Osaka Minami Live Houses

• Mele, Osaka, formerly known as Rock Rider, is in Nanba, not far from Nanba Hatch. They've recently changed the name ("Rock Rider" being a bit genreist for them) and the colour scheme but the management hasn't changed and it still seems to retain its original vibe. It's a great place, close to being my favourite, that serves a variety of beer as opposed to a single house special like so many places. And you can get the Guiness or Corona with your drink ticket too, no tricks. Really nice staff. Great vibe. Good stage. Lousy ventilation. Eye-wateringly and lung-gratingly lousy on a bad day, but they allow re-entry so at least you can escape from it for a bit.
  The ladies toilet is lovely. Even has a bidet. But there's only one so if you get impatient I recommend going into the gents and strolling past the urinals and using the dodgy traditional style nightmare that the gents have been saddled with. If you're not too impatient, the back corridor outside the toilets at Rock Rider is one of the best places to meet people and start conversations ever.
  The new website has less English on it and the map is completely in Japanese. There's a link to Google maps...also in Japanese. So Mele's perhaps a bit harder to find than Rock Rider was, but it's right at the intersection of Yotsubashi and Sennichimae. Exit B1 from Namba Walk comes up across the street (Sennichimae) or Subway Exit 30 will bring you up in the forecourt of the new Hotel Monterey, across a side street from the venue. Mele is in the basement with a golf shop on the first floor and a yakiniku chain restaurant on the second. Looks like this.




Mele.



• King Cobra, in Nishi Shinsaibashi, also known as Amemura, is another good place. Click on 'System' on the website and you get a map. It's in Japanese but it's pretty clear, especially when you realise that King Cobra's right next to Triangle Park. Park. Bwahaha. It's about the size of your average Oz back yard... My only problem finding it was that I didn't realise it was upstairs and missed the signs on the ground. This might help.
  Asahi Super Dry. They have re-entry but they only stamp your hand if the place is full and they're having trouble keeping track. Elevated stage. Lighting OK but not much good for photos; sound excellent, at least from the audience end of things. Tends to be very smoky. Two toilets and they're a bit grotty. King Cobra has a sort of patio/balcony too which is quite fun, since it overlooks Triangle Park and there's a good chance you'll spot someone you know.




King Cobra. There's a good takoyaki place just up the street to the right of this photo too, a bit past the conbini.



• Live Space Bears, in Nanba, is quite the experience. I've been there quite a few times and I'm always happy to go back. It's really small, dark, smoky and cramped but the atmosphere is right and it features a great bar...an esky by the front desk! Claaaass. I don't think they really expect you to use it. Bears is essentially BYO whatever. Re-entry is allowed, of course, with your ticket. Please don't hang around the entrance though otherwise they have trouble with the neighbours. The staff are really nice. The website has been upgraded and amongst other improvements the new map (click on "contact") is pretty good. Note in particular the proximity of Labi- the basement of which is a good place to get cheap beer until they shut at 10. For a little extra help, there's a big multistorey carpark on the corner and Bears is in the next building along, in the basement. There's a small dark-blue canopy marking the entrance and a coffee shop with a green canopy next door.
  For Bears I'll make an exception to my usual advice re footwear. There's only the one lavvy and it's traditional style. Forget Chucks. Forget Docs. Wear wellies.




Live Space Bears.



• Clapper, is smallish, pretty new (opened in 2006) and gets it right. The lighting and sound are good and the stage is well elevated. Re-entry is allowed. Your drink ticket gets you Asahi, Orion or Corona. Two ladies' loos. There isn't a lot of English on the web site, though, and the live schedule isn't put up much in advance of the gigs.
  It's not too hard to find because although the map is mostly in Japanese the Apple place on Midosuji is in romaji and besides, it's opposite Big Step. It's not screamingly obvious though, so a photo may help. And can you see the amazingly cool person hidden in this photo, kiddies?




Clapper.



• Pangea     I've put Pangea here because it's actually in the same building, on the ground floor, as Clapper, above. So the picture above is out of date but it's still awesome so it's staying. Pangea's cool. I liked it. Small and wide, so visibility is good, although the stage could use to be higher, and it opened in March 2011 so the gear is all nice and new. The decor is colourful and the toilets (two, unisex) are downright lovely. Smashing staff, re-entry allowed and real beer with your drink ticket. Erm...something niceish in a green bottle...Carlsberg mebbe? And I didn't check what they have on tap...Next time!



