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July 03, 2005
Another new (and soon to be forgotten?) bar in Roppongi
On our Friday night excursion, we went to the grand opening of the Rock Factory (among other venues). This is not an endorsement and they are not paying me to big them up (although if you happen to own this bar and want me to re-write this, let me know).
Rock Factory is a live house, which means the featured entertainment is...live music. THe pictures above are proof, of a sort.
Anyway, what makes this place special is that it the former home of Trading Places, which was the first bar I went to in Tokyo and the scene of many memorable (and many more unremembered) evenings.
The reason TPs never had live music is probably because there was never the room. That has not changed. And, in fact, the place they chose to put the band is where my favourite tables were. Obviously, that made things difficult when we entered.
This actually happens quite often in Tokyo - bars and restaurants open and close all the time. Every so often, one of them catches the public eye and everyone starts going there. Until something better comes along.
The other oddity is that all of the furnishing and fixtures, down to the pictures on the walls, have not changed. So, its like the old place never closed at all. Except that a noisy band was sitting at my usual table.
To be fair, the band was better than I expected, but not enough for me to remember their name, or if they are playing again. If you happen to know, drop me a line.
UPDATE - I just looked more closely at the first picture...the band is called 'The Blast'...