JQ Magazine: Nippon in New York – Gogol Bordello, Hiromi’s Sonicwonder, ‘Dragon Ball DAIMA’
By JQ magazine editor Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02). Justin has written about Japanese arts and entertainment for JETAA since 2005. For more of his articles, click here.
The events of the month ahead promise to be as rich and full as autumn itself—brisk and colorful, with a dash of unpredictability.
This month’s highlights include:
Courtesy of Livenation.com
Nov. 20-21, 7:00 p.m.
Gogol Bordello Presents: Scream of My Blood
Gramercy Theater, 127 E 23rd Street
From $41.75
The gypsy punks from the Lower East Side return for a two-night hometown stand showcasing their new documentary produced by VICE News Films! Scream Of My Blood: A Gogol Bordello Story is an intimate, career-spanning portrait of Ukrainian immigrant and punk legend Eugene Hütz. The film chronicles Hütz’s journey from his childhood in Ukraine, his rise to fame with the iconic punk band Gogol Bordello, and his defiant return to Ukraine in the wake of the Russian invasion. This isn’t just a documentary; it’s a raw, unfiltered look at the life of a man who turned his struggles into a universal anthem of resistance and freedom. Don’t miss this exclusive evening with Gogol Bordello’s frontman Hütz and violinist Sergey Ryabtsev, which features a screening of the film followed by a Q&A and spirited live performance with Eugene and Sergey.
Courtesy of Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp.
Tuesday, Nov. 19, 8:00 p.m.
President Bill Clinton Live: Moderated by Billy Crystal
Beacon Theatre, 2124 Broadway
From $86.45
Former President Bill Clinton goes from the Oval Office to the Big Apple in this exclusive conversation moderated by Emmy Award-winner Billy Crystal! This intimate talk will delve into his highly anticipated memoir, Citizen: My Life After the White House, which will be released on November 19. In this landmark follow-up to the best-selling My Life, Citizen is Clinton’s front-row, first-person chronicle of his post-presidential years and the most significant events of the twenty-first century, including 9/11 and the run-up to the Iraq War, the Haiti earthquake, the Great Recession, the January 6 insurrection, and the enduring culture wars of our times. With clarity and compassion, he also weighs in on the unprecedented challenges brought on by a global pandemic, ongoing income inequality, a steadily warming planet, and authoritarian forces dedicated to weakening democracy. Yet Citizen is more than a political memoir. He recounts his support for Hillary Clinton during her time as senator, secretary of state, and presidential candidate, and shares the frustration and pain of the 2016 election. These pages capture Clinton in a rare and unforgettable light: not only as a celebrated former president and a foundation leader, but as a father, grandfather, and husband.
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Nov. 3, 4 & 6
Various theaters
Various prices
Iconic Anime Expo Cinema Nights Presents Osamu Tezuka’s Metropolis, where it's man against machine in this film based on the classic manga (comic) by Osamu Tezuka, the godfather of Japanese anime and manga. In the late 1940s, long before Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion established Osamu Tezuka as one of the most influential animators of all time, the legendary illustrator created the classic manga Metropolis. Directed by the legendary Rintaro (Galaxy Express 999) and set in the future, Metropolis is a grand city-state populated by humans and robots, the cohabitants of a strictly segmented society. Detective Shunsaku Ban and his sidekick Ken-ichi search for a rebel scientist, to arrest him and seize his latest creation, Tima, a beautiful young girl. But when they locate him, Shunsaku quickly realizes that the eccentric genius is protected by a powerful man and beyond their reach. A retro-futuristic cautionary tale, Metropolis is spectacularly rendered, combining the best in Japanese cel animation with the latest in digital technology.
Courtesy of Sonyhall.com
Nov. 6-7
Sony Hall, 235 West 46th Street
$45-$70
Various prices
Sonicwonderland is Hiromi’s 12th studio album, from a prolific artist who has explored a number of musical spheres over the course of her career. This new collection of songs represents a new musical adventure for the constantly evolving pianist and composer, who is a star in her native Japan, and burst onto the music scene 20 years ago with her debut album. Recorded with a new quartet called Hiromi’s Sonicwonder, the album features nine dazzling new works bursting with synthesizer and deep-in-the pocket grooves. Hiromi’s Sonicwonder is a quartet featuring blossoming young talents Hadrien Feraud (bass), Gene Coye (drums), and Adam O’Farrill (trumpet), which began performing live together earlier this spring. Says the artist, “The word ‘wonder’ has a lot of meaning. It fits the musical view that I have for this project…it is definitely a new adventure for me.”
