Make Believe Bonus: Milk Talk, Soichi Terada, Vantage, Yuto Sasuke, Yuka Mizuhara, Vocoder Girls And Azel At Shimokitazawa Shelter

Sunshower State

Sometimes a show ends up so good you end up just…choosing to walk home for about 90 minutes rather than take the train that would drop you off a cool five minute stroll from your front door, because it was that great and you want to soak in it a little longer.

The occasion was duo Milk Talk’s final show of its tour supporting debut album Milk Talk, held at Shimokitazawa’s Spread. I’ve been following the band since they first worked together on member The Hair Kid’s 2016 Maltine Records release Plastic Inbox, and previously had the chance to watch the project’s first-ever show, held in Shibuya in early 2022. I love the eponymous debut, so this was a must-see from the moment it was announced, a chance to both experience it live and see just how far they’ve come.

Though I also had this one penciled in like a month in advance because I — correctly — figured I would need a night to reset my brain. For reasons I’m not totally sure about, 2024 has been busier so far than I could have anticipated, to the point where there have been multiple points in February where I feel like I need to take a week long retreat just to catch up on email. No complaints, and I’m happy to cover a Taylor Swift concert as anyone else…but sometimes you just need to slip out to Shimokitazawa and engage in something right in your wheelhouse.

I descended into Spread just in time to see Yuto Sasuke delivering a digi-smeared cover of John Lennon’s “Imagine.” “Cozy” doesn’t really capture the feeling of tightness this live space delivers. Since Sasuke needed a keyboard and several other instruments, the crowd had to push back even further, making for less room.

While at times not the most comfortable viewing experience, Spread represents the new era of Shimokitazawa well…and, even if I couldn’t move my arms for a few hours, it’s a version of the neighborhood I like much more.