Keiji Haino

In what's become something of an annual tradition, each year Japan's legendary sunglass-sporting noise overlord emerges from his lair to play a special Golden Week gig. Why? Because it's his birthday too, you know. Keiji Haino towers over the Japanese underground: his colossally heavy guitar excursions inspired a whole generation of psychedelic rockers, but his omnivorous musical appetites have also seen him collaborate with jazz musicians, branch out into DJing, and play an entire gamelan orchestra single-handedly. There's no knowing what to expect from a solo Haino gig, but be warned: his performance at the I'll Be Your Mirror festival in February was so loud you could hear it from Shin-Kiba station. On a side note, if you want to hang around and wish the man a happy 59th after the gig's done, be sure to bring some cake – Haino doesn't smoke or drink and is a strict vegetarian, but he's also got a bit of a sweet tooth.