Jazzed Up.

I had great intentions of cataloging all the jazz acts that I saw at the 22nd Jozenji Jazz Festival but after the first two acts I gave up. Since I wasn't drinking on the Saturday (early morning Wedding on Sunday), I took my bike and decided to go to one of the off the beaten path venues. En route, to my surprise, there was a Flea Market going on at my local Shrine and though it was too Artsy/Craftsy for me, I did buy a lame Halloween Post Card. Much to my pleasure (chagrin?), she stuffed another card in the bag as well.

I hit one of the newer venues outside Tsutsujigaoka Park on the way to the Kleenex Stadium. I ate a frankfurter and stayed for one song by two different singers and then hightailed it out of there. Way too folksy for me.

On my way to the Main Gig, I finally stumbled across the Anpanman Museum! I had to pick up a few, Horrorman being my fave.

I got a call from my gal-pal Hitomi and hightailed it to the main stage. 'Twas Big Band Swing music and incredibly crowded.

After that, I head over to meet pal Alex & family. A few lame acts on the way, a bit of Blues, a bit of bad Brazilian, a bit of Bizarre Boogeying and a bit of Bodacious Bluegrass!. The Bluegrassians were the highlight of the afternoon. I chatted them up after their gig hummed a few bars of Dueling Banjos and sure enough, the Violinist and Banjoist played the whole tune!

I chilled with Alex's family for the rest of the afternoon and we wandered over to Nishi Park for its World Vista. Lots of playing with Trains & Trucks (no Planes or Automobiles) and we ate some Persian (no Shwarma!) food. The acts were mediocre but tolerable.

I ditched Alex & his spawn for a bit of a sanity break and caught a few more acts. Nothing special and the main stage didn't disappoint me by disappointing me. It has always been lame and that night was no exception, all theme music from Anime & Games! Fortunately, there was some swinging stuff happening on the street and then I hoofed to Ernie's to hook back up with a child-free Alex. Mokugohan DJed a terrific set and I had a pleasant surprise appearance by my potential paramour, Mio. She, Kozue & I had a threesome on the dance floor and since nothing better than that could possibly happen, I head home!

All in all, Saturday at the Jazz Fest was a really great day! Good music (occasionally I even heard some actual Jazz music being played), good food, good friends and that aforementioned threesome.

Then comes Sunday, but that's a story for another day...