Japanese DJ Kills Rowdy American Patron in Tokyo Club.

During most of my time spent living in Tokyo I worked at a nightclub in Azabu. Azabu is a fairly chic upscale community that is home to a few equally upscale restaurants, bars and nightclubs. One of the more famous Azabu clubs, Yellow, I blog about frequently. Due to Azabu’s close proximity to Roppongi, it is not uncommon to find foreigners sampling Azabu’s nightlife offerings, especially at places like Yellow, Super Deluxe, Warehouse, Heartland or any number of their many neighbors. I’m not taking any cheap shots at Roppongi, because the Roppongi today is not the Roppongi of yore, but let’s face it, there are more gaijins there than any other part of Tokyo, or Japan for that matter and it’s still can be a fairly rough part of town.

Despite the close proximity to somewhat troublesome Roppongi, rarely does anything ever happen to break the tranquility of Azabu. That is until last Wednesday night. Today I found a report in Japan Today about a 29 year old DJ killing a rowdyAmericanpatron while allegedly attempting to subdue the man after finding him shoving his way through the crowd at approximately 10:40PM.

Japanese people are notorious for minding their own business. Incidents of chikans, perverted men, molesting women on crowded subway cars are proof of that. I remember while living there, I was in a bar in Ikebukuro with some of my Japanese friends when a man began to smack his girlfriend around. As quickly as I stood up to stick my big American nose in my friends pulled me back down and said “that’s a private affair”. Considering those things, it’s easy for me to envision people standing around in mute witness while this tragic event took place without intervention.

The report says the DJ, Atsushi Watanabe, 29, choked and hit Tuker Richard Scott, 47 (probably Richard Scott Tucker, the Japanese always put last names first), from behind and the victim died an hour later at a local hospital. I don’t know. It would take some heavy duty beating to kill a man, especially if it was only with your bare hands. Is seeing someone shoving people out of their way reason for homicide?

As a former nightlife employee, DJ and impresario I can say that I’ve always looked out for my patrons and I can relate with Mr. Watanabe’s claim that he was just trying to protect the clubgoers. In nightlife, your patrons are your bread and butter and without them you have no livelihood. Furthermore, your regular patrons are something comparable to family members. I can’t say for certain what was the case here, obviously, not being there or knowing anything about the victim or his killer but, one would have to suspect there may possibly have been other sociological factors involved besides a guy wanting to play hero.

There have been recent crimes committed by American servicemen in Okinawa and other parts of Japan that have Japanese people, rightfully, up-in-arms. The Interracial dating that often occurs between foreign men and Japanese women, in a largely homogeneous society may tick some people off. My girlfriend and I have received a few less than friendly looks on the rare occasion in japan and here in the U.S. as well. Anti-American sentiment? Social Darwinism? Protecting people close to you? One psychologically f’ed up individual who happened to be a DJ?

The world may never know for certain but, such issues may have played even a subtle role. The DJ said is was accidental. Still something like this grabs my attention and makes me wonder how such an event could play out in the most unlikely place, in a night club on a week night in beautiful, quiet, fashionable Azabu, Tokyo. It’s a very unfortunate event that brings to mind that old nightlife truism, a DJ’s place is behind the decks.

Source: Japan Today.

Primal parties.

This is another small glimpse into my nightlife past. After my bit as a doorman at New York nightclubs like The Limelight, The Bank, The Palladium, Webster Hall and The Pyramid, I decided to start throwing parties instead of just working for people that threw them. The first party I ever threw was a one-off. It was an after hours on a rooftop in midtown, about four blocks south of Macy’s; Primal was my first weekly and although I never made much doing it, it will always be close to my heart. I had no clue, really, what I was doing. I was ignorant, innocent and blissful. I started Primal in a little bar in the East Village close to the NYU & Parson’s dorms. Probably the only smart thing I did back then. Eventually, we got to move it into the back room at Limelight. After that, as a promoter I started to, as they say, blow up. At that point, the innocence would forever fade away.

Blood On The Dancefloor: NYC's Stereo Nightclub Closed Down.

I was just reading in the Gothamist that NYC nightclub, Stereo has been shut down by the NYPD. I had been hoping to check it out one day since it has had a variety of old friend’s names attached to it. From DJ/producer Angel Moraes who designed the sound system to Mark Ronson’s kid sister, fashion designer Samantha Ronson who had a hand in designing the interior, to Matteo and Jus Ske who frequently manned the decks. According to news reports there was a shooting death there two days ago and that was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.

There were the obvious drug violations (duh, New York City, nightclub…), you’ve heard it all before - busted coke dealers, owed taxes, violated ordinances, quality of life, blah, blah, blah. Same old song and dance. I want to cue up Mark’s Smith’s cover, “Stop Me (if You Think that you’ve Heard This One Before)”. It’s like a Peter Gatien/Twilo/Sound Factory/Studio 54 merry-go-round. That is the one constant in New York Nightlife; old clubs close, new ones open. However, it’s quite the buzz kill when they close prematurely like this. There are only two things people ever notice in nightclubs, when the record skips a beat or when someone dies. Same cycle in all aspects of life. The only difference is this one has a soundtrack.

It’s a shame, though. It always is when someone loses their life, and when it happens in a world that tries to cut itself off from all of life’s harsh realities, it can be particularly stunning. Clubland is where people go to lose themselves and disconnect from pain and sorrow and the harsh reality that this could be their last night on earth. When that facade is pulled away and the illusion shattered, just as it was when club promotor Michael Alig murdered Angel, a nice kid who got involved with drug dealing, back in 1996. Unfortunately, when the shock fades away and the disturbance becomes a faded memory, everyone just slips back into their trance. Lessons go unlearned and history repeats itself. Another one of life’s little cycles.

Stereo.

Source: The Gothamist.