One Night in Winter © Richard Termine; Sachiyo Takahashi
Nov. 7-9
Shinnai Meets Puppetry: One Night in Winter & The Peony Lantern
Japan Society, 333 East 47th Street
$28-$38 (limited GA seating)
Following her highly popular run of SHEEP #1 at Japan Society in 2021, NYC-based artist Sachiyo Takahashi/Nekaa Lab presents two whimsical and spooky tales: a heart-warming-then-wrenching fable on the friendship between a shapeshifting tanuki trickster and a lonely old man; and a classical Japanese ghost story to chill you to the bone. These stories were set by shinnai-bushi Grand Master Okamoto Bunya (1895-1996) to rustic, lyrical storytelling music with shamisen accompaniment. Takahashi, who has practiced shinnai-bushi under the authorized stage name of Okamoto Miya, performs this expressive music while her collaborators Rowan Magee and Emma Wiseman animate these fantastical stories with original puppets and new puppetry techniques, sure to enchant children and adults alike. Recommended Age 8+. Performed in English and Japanese with English supertitles.
© BIRD STUDIO:SHUEISHA, TOEI ANIMATION
Nov. 10, 11, 12
Various theaters
Various prices
The world English dub premiere of Dragon Ball DAIMA, the newest series in the Dragon Ball universe, debuts in U.S. theaters featuring the first three episodes of the series! This all-new story from series creator Akira Toriyama features Goku and his friends, who are turned into children due to a conspiracy. To make things right, they plan to head to a new world. The series is presented as a great action adventure in an unknown and mysterious place across the universe! Before the film, there will be a special introduction from the Japanese voice of Goku, Masako Nozawa. Don’t miss this exciting new next chapter of the greatest martial arts anime of all time!
Courtesy of Musichallofwilliamsburg.com
Wednesday, Nov. 20, 8:00 p.m.
Bit Brigade Performs "Super Mario World" + "F-Zero" LIVE
$20 GA, $45 preferred mezzanine
Bit Brigade performs rock covers of full NES game soundtracks as their gamer speedruns the game live on stage, with support from Super Guitar Bros!
BIO: "When was the last time you attended a live music performance with a genuine element of risk involved? And no, going to a Gwar show with a white t-shirt on doesn't count. When Bit Brigade takes the stage your mind will frantically oscillate between "Oh! Agh!! Please don't die!!" and "YES! He's doing it!!" Combining the dread and daring of a live video game speed run with the spot-on technique of a live band covering the musical accompaniment to everything you're seeing on-screen in real time, Bit Brigade will have you swinging between the two mediums. From thrashing about to live renditions of your favorite stage themes, fingers yearning to the sky in a rock 'n roll parody of sea anemones seeming to silently plead, "Please, feed us more fretboard pyrotechnics!," to being locked in stock-still rapture as the infallible maestro of the d-pad, Noah McCarthy, takes on the final boss and risks his video game life under the threat of intense peer scorn (or the reward of night-long glory and a credits score). No matter the outcome, Bit Brigade must play on until the deed is done - which it always is - on the first (and last) try. Once Noah’s NES buzzes on, there's no turning back." - Metalhead Mike of The Shizz
“The word “play” is probably an understatement- these guys shred through the games as expertly as the band wails on their instruments.”
-Nintendo Power
GKIDS
Nov. 24 & 26
Various theaters
Various prices
In this brilliant and often overlooked Studio Ghibli masterpiece from Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Isao Takahata, the forests are filled with groups of magical tanuki, mischievous raccoon-like animals from Japanese folklore that are capable of shape-shifting from their standard raccoon form to practically any object.
The tanuki spend their days playing idly in the hillsides and squabbling over food – until the construction of a huge new Tokyo suburb clears the nearby forest and threatens their way of life. In an effort to defend their home, the tanuki learn to transform into humans and start playing tricks to make the workers think the construction site is haunted, ending in a spectacular night-time spirit parade, with thousands of ghosts, dragons and other magical creatures descending on the city — in an abundance of fantastical characters that would not be matched on screen by Studio Ghibli until Spirited Away.
GKIDS
Nov. 25 & 27
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
Various theaters
Various prices
From Studio Ghibli, the studio that brought you the Academy Award-winning Spirited Away, comes a powerful and soaring epic that redefines animated storytelling and marks a triumphant highpoint within an extraordinary filmmaking career for director and studio co-founder Isao Takahata. Found inside a shining stalk of bamboo by an old bamboo cutter and his wife, a tiny girl grows rapidly into an exquisite young lady. The mysterious young princess enthralls all who encounter her – but ultimately, she must confront her fate, the punishment for her crime. Featuring the voice talents of James Caan, John Cho, Darren Criss, Lucy Liu, James Marsden, and Chloë Grace Moretz, director Isao Takahata’s final film was nominated for an Academy Award and hailed as a masterpiece by critics.
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