Miyu is a vocalist and guitarist who performs as a soloist as well as frontwoman with the band RoundFace. She got her start in 2001 and has never looked back. Miyu loves 60~70's rock. She is eager to express that old-school rock sound and sentimentalism. She was here in Toronto promoting her new solo album "Rock 'n'Roll Witches", taking part in the indie tour as well as holding her own solo shows outside of that schedule. A true lover of Rock'n'Roll, I had the opportunity to spend some time with her prior to her live that evening.

Though it was dark and the clouds rained down, it did nothing to dampen the spirits of this Rock 'n' Roll Witch as we met on the streets of Toronto. I was greeted by a warm smile and an obvious love for the city around us. This solo tour marks the 4th time Miyu has played Toronto, both as a solo artist and with her band RoundFace.

We chat as we take to the streets, which I can't help but ask how they compare to Tokyo, where she resides. She comments on the space. Tokyo, she says, is very small, but the streets here are very wide. So a lot of people, but more space. As we walk down Queen street we both point out places we know. She asks me then, do you like Ramen? To which of course I answered a swift yes! She mentions a Ramen restaurant not far from where we are that she enjoys, I concur that I know the place and we head there chatting all the while.

We arrive at Ajisen Ramen, the place is filled with patrons. The wait staff spot us from across the room and hold up 2 fingers. I nod and hold up my two to confirm and we are quickly seated. The room is warm, and filled with delicious smells, a welcome change from the cold rain we've been walking through.

I order a coke, Miyu a diet coke. They arrive reversed and we smile as I slyly switch them around. She orders the house Aijsen ramen, I get the beef. We talk about various things. her love of music is obvious. A few names get thrown out, I learn she enjoys Prince and the Red Hot Chili Peppers (though we both agree we prefer their older stuff to the latest). She's also a fan of Lenny Kravitz and the name Stone Temple Pilots gets thrown in, she knows them too.

She asks me what I think of the male artists wearing make up and we chat about Visual Kei. She says that it is beautiful, but she prefers a more natural look herself. I notice that she's finished her bowl and I am only half way through mine! She takes the moment to gift me with a copy of her cd's, both the solo release and the latest from Roundface. I look forward to listening to them later that night. I ask her about her music. She writes her lyrics, both in English and Japanese herself. She finds it challenging to write the lyrics from Japanese to English sometimes, finding the right words. But she enjoys the expression both languages give her.

We finish up and take again out to the night. A short stop at the hotel to gather her things and then we decide to head early to the live house. As we chat along the way I learn she enjoys frequenting live houses and it's a regular part of her life. I comment I wish I lived closer to the city to do so more often.

Free Times Cafe is inviting little spot up on College Street in Toronto. I had not been there before, but I know it's patrons speak very highly of it. We check in and are seated in the back. There is an act on the stage in progress and we sit just to the right of the stage. Miyu's love of music shines through. Every act that plays she is attentive, tapping along to the beat and connecting with the sound.

The act on stage prior to Miyu's set decides to end early, so she collects her things. As she sets up on stage, the crowd is quiet. With the crowd having not been much into the previous act, and being a late act of the night a novice might get intimidated. But not Miyu. She takes the stage with confidence and wins the crowd over in seconds. She greets them with a smile, a quick intro that she's glad to be here and drives straight into "Sweetberry", the first track off her solo album.

"Sweetberry" flows right into "Modern Beat" and the crowd is right into it. Miyu keeps the pace up, her feet tapping to the beat, the bells on her ankles her only percussion accompaniment. As the song draws to a close, Miyu speaks the intro for the 3rd song, her title track "Rock 'n' Roll Witches".

"When I woke up at 3 a.m., Chuck Berry descended behind me.
He said: "Hey Lady, who are you?"
" Hi Chuck! I'm a witch."
"Can't you sing a Rock 'n' Roll yeah?"
"Sure, I'll play Rock 'n' Roll now! Here we go!"

The crowd reacts loudly, loving what they hear and eager for more. A brief pause and Miyu gets us ready for her last song of the night, "Funk Kitchen". She teaches the crowd the chorus and gets us all - J Rocker Fun club U.S.A

Sound 3/5

Although you’d never guess it, Tokyo’s Miyu has been fronting punk and rock bands for years. For indie week, she brought here ever-so-quite solo work, displaying a skill for rock ‘n’ roll song writing in an acoustic setting. It was catchy and the jingle bells on her ankles provided a refreshing alternative to the loudness wars of Indie Week. On the other hand, she was perhaps a bit too quiet to stand over the drunken roar of the bar.

Performance 3/5

Miyu began her set by draping a banner across the front of the stage that dubbed her a “Rock ‘n’ Roll Witch.” I wasn’t sure what to make of that and her set didn’t seem to reflect anything witchy, at least by North American standards. She was, however, quite well rehearsed and tackled her songs with confidence and precision.

Professionalism 3/5

She walked on to the stage with a beaming smile and readily thanked the audience for attending. She was clearly very grateful for the small crowd in attendance and for that she deserves substantial respect. However, she made a large blunder when she broke a string and, lacking a replacement guitar, had to waste precious showcase time restringing her only guitar on stage.

Aesthetic 4/5

Although I’m not familiar with the “Rock ‘n’ Roll Witch” trend, Miyu certainly knew how to distinguish herself on stage. The jingle bells on the ankle were wonderful and worked practically as well as stylistically. I really dug the fuzzy hat too.

Authenticity 5/5

Miyu’s performance was filled with good vibes and honesty. Although she was playing to unfamiliar faces, she never showed a lack of confidence and respect for her audience. She is an honest musician clearly making an honest attempt and sharing her art with those who care to listen.

Total: 18/25

Final Grade: 72%

Josh Parsons is a baker, beer maker and philosopher. He also likes to blog, too. You can follow him on Twitter @ParsonsAles. Don't forget to also follow Toronto Music Scene @TorontoMusic. - By: Josh Parsons Oct 29, 2013

The 19th North By Northeast (NXNE) Festival is known as the “Music, Film, Comedy, Art and Interactive Festival” and this year was the biggest festival yet! The ever-expanding festival has now included Art to its’ many offerings, making it a complete audio/visual event!
The Canadian version of sister festival South By Southwest, NXNE was held June 10-16 in over 60 clubs and venues in downtown Toronto. The week of live music featured over 1000 bands, a dozen of independent films, 65 interactive seminars, the second year of comedy showcases, and for the first time ever-art showcases held at various locations around town. And that wasn’t all, other features included an indie label record and zine show and a boat cruise. Free concerts in the Yonge – Dundas Square featured music by such eclectic acts as Social Distortion, The National, Billy Talent and Ludacris. Yonge Street, the busiest street in the city, was closed off to accommodate the crowds.
We arrived on Thursday in the nick of time to see the band Social Distortion rock the enthusiastic crowd that braved the rainy weather to watch these early ’80s punks play their hits in the Yonge – Dundas Square.
Friday night’s standouts were the Japanese power trio RoundFace. Led by the awesome guitarist/vocalist Miyuki Hinuma, formerly of the all-female trio Megababe, RoundFace rocked the small crowd at club May. It was too bad more people didn’t attend this showcase as RoundFace brought the rock and even delighted the audience with their cover of the Beastie Boys’ “You Gotta Fight For Your Right (To Party)” that had them singing along.
(©Sue Static,Sue Summers) - Sue Statics