets, exploding bombs, public hangings — the native Iranian witnessed them all, and more, before his ninth birthday. Now living in New York, Kia has packaged his life's struggles and triumphs into powerful modern rock songs.

CLUB QUATTRO
19:00 • ¥4,500 Z 06-6322-8888

Prefuse 73
Mar. 25

Producer Scott Herren chose the name Prefuse 73 as an homage to pre-fusion jazz, when, from 1968 and 1973, artists like Pharaoh Sanders and Alice Coltrane were pushing the jazz envelope. Herren himself is somewhat of a boundary tester. Critics are confounded by his music, and record store clerks agonize over which genre to file him under. But Prefuse 73 is a hip-hop act, make no mistake. Guest spots by Ghostface Killa, Aesop Rock and MF Doom, not to mention block-rocking beats, prove it. But Prefuse 73 is quite unlike any hip-hop you've heard. Or probably in existence. Herren is known for splicing MCs' raps, pulling them from the foreground and burying them under splintered breakbeats and electronic glitches. Detailed sound textures, rather than words, convey moods and messages. The future of hip-hop is now — or rather, on March 25th at Mother Hall.

MOTHER HALL
19:00 • ¥5,800 Z 06-6535-5569

or more alternative hip hop, check out …

Dalek

Mar 11

They've toured with the Melvins, recorded with Faust, and list My Bloody Valentine as their key influence. And yes, they are a hip-hop unit. The New Jersey trio of Oktopus, Still and Dalek bring the noise to Kyoto in their only Kansai performance.

WHOOPEE'S
18:30 • ¥3,500 Z 075-551-2331

Live Listings March

3/2
Avril Lavigne @ Osaka Jo Hall. 19:00. ¥7,500. Z 06-6233-8888. Pop.
3/2 & 3
Larry Carlton & The Sapphire Blues Band II @ Osaka Blue Note. 6:30/ 9:30. ¥8,400/¥6,400. Z 06-6342-7722. Blues.
3/7
The Dillinger Escape Plan w/ Candiria & EMOK @ Club Quattro. 19:00. ¥5,800. Z 06-6535-5569. Metal.
3/7 & 8
Ben E. King @ Osaka Blue Note. 21:30 & 18:30/21:30. ¥9,000/ ¥7,000. Z 06-6342-7722. R&B.
3/8
Diana Ross @ Kobe Kokusai Kaikan Kokusai Hall. 19:00. ¥12,000/ ¥10,000. Z 06-6233-8888. Soul.
3/9
The Killers @ Club Quattro. 19:00. ¥6,500. Z 06-6535-5569. Alternative.
3/9
The Procussions w/ Othello & The Hipknotics @ Osaka Blue Note. 18:30/21:30. ¥6,300/¥4,300.
Z 06-6342-7722. Jazz/Hip Hop.
3/10
American Hi-Fi VS Butch Walker
@ Club Quattro. 19:00. ¥6,000.
Z 06-6623-3888. Alternative.
3/11 & 12
Marcus Miller @ Osaka Blue Note. 6:30/9:30 & 18:00/21:00. ¥12,600 /¥10,600. Z 06-6342-7722. Jazz.
3/12
Angra w/Nightwish @ Namba Hatch. 18:00. ¥7,000. Z 06-6233-8888. Metal.
3/12
Avril Lavigne @ Kobe World Kinen Hall. 18:00. ¥6,500. Z 06-66233-8888. Pop.
3/14
Polysics @ Taku Taku. 19:00. ¥3,300. Z 06-6357-3666. Alternative.
3/14
The Crusaders @ Osaka Blue Note. 18:30/21:30. ¥12,600/¥10,600.
Z 06-6342-7722. Jazz.
3/15
Hall & Oates @ Osaka Kosei Nenkin Kaikan Dai Hall. 19:00. ¥8,000/ ¥7,000. Z 06-6341-4506. Pop.
3/15
Tete @ Club Quattro. 19:00. ¥5,500. Z 06-6281-8181. Hip Hop.
3/16
Ozomatli @ Club Quattro. 19:00. ¥6,000. Z 06-6535-5569. Alternative.
3/17
Green Day @ Osaka Jo Hall. 19:00. ¥6,800. Z 06-6233-8888. Punk.
3/17
+nobody knows @ Chicken George. 19:00. ¥3,800. Z 06-6341-3525.
3/18
+nobody knows @ Mother Hall 19:00. ¥3,800. Z 06-6341-3525. Hip Hop.
3/18
R.E.M. @ Gran Cube Osaka Main Hall. 19:00. ¥7,800/¥6,800.
Z 06-6362-7301. Rock.
3/18
Sonic Youth @ Namba Hatch. 19:00. ¥6,500. Z 06-6535-5569. Alternative.
3/21
Champion @ Whoopee's. 18:00. ¥2,000. Z 075-551-2331. Hardcore.
3/22
Diana Krall @ Sankei Hall. 19:00. ¥8,500/¥7,500. Z 06-6341-4506. Vocal.
3/23
Kaki King @ Osaka Blue Note. 18:30/21:30. ¥6,000/¥4,000.
Z 06-6342-7722. Guitar.
3/27
Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra @ Moriyama Shinin Hall. 17:30. ¥5,250. Z 06-6882-1224. Ska.
3/28
Matt Bianco @ Namba Hatch. 19:00. ¥8,400. Z 06-6233-8888. Jazz-pop.
3/28
Octave One @ Club Quattro. 19:00. ¥5,000. Z 06-6535-5569. Club.
3/29
Lemon Jelly @ Big Cat. 19:00. ¥6,000. Z 06-6535-5569. Electronica.
3/30 & 31
Angie Stone @ Osaka Blue Note. 18:30/21:30. ¥8,400/¥6,400.
Z 06-6342-7722. R&B.

LIVE Section compiled by Rori Caffrey