The Decline Tour Japan: Part Two

I woke up the Saturday morning after submitting my first tour diary with every intention of getting some work done, but instead hopped in the van and went guitar shopping where I purchased a new acoustic. We could barely shut the van's doors, but when I saw an Alkaline Trio Fender Malibu Acousticon sale for half the price of what they cost in Australia, I had to get it.

We had another show in Tokyo on Saturday night, at a venue called Club Seata, and it was definitely the best show of the tour in terms of crowd size and energy. People came up to the merch table after our set and wanted us to sign things and get photos.

Our original drummer, James, was in town, so he came to the show with his girlfriend, Shirley. When fans asked us to sign our debut album, which James plays on, we made him sign it too. The fans didn't really understand what was going on - most probably thought we were getting some random guy to scribble on their CD. I think some punters found it hard to tell the members of Implants, Useless ID, Kill The Drive and The Decline apart, as we were all asked to sign other band's merch.

Up until we boarded this flight set for Kuala Lumpur an hour ago, we were still having trouble trying to communicate with people that didn't speak English, but that was definitely our fault for heading to a foreign country and not having the decency to learn a little bit of the local dialect. Our roadie, Ray, is Chinese, but kept getting mistaken for a local, which he found increasingly disgruntling – especially because he's a vegan and kept getting served meat.

Harry gets blackout drunk at least once a tour. A few weeks ago, when we were touring Australia as David Liebe Hart's rhythm section, he left a bright red wine stain out the front of the promoter's house – and he chose Club Seata as his evening of extreme inebriation. If you know Harry, or have seen us live before, you'll know he wouldn't be seen dead without his trusty cap. Well, it's lying somewhere on a Tokyo road covered in vomit right now.

Sunday we had a five-hour drive to Nagoya, and if you're in The Decline that translates to at least double that. No time for a quick stop near Mt Fuji for pictures, instead we powered through with a dangerously low amount of toilet breaks and leftover snacks as lunch. We rocked up at the venue, Rad Hall, and had to set up pretty soon after.

The Decline at Rad Hall

Japan was the first time we toured with bigger bands and it was great. You finish playing nice and early, pack your gear away and then have hours to hang out and enjoy all the other bands. Shows in Japan start ridiculous early, with doors opening around 5pm and the last band finishing up around 10pm. While it's a bit of a rush to get to the venue for load in and soundcheck, it's actually a far better system. It leaves more time for post-show partying and/or sleep.

Hangin' with Japan's best punk band, TNX

When Monday rolled around, it was hard to believe the tour was almost over. We had one show left, and it was three hours away in Kobe. The show was a mini-festival split over two venues. We were downstairs in a tiny venue called Liberate, while Kill The Drive, Implants and Useless ID were up the road at a venue called Kings Cross. TNX were also playing in Liberate and that was the first time I saw them, which is embarrassing considering we played four shows together. But, like I mentioned before, vegetarian food is so hard to find in Japan, so we spent a stupid amount of time before each show wandering the streets.

Kill The Drive

The last show of the tour didn't have the biggest or most enthusiast crowd, for any of the bands, but it was by far the most fun. Useless ID invited Chris Dalley of Implants on stage during their set to sing a cover of Motorhead's Ace Of Spades, and if you closed your eyes, it wouldn't be a stretch to imagine Lemmy was in front of you. Our guitarist, Nathan, also went out for the second half of the songs. Useless ID then finished their set by inviting everyone on stage for State Of Fear, which was a tour highlight.

Implants

Free vegetarian ramen and an open bar once the punters left gave the perfect opportunity to say our goodbyes and begin drafting plans for future tours. As it stands, every band on the tour has drunkenly committed to about four or five different things over the next year. I hope someone was taking notes. Touring Japan and Europe in one year isn't bad, especially when you get to hang out with some of the best people in the industry, make new friends and play music every night to people on the side of the world who care about your music.

Arigato gozaimasu, Japan! We had an incredible time and we'll no doubt meet again. We're all looking forward to getting back to Australia and touring some more with Useless ID.