I have been travelling through Japan with friends for almost 3 months now and it's been a blast. A few days ago a received a message from a friend back home in England asking if I was still in Osaka as he would be playing a gig there with none other than The Cockney Rejects. I had seen Joe play in bands back home and even been in the same lineup, he is a very talented drummer and has played with the best on some of the biggest stages around the world with his band Reigning Days. It was no surprise to see him on stage with big names but to get an invite to come and hang out in Osaka was awesome.
I arrived at the Socore factory music club around 8 pm just as Joe and the guys were arriving. It was awesome seeing someone from home as I have been away for a couple of years now and the other guys in the band were really cool guys and invited me to hang out with them and the other bands upstairs in the VIP area. It was only a small club so nothing luxurious but the atmosphere was great and it was renowned for being one of the top live music venues in Osaka.
After a good catch up with Joe and the guys it was time for them to hit the stage and lucky for me they gave me a backstage pass. Straight away the crowd went crazy for them, they were very well known there and had played in Japan a few times before, the last time being around 9 years before so there were a lot of longtime fans waiting for their return.
As soon as the lights turned on and the intro got going people were bouncing around and screaming from the off and it was clear that this would be a great gig. I was surprised to see so many Japanese punk rockers in all denim and leather and rocking killer hairstyles, it was just like the early east end punk days back in England when it all started and it is still very much alive and well in Japan.
As the gig went on the crowd were going crazy so I left the stage area and made my way through the crowd to get in amongst the action. I was expecting the crowd to avoid me a bit as I am a little larger than most and I have been told I can be a little intimidating but I was wrong, these guys were really up for it and it wasn't long before people were throwing themselves into me and it turned into a right good mosh pit. The fans there also knew all the words and there were a good couple hundred people shouting along to the choruses even though they couldn't speak much English, these were die-hard fans.
After a couple of encore songs and a huge applause it was all over and I went upstairs to congratulate the guys on an awesome gig. These guys had just spent a whole day traveling from the UK and played the same day the arrived in Japan which was pretty amazing.
When we were upstairs the band had a visitor from a fan that had seen them 16 years before, he had a poster which he bought at the last gig but at the time didn't have a chance to meet the band and get his poster autographed. He was clearly very happy to finally meet the band after so long and he told the band his story so they were more than happy to sign a whole bunch of stuff for him this time and also took a bunch of pictures together too. It was very cool to see and the guys later told me that the poster he had kept was worth a lot of money as it was a very limited print and now its signed by the band one day it might be worth a very sizable amount of money.
After some meet and greets with their fans we headed to a bar near their hotel and had a little downtime and a few beers. As we sat their talking music and guitars etc they started talking about legends they have met and toured with over the years and I was in awe. So many great stories with the likes of Robert Plant, Sammy Hagar, Chad Smith and many many more. They were really nice guys and it was no surprise that they have made a lot of friends along the way, after all, they have been around since the 70s and are the no1 Oi band in the world with over 20 Grammys under their belts and they are still going strong now. My mate Joe was over the moon about getting the opportunity to tour with them through Japan, Europ, and Mexico this year.
The whole night was a little surreal but getting to see a familiar face and hang out with legends was amazing and a great story to add to my travels through Asia.
I hope you enjoyed my story, for more travel blogs and stories from my travels please give me a follow and check out my page. Thanks for reading and have a great new year.