I made my annual pilgrimage to Japan (sometimes it feels that way!) and was able to attend 4 of The Ventures’ concerts during my visit. The summer heat this year has been way above normal and, with the high humidity that one experiences in Japan, it has been a difficult tour for all. But, as usual, the group comes through with a great show and the fans do not go away disappointed.

While I was over there, our good friend from the UK, Dave Towers, made his annual visit and travelled all over the country for about 3 weeks. He has provided us with a number of photos of his experiences on the road: I also put my iPhone to good use and took some sound check pics so the fans will be able to see a little of this year’s stage set-up, etc. The lighting was very interesting this year: for the first set, there are a number of outsized white ‘balloons’ (for want of a better word) on which the lighting is constantly changing with a remarkably good effect. Another new tweak is that, during the drum solo on ‘Caravan’, Leon comes forward to the front of the stage and, before starting the bass-tattoo with Bob Spalding, he plays on a floor tom, with taiko-like rhythms. Very much appreciated by the audiences in Japan, I think. There are 2 vocals this year, one from Don and one from Gerry. One of the songs from the ‘Yuming’ CD is included – ‘Message of Rouge’. There is no acoustic set-up, but Gerry does swiitch to acoustic guitar for a number of songs. The first set ends with House of The Rising Sun, not Wipeout, which appears toward the end of the second set.

I thought the shows were great and, from the audience reaction, I don’t think I was alone in my opinion! Too bad that there won’t be a live DVD but I guess we can’t have everything!