Following on from my review of the great Casual Culture cd, I decided to grab a copy of the One Man Stand self made DVD from the bands My Space, a fly on the wall documentary, following the band through their successful February 2008 Japan tour.

I had already been pre-warned by Ant, who I felt was a little underselling the DVD, stating that it was very much an acquired taste and designed to give an insight into the Japanese culture and lifestyle and how the punk scene is impacting on this fabulous country and the reason that bands like OMS are turning towards this totally devoted and enthused audience.



The film running time is some 1hr:23m and whilst "home made" is of more than acceptable audio/visual quality.15th February 2008 - Mescalin Drive

The film kicks off on the morning of the first tour date with a wake up call and a first glimpse at "Cracker" and "Fatty" some of the characters that help glide through the 8 days and seem to have welcomed OMS with open arms. Our boys shrug off the hang-over before commencing the drive through the Japanese streets, peeking at everday life en-route towards Mescalin Drive in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, the home of Drex ready for the tour kick-off date.

A fascinating look at the culture differences not only in the living areas of the town, but the general things that form part of their society which seem so far from what we consider "normal" in the uk culture, including the "fag, beer and hot drink machines" that seem to appear on every street corner.

So after breakfast at the "Fatty recommends" burger bar, its on to Mescalin Drive as the DVD morphs wonderfully into some powerful footage of the band stage build up hype ready for an explosive display of "You Can't Polish Shit".

The film is only 6 minutes in and you can already sense the atmosphere that these two cultures bring together. These three guys look relaxed and at home here, beaming with confidence.



16th February 2008 - Moon Step, Nakanoku, Tokyo

Several beers, a short sleep and a sore throat later, we are treated to a tour of the far from luxurious accommodation of the bands bedroom in the basement. These guys certainly are not living the life you would expect, but a very "down to earth" existence, something that is apparent right through the film, and in line with the true Punk Rock theme.  

Relaxed fun and friendly are starting to stand out with the places and company shadowing these guys through this tour. An evening in a local sushi bar followed by some serious shopping in the local shoe shop, an important part of this documentary tagging the tour as the "New Shoes Tour", and again giving an eye-opener into the Japanese everyday life, beautifully topped off with the "oi oi" chants as the camera rotates around the guys. A treat of "Lights Out" again a confident display , great sound quality and atmosphere, before returning back to the bands new "Japanese family" all preaching their own messages into the camera back to their England fellow hardcore.

18th February 2008 Club Sonic Iwaki

Club Sonic arrival in Iawki and a demonstration of some of Chris's dodgy Japanese, before taking a look around this very small but nice venue, with luxury features like  lockers! - The foyer is full of flyers and clearly a recognised venue with a quaInt bar and stage with a good set up of Bootstomp band merchandise, and a look around the backstage area - again very modest, and again absolutely shining of what punk rock is all about, "Wet Paint" thunders in again - and again a great sound considering this is a home-brew production. This really looks like a cracking venue, and you can see why sponsors such as Dr Martins are supporting bands playing here. I have heard rumours of the band and in particular Ant sometimes lacking in confidence, although have to say there are certainly no signs of this from what I have seen playing to the Japanese natives - they really look in their comfort zone.

19th February 2008 Border Horshima

An 18hour drive moves the band on to the much more urban Horoshima, and takes the viewer around the historic land marks that have planted this town firmly into history for  the wrong reasons before swiftly jumping into "What’s Going On". These boys know how to whip up the crowd, who all so clearly know this band and their songs so very well, as  the chants fill the hall, I cannot help asking myself why such a talented dedicated bunch of guys have to travel so many thousands of miles to get this support and enthusiasm, I think their home town fans should bow their heads in shame - we could all learn a lot from this culture. I know Ant and the crew are quite "freaked" at their cds being for sale in the very large Japanese stores - a reflection of how good they are when people get off their arse and take notice.

20th February Keith Flack Fukuoka

Again clearly a well reputed club, with the venue covered in bill posters of local bands, some much better looking than the OMS crew (swiftly noted by Chris), with a variety of claims to fame from Sum 41 to Pizza of Death~? An interesting glance at the local "toilet shaped" police station in the town, complete with sooty and sweep patrol car. The venue itself, well a piece of art that from the outside looks like something from a Harry Potter set modeled in clay, with a cave like entrance below, and  a quick look around shows the merchandise and stage setup along with a feast of live food - a kind of pizza with a strange wing looking specialty flapping within - no where
near as appealing as fatty's performance of belly-button smoking!

A brief look around town for some food and drink before a glimpse of the nights performance of "Black Hole" -

The bands luxury accommodation for two nights is courtesy of the local temple, and a tour gives a strange reflection of how death is respected and celebrated before the band leave after thanking the local priest.

22nd February 2008 King Cobra Osaka

A traditional MacDonald’s breakfast, a trip to Sega world, then a blistering performance of "Time to Go" and with the buzz in the air and eager audience participation  you can understands why the bands scream "my passport is staying here"

A glance at Yamaguchi port before some more sightseeing ventures advancing towards the King Cobra club, situated in a very busy town, and a walk through the back stage entrance into a very impressive bustling club, moving into a nice well edited, compilation of some performance footage this time filmed from behind the stage, and whilst a little distorted it offers the view head on of the small devoted audience as well as a cracking version of "Down In The Tube Station At Midnight", a nicely edited compilation of short bursts of the tracks played throughout the evening performance

23rd February 2008 King Cobra Mie

Entering into Mie, the audience are treated to a full on blast of "Casual Culture", a performance performed exclusively for the Japanese audience only, and don’t the audience  appreciate it! - This song, and in many ways this band, belongs to them anf the gig is totally engulfed with a passion, topped off with a version of the Clash classic "Safe European Home"- and it seems like the whole of Japan are getting on stage to scream this out.

An all out performance at Club Upset Nagoya, brings this 2008 tour to a close, and you can tell they are no way ready to bring this to an end, "Everybodys Looking At Me"



I can understand how this interesting insight is not for everyone, but have to say I give the band full marks for offering an excellent balance of live performance footage, with behind the scene documentary style eye-opener into the culture, neatly editing making this home made recording more than worthy of the reasonable £5 cost. The boys are all set to return in 2010 and I look forward to the follow on update!

Oi Oi Vincey Boy
Studs and Punks Admin Team