Day 3 - First performance at Environment [zero-gauge]

Today, we relaxed during the morning to prepare for our first performance at Environment 0g in Osaka. Opening for us was the Japanese psychedelic folk group "Imaginary Square". We arrived a few hours before the performance to set up and have a soundcheck. To my surprise, there was no piano at the venue, and the keyboard they had was not functioning properly. This did not affect our show however, because I was confident in my ability to just play two synthesizers, and luckily I could rely on Masato Shinohara to play the harmonies as well. 

Imaginary Square played a wonderful set, blending elements of electronic music, traditional Japanese folk music, and psychedelic music to create a really unique landscape. They did not have a percussionist, just a bass player, an electric and nylon string guitarist both with effects and pedals, and a female vocalist with a vocal processor and effects on her vocals. They did a great job setting the mood for my group and it was a great contrast. The first show we just we on fire, because I did not have a piano, we had to play songs from all three sets that I could play just synthesizer on, and it was a great concert! We played phenomenally together, and I was genuinely impressed with how tight the music was, the rehearsals really paid off! 

After the concert, we shared some information about Berklee College of Music with the younger Japanese musicians that were interested, and sold and signed some of our "To Japan!" CD's. I was a bit worried about not having piano to play, but after the show I got great feedback from the audience and the owner of the club!, They would like to have us perform there again, and next time  come to Japan we will definitely be doing another show here!