• Knave     Nice enough place, in Minami Horie, west of Amemura. There's a studio and used guitar shop there as well as the live house. Adequate toilets, nice atmosphere, can't remember the beer. The website is good and features a pretty readable map. You just go up the hypotenuse of Triangle Park and keep going west until you get to three streets past Naniwasuji. It'll be on your left. If you get to Amidaikesuji you've gone too far. Looks like this, on a summer's afternoon. The neon at right is more visible at night.




Knave



• Socio, one of the many livehouses located in Amemura, is pretty small but the stage is hardly elevated at all so visibility can be an issue. The Minnesota Voodoo Men got around that nicely by bringing the show out onto the floor and really got the party started. The staff are very pleasant and they allow re-entry. They don't stamp your hand, you just have to ask. Asahi and Heineken in cans and Malts on tap. The toilet's a bit of an adventure since there's only the one and you have to walk past the urinals to get to it. Nobody says you have to look. The map is in Japanese and that big road on the right is the Midosuji, the big grey rectangle is Big Step. It's upstairs from a clothes shop and I'll put a picture in in case that helps.




Socio



• Fuzz     It's going to have to be someone I really want to see to get me back to Fuzz again. I tend to get irritated with the places that don't allow re-entry generally, as a matter of principle, but Fuzz compounds the problem beautifully. They don't provide food (in four and a half hours I managed to find out to what extent tiny packets of mixed nuts don't count), and there's only one toilet. The time I went there it was packed and the queues for the sodding thing were ridiculous. Re-entry would allow people to get food, take a pee at one of the nearby conbinis and get a tiny bit of respite from the fucking toxic fumes! Stage is elevated 30cm. Kirin ichiban and Heineken on tap, Super Dry in bottles. Surly staff, and I wasn't giving them any shit, so that probably means that management are bastards. It's easy to find although the map on the website's not the best. Take the north exit from Nankai or JR Mikunigaoka station and go pretty much straight ahead past the circular thing in the middle of the road. It's really close to the station. Looks like this.




Fuzz



• AtlantiQs     The first time I went to AtlantiQs I was all set to give them a one word review....AVOID. But I've cooled down and I've been back and, in all fairness, AtlantiQs has many redeeming qualities. A modestly elevated stage. Decent sound. Pleasant staff. Two toilets despite being a small venue. Re-entry allowed. So where's the fly in the ointment? What could possibly have caused such outrage? The beer. Beer is rock 'n' roll. A venue that shows not respect for beer is not rock 'n' roll. At AtlantiQs your beer ticket gets you Kirin Ichiban Shibori draft... in a 275ml paper cup!! And with the fond Japanese tradition of putting enormous heads on every beer about a third of that is air! Since the staff are pleasant they will give it to you "awanashi" on request but still, this is one act of disrespect that I can't turn a blind eye towards. No AtlantiQs for me (unless they have someone on that I must see) until they stop being so sodding kechi.
  The map on the website is pretty good. AtlantiQs is on the same street as King Cobra. And then, a bit to the north, there's Kangeki Tanuki - which is where I went to soothe my ire by eating the world's best okonomiyaki. They ice the beer glasses too.




AtlantiQs



• Club Quattro Shinsaibashi ...is now Club Quattro Umeda. I ain't been there yet so I can't comment but popped the link in for convenience sake.



• Big Cat is pretty big (and long cat is loooooooong) and holds around 800 standing. It still follows the standard live-house procedure of making you pay for your first drink on entry. The beer is Asahi Super Dry. Good setup generally with great staging and plenty of toilets (some are traditional) and lockers and what have you. Smoking is only allowed in the lobby area which is a relief. Re-entry varies with the show. The map on the website is in Japanese but if you can find Amemura you should be able to find the Big Step building and Big Cat's on the 4th floor. Recommended.



