I have been trying to go back to Japan since 2020. I have been dying to see my Jrock bands perform and I haven’t had any luck at all. Japan did open up tourism in June 2022, but it’s restricted with a tour guide and such. I would need some free moving in order to attend concerts and festivals to my heart’s desire. I basically gave up all hope this year and might as well hope for the better in 2023. Alas, one of my Jrock bands, Silence iz Mine (SiM), announced an LA headline show! This is such an amazing opportunity! Since I can’t go to Japan to see my bands, I have one coming here to me, I must go!!!

The show was on Tuesday, August 9th. My friend from San Francisco will accompany me but she doesn’t have PTO. She had previously scheduled to go to Japan for 3 weeks the following week after the concert. So we had a plan where we can fly into LA from SF the afternoon on the day of the concert after she gets off work, then fly back home early next morning before she starts work. We had a super tight schedule! To the point that there was no time to eat. Long story short, many things happened that were out of our hands, but still worked out in the end in our favor. We kept trying to keep cool and only give off positive vibes all day regardless of obstacles. We made it, barely, but we made it! And we survived yay! hahaha…

I’m so happy my friend talked me into getting VIP tickets even though they were expensive. They had a chill Q&A session with a group of 30 VIP attendees and SiM came equipped with a translator! The show was amazing and so energetic. I expect no less from SiM and bands from Japan. They have something really charming about them because they do not yield to the boundaries of trend, social acceptance especially in Japan, or even genres. SiM is one of those unique bands that mix many sounds across multiple genres & they're not for everyone but are very special. I can’t wait to see them again!

Single $1 Bill | Designed by Michael G. LaFosse