An Cafe - LIVE CAFE TOUR 2012 NYAPPY GO AROUND THE WORLD III ~TADAIMA o(≧∀≦)o OKAERI o(≧∀≦)o～ in London

The last time the kings of Harajuku dance rock played London was in 2009. Three years on, An Cafe have returned for the UK leg of their third world tour at the same venue, although the name has changed since their last visit. On 7th November, fans old and new gathered at the O2 Academy Islington (formerly the Carling Academy) for NYAPPY GO AROUND THE WORLD III.

The stage was simply dressed, with only the band's black cloth banner emblazoned with the tour title on the back wall and drummer Teruki's monkey plush mascot against his drum kit. As if to compensate for this lack of showiness, lashings of smoke were unleashed as each member made his appearance and held a pose, prompting hysterical, deafening screams. The loudest were reserved for the popular bassist kanon and of course vocalist miku who was last out. Guitarist takuya's speedy riff signalled the start of Maple Gunman and was met with a lot of appreciation. miku wasted no time in getting into rock mode, brandishing the mic stand and standing on the front stage equipment as soon as he got going. The crowd were further fired up by the popular Kakusei Heroism ~THE HERO WITHOUT A NAME~ afterwards, and the recognisable intro was met with a huge cheer. The members were visibly seen to start warming up during this performance, with bassist and guitarist interacting more with the crowd.

After the rocking start, miku turned his attention to the crowd and declared how great it was to be back in London. Fans made it known that the sentiment was mutual. Playing on the tour title, he announced "tadaima!" (we're back), to which the crowd welcomed them back with "okaeri". One male fan shouted "I love you!", and miku's "me too" sent giggles through the audience. "I...am...Nyappy!" he continued, using his own coined expression of happiness. With the positive replies to his cries of "are you Nyappy?", the band resumed the music. Yu-ki's jovial keyboard introduced the fun Tekesuta kousen which got fans bopping away and clapping their hands in time with the prompts. The lighting crew went into overdrive, bathing the stage with flashing pinks, greens, purples and yellows in keeping with the band's typically bright attire. The band followed suit with the energetic Wagamama koushinkyouku and then the dual-natured Escapism, both good examples of their slick and professional performance ability beneath the youthful, cutesy packaging. The pace was then knocked down for the balladic Jibun setsumeisho from their new mini-album amazing blue, which was the cue for mass swaying from even the large, grown men in the audience. Although it provided greater variety to the set list, it took the wind out of the sails for its duration.

Takaido was the backdrop for the band member introductions, as miku MC'ed the call and response of each of their names. The loud pounding music would be silenced for each member to say his own little piece, which was endearingly like they had all been picked on to stand up in class. Teruki, Yu-ki and takuya read hesitant, broken English from a notebook, generally thanking the fans and hoping that everyone would enjoy the night. There was a comical moment as kanon had a coughing fit when he shouted "Hey London!" a little too enthusiastically. miku managed to take the easier route: after jokingly stating "I can speak English a little...I can speak Japanese a little!", he told the crowd in a mock foreign accent "kimi ga suki desu", eliciting excited squeals. He continued in Japanese to say how thankful he was to the fans and glad he was there that night.

English speaking ordeal over, the guys continued with the dancier side of their dance rock. Yu-ki joined in with miku's tireless laps of the stage for his rap and backing vocal part in the off-the-wall NYAPPY in the world 4. The quirkiness of their coordinated, simple dance routine was enhanced by the flopping of Yu-ki's bunny leg warmers as he bounded about. Fans wholeheartedly joined in with the moves. With Yu-ki returning to his keyboard, the two then produced glowing blue stars on sticks, and the crowd joined them as they waved them rapidly in sync to the upbeat amazing blue. takuya shined with his impressive solo mid-song. The fatigue appeared to be setting in by the end for miku, with his notes going slightly awry in the sing-a-long closing section. However, he got back on track straight away with the favourites Snow Scene and Cherry saku yuuki!!, rounding off the main set.

The band returned after a brief break for the encore. miku came back minus his hoodie top and wearing an appropriate "Nyappy Is Back" T-shirt. "Today is the most special day in my life", he announced. "Daisuki!". This was echoed back to him and the other members. BondS ~Kizuna~ was the first encore and its high energy infected everyone. miku obviously heated up during his performance, losing the T-shirt and promptly spraying water over fans. Then it was to the last song of the night, which fans identified when he asked them to "show me your special smile". During the dancey opening and chorus to Smile ichiban ii ♀ people held up their hands to form a heart shape, copying the band members. As a parting gift, the more modest takuya stood up on miku's usual perch on the stage equipment for his final guitar solo. The happy melody made for an upbeat finale and kept both the band and the crowd dancing to the very end.

Before they left, the band got out their digital camera so that they could take a memento away. After miku's countdown, the fans held their best poses for them. They revelled in their time onstage a little longer, holding up flags fans had handed to them and in one case using one to blindfold Yu-ki - an example of the playfulness and camaraderie that their fans love them for. Just before their final bow, they promised: "Next year, we'll be back!".

Set list

01. Maple Gunman
02. Kakusei Heroism ~THE HERO WITHOUT A NAME~
03. Tekesuta kousen
04. Wagamama koushinkyouku
05. Escapism
06. Jibun setsumeisho
07. Takaido
08. NYAPPY in the world 4
09. amazing blue
10. Snow Scene
11. Cherry saku yuuki!!

EN1. BondS ~Kizuna~
EN2. Smile ichiban ii ♀