• Club Vijon     This small and cool live house in Kitahorie has a great website with lots of English information on it and a photo of the front of the place, which is handy since I accidentally wiped the one I took. Unfortunately, although the site claims to have one, I couldn't find a map and had to use Google maps instead. You need to head west along Nagahoriedori until you get to one sidestreet short of Naniwasuji then turn left. Keep going til you see it on your right. It should help most expats to know that it's almost opposite the old Cafe Absinthe. On the plus side - great stage, awesome decor (I went there to see Robin and Balzac so the crowd matched) and Malts. On the downside no re-entry (so no sneaking off for a quick absinthe) and the staff seem kinda 2cool4u and crabby. Be careful not to bang your head on the doorframe coming out of the toilets.



• Namba Hatch     Big place. About as big as a live house gets before it graduates to being a concert hall and then they stop making you buy a drink at the door. Holds 1800, according to Tortoise Matsumoto. Two floors with seating on the 2nd. The website's OK but makes stupid noises and the map is all in Japanese. This should not be a problem. Namba Hatch is large, octagonal and opposite JR Nanba station and OCAT.



• Soma     I like Soma. You get real beer with your drink ticket, a choice of Kirin Ichiban, Heineken or Corona. They allow re-entry. They have food. Simple courtesies. The stage is about 50cm high and the dance area large. The lighting is excellent. You can see the bands clearly rather than just getting blinded or left in the dark. There are only two ladies toilets for the livehouse section (Soma has rehearsal studios too) so they're a bit overworked. Unfortunately all of Soma is smoking and the ventilation's not brilliant so it's hellish smoky.
  All the information you need about Soma is on their website under "Floor map/access" but the access map is in Japanese, as usual. Go east from Shinsaibashisuji along the street that runs between the new UG store and the Fujiya until you get to the last block before Sakaisuji. It's on your left. Signage is, as usual, subtle, if you don't count the bloody great crescent moon on the wall above it.




Soma




• Namba Rockets     The Rockets website is pretty tight, with a lot of English. The map has a fair bit of English on it too, but a few important landmarks are in kanji. Follow the street that runs southish between Takashimaya and Tower Records. Keeping following it (and the Nankai tracks) past Namba Parks until you see it on your right. It's obvious as all hell, and it's right after Subrock which is blue and also very obvious.
  Rockets is a cool place. Medium sized, capacity 300 standing. There's a huge column in the middle of the dance floor, about 2m back from the stage, presumably to stop the trains falling on our heads, but it's not a big issue. The stage is about a metre high and there are plenty of good vantage points. The lighting and sound are fine. Asahi in cans. Food. Re-entry allowed. Smoky. Two, traditional style, ladies toilets.




Rockets




• Hokage     Yet another cool live house in Amemura. Hokage is small, so the fact that the "stage" is a patchwork of rugs in a corner of a basement isn't really an issue. Everyone can see and enjoy. The sound is pretty good. The bar is in the second basement and is roomy and atmospheric. Asahi and Malts in cans and Malts on tap. Some food, mostly nibbles. Nice staff. Re-entry is allowed but they don't stamp you. Smoky. There's only one toilet, but it's clean and in good nick with a stylish custom-built wooden cover on the cistern, and the lock is pure class. When you close the door you'll want to prepare the boiling oil to repel invaders, not just take a piss. The map on the website is in a mixture of Japanese and English and the venue is, for some reason, just marked with a circle. Go a block south of Big Step, or the Apple store if you're approaching from the Midosuji and you'll find Hokage almost opposite a shrine.




Hokage



• Shinkagura, is in fact in the same building as Hokage, above. You just go up the stairs instead of down. You can see their sign quite clearly in the photo. The livehouse is on the 4th floor and the bar is on the 5th. There's a single unisex toilet (both ooze character. They ooze something, anyway) on both floors.
  I like Shinkagura. The lighting's a bit low and the sound is a bit muddy and the stage is only about 20cm high, although since it's really small (capacity about 100) that last doesn't really matter, but it's got a good atmosphere. Literally, I guess, since there's no smoking in the stage area (yay!) although it's allowed everywhere else. They have an odd but fair-seeming policy for re-entry. It's allowed, but every time you come back in you have to buy another 500 yen drink ticket! That gets you real beer though, Asahi in cans or Malts on tap. Happoshu they only charge 300 yen for. Pleasant staff.
  Oh, and the lift is broken. The doors open and close just fine but it don't go up and down! Take the stairs.



