Stephanie in Japan: Kill the Noise

I have always been a heavy metal girl, but around the time I was in college, I really started to get into EDM music, too. I have always been a huge concert-goer, 5 or 6 times a year. That hasn’t changed much since I moved to Japan. It wasn’t until I moved to here that I actually started going to EDM concerts, though. My first one was Skrillex in Kyoto. That concert was really special to me because not only was it my first EDM concert, Skrillex is my favorite DJ, and the concert was held at Kyoto World, a very small, personal venue. I was feet away from Skrillex! Usually he plays enormous festivals.

Throwback picture to when I saw him in Kyoto.

I’ve also had the privilege of seeing DJs at large festivals here, too, like when I went to Music Circus festival to see Steve Aoki and Showtek or when I saw Krewella live at Summer Sonic. Seeing a DJ live is different than just going to a club and hearing their music playing because rather than just dancing, you are actually watching them perform, too.

One thing I am beginning to realize, however, is that I’m very lucky to be seeing so many concerts in Japan. Going to a festival is one thing, but when a DJ (or a heavy metal band for that matter) comes to Japan to perform and is not part of a festival, the venues are usually quite small. It makes sense since Japan is so crowded. Yes, less people can go and tickets sell out fast and are more expensive, but you get a really amazing experience in return. I mean, how many people can say they were in a tiny room, 5 feet away from Skrillex with like only 300 other people?!

So, I want to tell you about an interesting experience I had not too long ago. A pretty famous DJ called Kill the Noise came to Osaka on a Friday night. He performed at one of my favorite clubs, Joule, which is decently big for a dance club, but small for a concert venue. I decided to go check him out despite having to wake up at 8:30 in the morning (needless to say I got like two hours of sleep lol). Since he’s not really a big name in Japan, I didn’t need to buy tickets in advance, and it wasn’t crowded at all. I think the ticket at the door was 3000 yen including a drink. Surprisingly, a lot of people I know ended up coming besides the one friend I went with. It was a totally awesome and unusual experience. Let me tell you why.

My EDM concert buddy.

Well first, the music was awesome, of course. The excitement of having a DJ in person play his/her music is overwhelming. The thing that was different from my Skillex experience, though, was that since he’s not as famous, the atmosphere was less like a concert and more like a club vibe. Let me just say, it was probably the best “club” experience I’ve ever had. The drinks were flowing, the lasers and lights were on point, the live music was electrifying, and all I could do is dance and in live in the moment. Yes, a lot of people stood and watched, but it wasn’t jammed packed to where you couldn’t move like all the other concerts I’ve ever been to. There were plenty of people who were just going all out and dancing freely in the middle of the floor. It was my first time to go to a live concert where I wasn’t focused solely on the artist. I hope to have this type of experience again because it was one of the most fun times I’ve ever had.