Cover raided
Lights up. Sound down. Gaijin cards out. At 2am this morning the
happy, unsuspecting boogiers at club event 'Dirty' held at Cover were strictly
instructed by the police to put their dancing shoes away. Confusion
and baffledness ensued. Within a few minutes of lights up it was clear
the only people to be retained in the club were the gaijin clientele.
 In the shadow of raid on El Barco
in May this year, perhaps tonight
was merely a intentional reminder of the tenuous position club owners
hold in regard to 'public morality' and entertainment licensing. For
the main body of the crowd this evening, tonight was not primarily
about getting sloshed, shaking some booty and wreaking havoc or public
mayhem but about private celebration between friends and meeting of
new acquaintances.
Once again Hiroshima faces a predicament. In a city that so
unequivocally represents aspects of peace and internationalism the
authorities are caught in a jam with out-dated entertainment licensing
systems and close-minded enforcement policies.
 Fortunately Cover's clientele took this evening gratiously in their
stride. The bar remained open to quench any disconcerted thirst as the
authorities laboriously took down each and everyone's last details -
only just enough photocopied forms to go round. Twiddling thumbs as
minds raced from put-out dismay at a fantastically enjoyable night
ruined, to thoughts of tea and toast.
As an event Dirty undoubtedly offers a very rare and precious
opportunity in Hiroshima for local and foriegn djs to successfully
enjoy working and sharing music together. However, if incidents such
as those tonight at Cover continue to occur, our gorgeous city will
only suffer the consequences of division and prejudice; two traits for
which Hiroshima, City of Peace, is certainly not recognised.
Gillian Kyle
September 2006 | 
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