• Goith     Cool! There's a livehouse in Sakai (Higashi Sakai in this case. Nice place. You can smell the sea) that I'm happy to go to. Score. Goith is small, cool and friendly. The stage is about 45cm high and the sound and lighting are fine, although the lighting can be a bit blinding at times. The staff are pleasant. There's no re-entry but I noticed that nobody seemed that interested in policing it, although it was politely pointed out to me on entry. The beer is Super Dry, Kirin Ichiban, Malts (in cans), Corona (in bottles) or Magnum Dry draft (if you've lost your marbles) and all are available with the drink ticket. There's only one (palatial) toilet so there are queues even when it's not so busy. Smoky, as usual.
  Goith is close to Nankai Sakaihigashi station. Take the west exit and walk to the left up the main road past the bus and taxi stands to the major intersection. Cross on the right hand side. Go up to your first right, a covered shopping arcade, and it's a short way down on your left.




Goith. There's a Jankara to the right.




• Sengoku Daitouryou     This place rocks. You really can't fault it for atmosphere. Rock and roll. The decor is chaotic and it's the only livehouse I know of with an altar, for a former staff member who stacked his skateboard. Much respect.
  The beer is Kirin lager, and the bar area is separate from the actual stage area, and has heaps of seating for lounging around between sets. Two toilets and the ladies' is western. The stage area itself is pretty small, capacity about 100, and the stage is only 20cm high.
  The only thing I fault Sengoku for is that the non-metaphorical atmosphere is pretty killer. It's so smoky you can barely see through it. But they allow re-entry so you can go and get some fresh Chuo-odori air between sets.
  Easy to find. Just go up Exit 2 from Midoribashi station on the Chuo or Imazatosuji lines.




Sengoku Daitouryou. Coming up the Exit 2 stairs.




• Janus     Janus is posh as. Obviously very new and really nicely decorated and set up. Makes even Shangri-La look a bit tatty. Fortunately it doesn't seem to have gone to their heads and it's a nice venue. Well elevated stage. Good lighting. Great sound. Holds about 350 standing. Heineken on tap and in bottles. Plenty of nice toilets, adequate even when the show is sold out. Re-entry allowed, with your ticket, not a stamp. So don't leave yours in the locker like I did. Large, luxurious bar area with a separate smoking lounge which is so the way to do it. Pleasant staff.
  Janus is between Shinsaibashisuji and Sakaisuji. If you're coming from the Shinsaibashisuji end it's the street with Krispy Kreme on the corner. Just keep going until you see it. As you can tell from the photo it's not exactly hard to spot. Janus itself is on the 5th floor but the four floors below seem to contain nothing but escalators. Weird. Makes for comfortable queueing though.




Music Club Janus. From across the road, approaching from Shisaibashisuji.




• Sunsui     Sunsui's not about to leap onto either my faves list or my shitlist. On the plus side it has a nicely elevated stage (45cm) and good lighting, a spacious bar area and two ladies loos despite being a very small venue. It's a smoking venue but not very smoky so the ventilation must be halfway decent.
  On the downside...no re-entry, so-so sound, and their drink policy is stupidly kechi. The standard 500 yen drink ticket only gets you happoshu. If you want the draft, or a can of the Kirin Lager or Heineken, you have to pay an extra 100 yen, to bring it up to 600. Little things like that get you remembered, folks. And not in a good way.
  Sunsui's easy to find. It's on the little sidestreet that runs parallel to and immediately to the south of Nagahoridori. Go east from Shinsaibashisuji, past the Seven Eleven, until you see this:




Unagidani Sunsui. Down the stairs, in the basement.




• Sun Hall     Apart from not allowing re-entry Sun Hall's a winner. Medium-sized, it holds about 400 standing. Elevated stage. Lighting bright enough to get OK shots with a shitty little point-and-shoot and OK sound. The stage is about 45cm high, there are three ladies' toilets (although two are J-style), the staff are pleasant and there are four types of beer. One of those is Budweiser, mind you. The other three are Kirin Lager, Kirin Ichiban and Heineken. It's a bit smoky but not too bad.
  There is a map for Sun Hall on their opening page and another under "access" at the bottom. Both are excellent and, seriously, if you can't find the place using them I really don't think I can help you. No one can. Take into account that the place is in the basement of a bowling alley with a Jankara in the same building, and it's only a block south and east of Triangle park. Go through these doors and down to the second basement.




Sun Hall.