BETAMAXNOMATES

I like parks. I think they're cool. Maybe it's because there wasn't really any parks near to where I lived when I was younger (just a forest: rubbish) but whenever I visit a big city I find myself invariably drawn to check out the parks. Or maybe it's some kind of primitive nature calling-type thing to seek out greenery or water or whatever. I don't know - I mean, what am I, a psychologist? (The answer is yes... not really. Though that is what it says on my visa). Anyway, parks are great and I like going to them even if I'm not exactly sure why. Tokyo's got quite a few scattered about (actually a lot more that I initially expected, considering the scarcity of land). The best is Yoyogi Koen in Harajuku, which is the place to go on a Sunday afternoon. I know this because someone important told me it was 'the place to go on a Sunday'. But also because I actually went there the past three Sundays and found this to be true. Every Sunday all manner of artists, musicians, dancers, amateur-dramatics types, and general nutbags descend on the park to 'do their thing' seemingly as much for themselves as for any audience they may attract. I think that's what I like most about it: the performers are there not for profit or self-promotion (although obviously that is a factor) but mainly for the sheer enjoyment of it, or - as is often the case - because they simply can't perform anywhere else. So, last Sunday I shot a few videos in an attempt to capture the spirit and milieu of Yoyogi Koen in an impressionistic multimedia collage I like to call 'Postcards From The Veg'.

First up, is a group of Japanese Elvis impersonators. At least they're billed as Elvis impersonators though they look and act more like John Travolta's gang in Grease (Ha! Look at me, trying to act like I don't remember what they were called). There's about six or seven of them altogether and they spend the afternoon strutting around, combing their hair, and 'jiving' to various 50's hits. They are, in short, absolutely hilarious.



Next, it's a guy balancing two crystal balls on his head. In print, that doesn't sound very impressive but watch the movie - it's cool. And he kept them there for ages. And that bottle he's carrying? He went and got that from a vending machine - with the balls still on his head. Amazing. Sure, they fell off eventually and he was kicked half to death by an angry mob but for a brief moment in time this guy was the coolest person on the planet.



Now this guy. He dances to U2 songs outside Harajuku Station every Sunday. Unlike the other performers, this guy does seem like he might actually be a bit... well, crazy. It's certainly a sight to behold, seeing a grown man gyrating suggestively to 'Sunday Bloody Sunday'. It's possible he knows what the song's lyrics are about but it still reminded me of Alan Partridge's hilarious 'you wake up in the morning, you've got to read all the Sunday papers, the kids are running round, you've got to mow the lawn, wash the car, and you think 'Sunday, bloody Sunday!' interpretation (unfortunately YouTube doesn't have that clip, but it does have this one which is also very funny). Anyway, here's the guy shaking his (admittedly quite successful) moneymaker to 'City Of Blinding Lights'.



Another attraction at Yoyogi is the huge number of amateur local bands that play around the perimeter of the park. Mostly tribute bands, hopelessly naff J-poppers, or dire punk/pop metal combos, the standard is generally pretty low but every one of them gives it 100%. And sometimes they give it more than 100%. Like 400%. Or more again, like the guy below. Despite looking a bit like an Asian Rivers Cuomo, this dude seems to be channeling the hedonistic, destructive energy of Iggy Pop and Pete Townshend (though he did stop short of smashing his guitar - that pink Strat replica can't have been cheap). So possessed was he by the Power Of Rawk, he even knocked his glasses off and - sight bedamned! - continued playing. On his back, no less. The really hilarious thing is he did this for every song - later jumping off the amp, wrapping the microphone cord around his head, and attempting to climb onto the bassist's shoulders. Brilliant stuff.



Finally, a short clip of, quite possibly, the gayest band on earth. Yes, even gayer than these guys and these guys put together. It's the somewhat unfortunately named Loovee, comprising inter alia a comedy afro-wearing bass player and a female backup singer in a French maids outfit. So gay they make the Scissor Sisters look like Motorhead. Viddy this.