Three Years Ago
I remember watching MitiS step out two hours before the opener even went on. It was my first electronic music event, I arrived before most people. The cigarette slowly burned down as I watched from afar.
A part of me wanted to go introduce myself to him, but fear gripped me as I watched him chat with the members of Kicks n’ Licks. After a tense five minutes of internal struggling the cigarettes had burned out and the side entrance was closed along with the small window of opportunity that the universe had given me to say hi to one of my heros.
What followed was one of the happiest hours of my life as I danced my ass off for an hour. I used to be able to relive this mix as it was available online, but with the closure of Foundation Nightclub came the ceasing of the social media accounts and radio podcasts. I swore that if the Universe gave me another chance I would introduce myself.
Two Years Later I got My Chance
I had graduated college, gotten a job in Japan, and was just about to leave when I saw that on the night before my flight MitiS was having another concert. This was now or never, so after inviting my sister and a couple friends for a goodbye party we headed out.
Clutching a sketch I had drawn I danced the night away, drinking and having a good time until the very end of the show. After flaunting my shuffle skills, the lights dimmed allowing for a meet and greet.
Standing in line my nerves shook, I couldn’t believe it was actually happening. When I got to the front I just spilled out my guts, thanks to the alcohol, and nerves I probably came across as a big hot mess. I did get to say everything I wanted. That I became a DJ and Producer because of him and how his music had helped me through tough times in my life. After handing him my drawing it was time to pose for pictures.
I Would Have Been Happy With That Alone
Thanks to my involvement with MitiS’s fangroup and probably some smart Facebook algorithm this popped into my timeline. The city I live in, Matsumoto Nagano Japan, is three hours away from the big central hub of Tokyo. The round-trip transportation itself was a lot of bread for a broke english teacher like me. Because I had work the next day my last train would cause me to miss the last half of the show.
Despite all this, I decided to make a day trip out of it and leave early in the morning. Taking an early bus I had lunch with one of my Japanese friend’s I’d met online playing League of Legends, next was exploring the massive art store in Shinjuku, before relaxing in Starbucks to draw another picture of the DJ hero.
I had no idea how I was gonna get it to him this time. . . maybe folding it up into a paper plane and throwing it on stage? As the sun was setting I made it to the venue far ahead of time like the square I was.
Mob Squad
Not being very good in crowds or with strangers, I made an attempt to meet up with someone from the mob who I already knew. Being as early as I was it was a good chance for me to just absorb the atmosphere and practice mindfulness. It was entertaining watching drunk people go by. . . I think I was a little racist because I assumed every foreigner around the club was there for the MitiS show.
After twenty minutes or so I was able to locate Keika who was already talking with someone I didn’t know. Well even though I’m as awkward as Michael Cera playing Scott Pilgrim I did my best to use my Japanese and not sound like too much of a fool. . . but only so much can be done sometimes. I zoned out after not understanding a little bit of Japanese and my thoughts slipped back to English.
Keika: おいくつですか (How Old Are You)
Me: 四時ぐらい(About four Hours)
What I was met with was laughter, well that’s what I get for spacing out . . . a little embarrassed I corrected myself.
Me: 二十四歳(I’m Twenty Four). . . smooth as sandpaper Marco. . . .smooth as sandpaper
Surprisingly enough I was able to talk about which artists I liked in Japanese. I was happy to have met people in Japan who knew Marshmello as a DJ rather than a Fortnite skin. After some idle chat, we went inside the bracelets we had received said V.I.P. . . but much like my grade school kids, they were both misleading in describing my importance as a person.
Keika began texting and calling at rapid speed.
“Oh come over here I know someone that can get us backstage”
The influential power of girls is frightening I thought as I followed the two girls up a set of stairs and into a V.I.P. lounge. . . I can’t believe I was being included in this group. . . so this is how the other half lives I thought as we were being escorted into elegantly decorated, and dimly lit rooms.
And then we found ourselves in a room MitiS, Mrs MitiS, A Manager, a Dj, Keika, Emi, and Me. . . time paused as the silence had us just making blank stares at each other.
Hey I’m Joe
Breaking the silence Joe began greeting us with the handshake hug. . . it was odd to be using first names with such a person. The three of us started fangirling, although my fangirling was internal as to try and keep my cool. But all I could here is Oh My God coming from Keika’s direction, and small gasps coming from Emi.
“Nice to See You again Joe” I said as I handed over the fanart ver 2.0 beta.
It seems he recognized me from Seattle having kept my old drawing with his fan kandi in a special drawer of his. He offered us all some drinks and of course, the only one to go with in this situation was beer. There I sat sipping a beer with Joe. . . just casually chatting. . . I didn’t even believe it myself. We talked about everything from his favorite tracks, Game of Thrones(and his disappointment with it), we talked about him and Lacey, Tito’s Vodka, his production process, other artists like MaHi and Sublion(although he used their real names), how much he was enjoying himself in Japan. We even touched on how he is only just three years older than me.
I love music and I love people
MitiS
Those were two things he said that really stood out to me, because it was so genuine. You could feel it being in that room that he really enjoyed talking to us fans. I’d realized that sometimes the people we put up on pedestals at the end of the day are people just like you and me. Maybe we do it to make ourselves feel better if we are dissatisfied with life, but that day Joe made me realize that those people are human too. It was such a warm humbling experience to have been able to talk for just a short fifteen minutes before he had to prepare to go on.
I did feel bad that I seemed to talk too much and not allow Keika or Emi to speak.
The Power of Music
When we left the lounge we took a photo with some other Japanese MitiS fans. Another of which was also an aspiring DJ like myself, and once again I did my best to speak in Japanese.
Before long the show started and I found myself dancing and singing along with the music. Even halfway across the world, people knew the lyrics to Joe’s music. I was disappointed when I had to leave early to catch my train, but the experience of just getting to be there for a little was enough for me. . . I also made sure to redeem my free Vodka Redbull ticket. . . can’t let that go to waste.
