Show must go on 3

This post might not be directly connected with tattooing, but made me think and link with it.
Just went to a metal festival, thanx to a surprise gift from a friend of mine.
Gently we got free passes and within one hour and half drive from his home, I was on a time machine back to the very 80’s.

Chatting with one of the staff lady at the entrance (while we waited for our passes) she asked me how was the festival scene in Japan.
It made me think for a second before I would say “great!” or anything typical like that.
I only could come up with 2 or 3 names of “rock” festivals, and only one purely “metal”.
OK, you can’t compare when the entire European continent is a market with the local only Japanese market.
The numbers should be different obviously.

When they have those fests in any place in Europe, easily you can drive to the neighboring country to watch it.
In Japan, that would be more stressful surely. Another problem is having any event handled by a real small number of agencies or people. And I don’t mean only rock/ metal fests.

Why?
The risk?…maybe. The work behind it?…also.
I would say that only few try an “answer” to it, an a “anti-thesis” for one or another event. The reason for many being silent, might be purely envy or sadly to say,laziness.

Was a time when tattoo events were peaking in Japan as well. When I was there, I did help organize some.
As any event, not always the payback was satisfactory.
Tattoo artists have to carry their stuff to the hall, sell tickets and bring “models” to get tattooed on the day.
No so much of the “jump in” thing we see on the tattoo conventions around the world.
Recently, some customers did started to get work on the spot and so.But it took some years to make people understand this system too. As now, is getting much more common to Japanese artists visit and take part of conventions abroad, they are educating the customers as well.

Bringing tattooing up front with those events could be a chance to interact with other aficionados or the average Joe. That is the same goal in the West as well.
The difference? The number of events, the organization, the attending public, etc, etc.

Endless would be the list of differences. Not saying that all is positive over here.
But, with the diversification there’s a huge chance for everybody take part (artists and customers) in what fits best for each one.

When do we have only one or just few people handling events, is more a unhealthy elitism rather than synonymous of specialty served to the public view.

Since I left Japan, I already took part of 5 conventions so far. Much more than I could dream of being participating solely there.

That’s the link I felt when I attended this festival (my first one in Europe).
As it is common sight now days, the crowd presented all sport tattoos. Small or big.
So does any person listens to music, having or not tattoos.
When you have choices, you can be side by side with different “tastes”…musically and/ or tattoo wise…
That was my tough for a second before “my” band hit the stage…the rest was just beers