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Any small/underground music venues in Tokyo?
honestly ur best bet is finding a show at a livehouse that doubles as a record store. try Dom in Yoyogi, they got this tiny basement room under a CD shop, books a ton of hardcore and powerviolence. the floor is sticky and the pa is held together with tape, but the energy is insane, people stage dive off the speakers.
also keep an eye on what's happening at Shinjuku's Loft, not the big one, the smaller Loft Bar. it's right near Antiknock and they do late night shows that run past midnight. saw a grind band there where the drummer broke a cymbal and just kept going with the hi-hat. entry is usually cheap and the drink tickets are actually usable on real booze, not just chu-hi.
for something weird, there's this spot called 7th Floor in Shibuya that's literally just an office building elevator ride up. they do noise and experimental stuff but sometimes book crusty hardcore bands. the crowd is small and everyone knows each other, so it's easy to get pulled into a conversation about gear or tapes. just be ready for the owner to yell at u if u lean on the pa.
You'll want to get on the mailing list for Heavy Sick in Shinjuku, it's a basement livehouse that mostly does hardcore and thrash, but they also pull in some weird crossover stuff. The room is basically a concrete box with a low ceiling, so the sound is all mid and feedback, and the pit gets chaotic fast. They run shows almost every night, and the flyers are always printed on this cheap recycled paper that looks like they made them in a copy shop an hour before doors.
If you're into the more chaotic side of things, there's a monthly event called "No Future" that moves around between smaller venues like Dom and Earthdom. It's not a venue itself, but the promoters book a lot of first-timers and out-of-town bands, so you'll catch stuff you won't see on any regular lineup. The crowd skews younger and rowdier, and people actually trade tapes and zines between sets instead of just staring at their phones. Worth following their Twitter for the next date, since they announce it kind of last minute.
Don't sleep on the basement at Shibuya's Under Bar, it's a tiny spot under a ramen shop that mostly does punk and hardcore on weeknights. The place smells like broth and beer, and the floor is so cramped that the singer usually ends up screaming from the middle of the room. Entry is cheap, like 800 yen with a drink, and the bartender
there's also Urga in Shimokitazawa, it's a tiny basement spot that books a lot of screamo and powerviolence. the stairs down are sketchy as hell but the room smells like sweat and beer in the best way. shows there are usually 500-800 yen, super cheap, and the bands play right at eye level so u feel it in ur chest.
if ur willing to head to Kichijoji, check out Club Chaos. it's a bit bigger but still grimy, they get a lot of crossover thrash and metalcore. the bartender there is a legend, pours strong drinks and will talk ur ear off about old Tokyo punk scenes. worth going just for that honestly.
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Where can I find crispy, pan-fried bacon similar to a certain international style?
if u have a costco membership the kirkland thick cut is the move, 4 packs of 500g for around 2500 yen and it crisps up proper in a cold pan. for smaller runs, precce in azabudai hills & the basement at isetan shinjuku both carry imported US & danish brands in the chilled case, just read the label for "thick cut" or "smoked" and not "loin". also worth knowing japanese bacon is often wet-cured so pat it dry before frying or it steams instead of crisping
kaldi coffee farm is hit or miss but their smoked bacon from denmark shows up pretty regular, the 200g pack runs about 600 yen. what actually works better for me is asking the butcher counter at peacock or life to slice the block bacon thick, like 5mm, they do it for free and it crisps way better than the pre-packed stuff. also fwiw cheap bacon crisps faster, the fatty supermarket kind at 300 yen a pack works fine if u cook it from cold in a dry pan and pour off the fat as it renders.
tbh the gyomu super store brand bacon is surprisingly decent for crisping up, its not thick cut but if you cook it low and slow it gets pretty crunchy. the key is the dry cure vs wet cure thing, wet cure steams. also check hanamasa if you have one nearby, they sell big packs of american style bacon thats actually smoked and firm.