Yuzo Live! One Love, No Nukes, Good Music, Save Greens
...written on 05.04.03, @ 3:28 p.m.
Sun May 4, 2003
It is after 4 am and I am sitting in front of the fan waiting for my hair to dry. I had to take a shower to remove the layers of second hand smoke on my person.
I just got back from Min's after party after the after party of the YUZO Live! acoustic guitar concert. Min did the lead in with two songs and then his buddy Yuzo Toyoda from Kyoto, played a nice long set.
Imagine if you will a mix of slightly younger versions of Bob Dylan and Mick Jagger. Yuzo-san looks more like Mick, but he is a big fan of BD's and his playing style reflects that. He plays superbly and I bought a 3 CD set (he has an additional nine individual CDs under his belt) of his as well as two Yuzo Live! T-shirts. The profit made on the sale of a T-shirt goes to schooling kids in Thailand. Yuzo-san travels there many times a year and really loves the country and its people.
After the concert there was a little get together in the same place where we had the after party for Min's "End of Life" concert (I know I haven't posted the entry or the pictures from it yet, I am super behind!).
In the center of the table was a huge stew pot on top of a burner that boilingly churned chicken meatballs, cabbage, burdock root, mushrooms and other nabe essentials. After most of that was eaten, long, thin, dry noodles and tofu were put in to cook.
I was seated next to Yuzo-san who could speak English pretty well and had been kind enough to translate some of the lyrics to his songs and the stories behind them at the concert for me. Min was on the other side of Yuzo-san.
The after-the-concert party lasted for almost three hours. One of the funniest parts of the evening was when all were gathering for photos. One guy got up and took his pictures and then another guy got up to shoot a round. He said (in Japanese) "ok, on three!" and then proceeded to count "one, six, three!" and snapped the picture. As we were recovering from that one he said "one, two!" and snapped on "two", we were all laughing about that when he suddenly lurched sideways and fell on the tatami to shout another deranged set of numbers and flick the shutter when we weren't expecting it. He did this about four more times. I think those are going to be some great pictures. I'll have to remember that technique.
The After Party was over at 1:30 and Min, Matsumoto-san, Yuzo-san and I headed upstairs. I knew Yuzo-san was staying with Min tonight and I had spent the day cleaning and airing out my futons, pillows and covers since I was lending Min some extra bedding. As I stopped and put the key in my door, Yuzo-san asked me if I'd like to have a drink with them. I said sure, and so the After party for the After-the-concert-party began.
We sat on the floor around Min's table and sipped on appropriate liquid refreshments. The boys partook of beef jerky, squid and octopus snack offereings. I kept to the peanuts and Kit Kats.
Min was seated at the opposite side of the table and decided to take his shirt off. After a few minutes, Yuzo-san poked him and asked him if he wasn't cold. Min said "no". Later Min got up, put on his T-shirt, went to the kitchen to smoke a cigarette and came back in and sat down beside me.
(I had to quit writing the above to crash. So here's more . . .)
We were listening to an MD that Min made of some Windham Hill CDs that I had let him borrow. Min said he loved that music. I asked Yuzo-san what music he liked best to listen to while he was kissing. Min protested about me asking that question, but Yuzo-san said that he preferred silence so he could hear the sounds of the kissing that was going on.
One of the many subjects we covered was the difference between "samishii" and "sabishii". Words that deal with loneliness. I explained the difference between "alone" and "lonely" and asked if Min ever felt "lonely" amongst a crowd of people and he said yes, that he had.
At one point Yuzo-san picked up a guitar and started playing and singing. He asked me if I knew any songs and before I knew it I had grabbed an aluminum coke bottle for an improvised microphone and started wailing some Janis Joplin, Roberta Flack, America, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, CSN&Y tunes. Yuzo-san followed nicely and Min saw a side of me he never has seen before. I surprised myself as a matter of fact.
We talked until 3:30 in the morning and then Min and Matsumoto-san came to my apartment to carry back the futons and pillows I had prepared for them. I took a shower and began writing this entry.
I first woke up about 7:30 am and was able to convince my body that this was a preposterous time to be up and managed to sleep again until about 11 am when I heard an email come in on my phone. It was Fred asking what time would be good for his parents to pick me up for dinner tonight. I wrote back and said 5:30.
The next thing I know, Min and Matsumoto-san are at the door returning the pillows and futons. Min laughed at my sleepy face. I gave him some coffee to prepare for breakfast at his place and said that I would cook pancakes here and for them to come over at noon.
I had two frying pans going and made big hearty-sized pancakes. Min was a little worried because up to now he has disparaged everything that I have ever cooked for him (once I gave him the southern US delicacy known as "grits " which is ground corn with some salt, pepper and butter. I thought I had passed the limit for salt, but after the first taste, Min immediately began shouting for the soy sauce). Not to worry this time however, as he took a bite into the pancakes and declared them "Umai!" (delicious). WHEW, what a relief!
At one point Min took off on a long monologue with the others nodding assent until I finally said "I'm LONELY!" Min broke off and explained what I was unable to follow. All of the men at one time or another volunteered to either help me cook or clean up.
I was having a blast. I remembered the first time I went to Min's apartment with the landlady (An Apartment with Soul)
I remembered my vow to myself about having artists over to my place (Poems on a Door)
I also remembered the other times when Min came over and the other things we have done and in a future entry I plan on tying them all together in a "Saga of Min" page.
Sometimes it feels like I have a swiss cheese brain and I forget quickly and easily, but I shan't be forgetting last night or many other nights. The fulfilling happiness I feel in my heart is a marvelous memory aid and these pictures help too.
