Gunji x ADAPTER。 at London Anime Con 2013

It's been a while since I was able to go to a gig, but several weeks ago I found out that a Japanese musician I have been following since 2009, was playing with another Japanese musician at London Anime Con 2013!

And this time, unlike the last few times I've written about gigs, I can share concert pictures! I totally recommend both these artists, so please read on--music videos included!



So. Saturday saw me traipsing up to London on the train, to see Gunji and ADAPTER.
I already knew Gunji's music; to cut a long story short it's thanks to one of his Japanese fans that I first heard it! His band, the fool, had always been pretty internationally oriented, and toured in Europe before. They disbanded, but Gunji revived the band as a solo project and released a new single, Joker, last month.

Before the gig, all I'd heard of ADAPTER。's music was from a sample video on the website of the company that organised their current European coupling tour. But I liked it, so was looking forward to seeing both of them perform!

ADAPTER。, the project of metronome guitarist Fukusuke, played first. Unfortunately he had a bunch of technical difficulties at the beginning (such as the microphone stopping working halfway through) and ended up singing without the voice modulation he normally uses. He has a great voice anyway, similar to another musician I like, so I thoroughly enjoyed his set!
It isn't visible in the photo above, but at this gig, Fukusuke had 英。painted on his cheek--英 being the kanji for England/Britain!

Here is one of ADAPTER。's music videos. I love the combination of traditional and electronic sound!

Next up was Gunji. Like ADAPTER。, he performed along with recorded music rather than a band, which is understandable when he's a solo artist! (Little factlet: Gunji and Fukusuke were originally both guitarists, as far as I know!)

Gunji performed a whole bunch of songs that I love, along with his new single. He's very energetic on stage and speaks pretty good English! His set seemed fairly short, unfortunately, but I think the technical difficulties at the beginning of his and ADAPTER。's slot had something to do with that.

Still, I really enjoyed seeing him perform live! Finally!!!

Here is short clip advertising the fool's new single, Joker:

After their set, I bought a couple of CDs from the merchandise stand (pictured at the top of this post) and kicked myself for not having more cash on me, as Gunji's new single was there and I don't know where to buy it online that ships to England!

Luckily, I was able to meet Fukusuke and Gunji and get the CDs signed! They were really lovely guys, and shook my hand and thanked me for coming (meanwhile I was gushing, 'thank you so much for coming to London!!!'). I ended up getting a photo with them, and a hug from both of them, which was a surprise, but altogether very nice!


 I hope that they will come back to England to perform again, this time in a better venue. With it being an anime convention there were people that didn't care about the music, and the setup of the stage area wasn't great either--it had a whole load of sofas in front of it, as it's part of a student bar. I hope this didn't put either Gunji or Fukusuke off the idea of performing here again, as I'm sure lots of people would go!
Mild complaints about the venue aside, I really enjoyed this concert! 

On the plus side, being at a convention, their slot was 5-6pm, meaning that unlike other gigs I've been to, this time I was able to meet the musicians at the merchandise table afterwards (usually I have to hot foot it to the train station to catch the last train home!)

Totally memorable evening. :)

...I promised myself I wouldn't ramble...!