JQ Magazine: TK from Ling tosite sigure, OKI DUB AINU BAND, Naomi Watanabe
By JQ magazine editor Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02). Justin has written about Japanese arts and entertainment for JETAA since 2005. For more of his articles, click here.
After an unusually cool spring, it’s finally starting to feel like summer. Enjoy some seasonal events this month that celebrate the best of both fine and pop art.
This month’s highlights include:
Courtesy of Thetownhall.org
Saturday, June 6, 8:00 p.m.
The Town Hall, 123 West 43rd Street
From $51.45
Naomi Watanabe’s “From Tokyo” U.S. tour marks a major milestone for the Japanese comedy superstar as she brings her first fully English-language stand-up show across North America. Fresh off selling more than 40,000 tickets for her Tokyo Dome performance, Watanabe takes audiences through her unique perspective on everyday life, cultural differences, and personal experiences with the larger-than-life humor that made her one of Japan’s most beloved entertainers. The tour spans multiple cities across the United States and Canada, blending sharp observations, storytelling, and her signature charismatic stage presence. As Watanabe continues to build her career from her New York base, “From Tokyo” showcases her ambition to connect with international audiences while sharing the energy, humor, and personality that have made her a global cultural icon.
Fathom Entertainment
Opens Friday, June 4
The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act
Various theaters
Various prices
A Fathom Entertainment exclusive! This animated psychological adventure film created and directed by Gooseworx serves as the climactic finale to the viral indie web series The Amazing Digital Circus. The feature-length event combines the series’ eighth episode with an extended final chapter, following Pomni, Jax, Ragatha, Kinger, and the remaining cast as they confront the dark truth behind the mysterious digital world that has trapped them for so long. With the unstable AI ringmaster Caine gone and the circus falling apart, the characters are forced to face their deepest fears, regrets, and fading sanity while searching for a possible escape. Blending surreal comedy, emotional drama, psychological horror, and striking retro-inspired animation, the film delivers an intense and emotional conclusion to one of the internet’s biggest animated phenomena!
OKI DUB AINU BAND © Courtesy of the artist
Thursday, June 4, 7:30 p.m.
Japan Society, 333 East 47th Street
$32 members, $43 nonmembers
Back by popular demand after his 2022 sold-out tour – Ainu musician OKI (Oki Kano) returns to Japan Society for a one-night-only blowout concert with his OKI DUB AINU BAND! OKI’s band brings its globally-praised trademark fusion of reggae, African rhythms, electronic dub and folk music of the Ainu, Japan’s northernmost indigenous people. Resurrecting the tonkori, a five-string instrument native to the Ainu, OKI has travelled across five continents on his quest to share reconstructed sounds from Hokkaido that were nearly lost to the world. Followed by a Private Gathering for Artists and Members.
OKI performing with his OKI DUB AINU BAND in Hokkaido, Japan, 2023 © Lorraine Turci
Friday, June 5, 6:30 p.m.
Talk Story: Sharing Ainu Culture with OKI
Japan Society, 333 East 47th Street
Various prices
$20 members, $28 nonmembers
OKI, an avid storyteller and one of the most prominent performers of Ainu folk music in the world, shares personal experiences, anecdotes and Ainu lore alongside talking about the traditional music of the tonkori – an instrument originally used by shamans to commune with the spirits of the natural world. OKI also chats about his recent forays into film directing, and his ongoing efforts to preserve and promote the unique culture of the Ainu people.
For more JQ articles, click here.