Next Music from Tokyo

Steve Tanaka has practically bankrupted himself for the sake of Next Music from Tokyo, a series of tours that the Canadian music geek organises single-handedly in order to introduce his countrymen to the best of the Japanese music underground. The third tour saw him bring five bands to Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver last autumn, and they'll all be getting together for a sort of reunion/victory lap at Fever this weekend. It's a diverse lineup, ranging from prog-jazz-punk veterans Natsumen to up-and-coming girl band Akai Ko-en, whose imminent major label debut suggests that they might be going places this year. Cute, new wave-y quartet Merpeoples, orchestral pop outfit Chiina and frenzied post-punks Hyacca round out the bill.