JAPAN NIGHT at HYPER JAPAN in London: Night #2

Since May 2014, JAPAN NIGHT has been taking some of the best in Japanese rock around the world. The first JAPAN NIGHT on British soil coincided with the HYPER JAPAN convention, and there were many cosplayers in the crowd at indigo, as well as a large contingent of VAMPS fans. JaME was also there on Saturday July 11th to see VAMPS, [Alexandros] and Ling tosite sigure in action.

Ling tosite sigure

As the clock struck 20:00, the lights went out and feedback blared from the speakers. Amid this din, post-hardcore trio Ling tosite sigure walked out on stage. “We are Ling tosite sigure. Please enjoy our crazy Japanese sound,” said guitarist TK, once he and bassist 345 had finished adjusting their matching ivory-colored instruments.

The band opened proceedings with Enigmatic Feeling, the theme song for anime series “PSYCHO-PASS 2”. After DISCO FLIGHT, the band paused while drummer Pierre Nakano gave a quick MC. “Welcome to JAPAN NIGHT!” he said, standing up behind his drumkit with a handheld mic. He then engaged everyone is a spot of call-and-response - for the last of these, he shouted “We are!” and had the crowd reply “X!” while crossing their forearms.

Ling tosite sigure resumed with Who What Who What, another song penned for the “PSYCHO-PASS” franchise. A cheer went up as TK quietly sang the opening lines of perennial fan-favorite abnormalize. The band’s set came to an end with Boukan, a track from their 2005 debut #4. Beginning the song bathed in gloomy green light, the stage turned red as this slow-burning classic built to a roaring crescendo.

At song’s end, 345 and Pierre left the stage while TK lingered to play one last manic solo, his black hair flopping about wildly as his fingers danced up and down the fretboard. Then, having removed his guitar, the breathless guitarist uttered a quiet thank you before tossing his plectrum into the crowd and staggering offstage, feedback still blaring from the speakers.

Set list

01. Enigmatic Feeling
02. Souzou no Security
03. DISCO FLIGHT
04. Who What Who What
05. I was music
06. abnormalize
07. Telecastic fake show
08. Kankaku UFO
09. Boukan

[Alexandros]



After a fifteen-minute interval, rock band [Alexandros] made their entrance. The artists formerly known as [Champagne] wasted no time in getting things going with Stimulator. From the off, it was clear frontman Yoohei Kawakami was on a mission to win over the crowd. Just three songs in, he was already down at the barriers, holding his microphone over fans’ heads as they sang the “Stay alive!” refrain from Kick&Spin.

“If you want more, scream like a motherf----r!” he shouted after clambering back onstage, before launching into a brief rendition of Blur’s Song 2. “Good evening, London!” said Yoohei once he’d towelled off, beginning an MC in which he talked about his love for all things British in fluent English. He ended with a rare defence of the local cuisine: “A lot of people talk shit about English food, but I just love it.”

[Alexandros] filled the second half of their set with songs from fifth album ALXD, released in June this year. As Famous Day ended, Yoohei took off his guitar and tossed his plectrum into the crowd, leaving himself free to jump along to Wataridori with fans. A second MC followed while his bandmates, particularly drummer Satoyasu, caught their breath.

“I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve said I love London,” said Yoohei, before announcing [Alexandros] would be back here next year, and declared his intention to steal all HYDE’s fans and make them his own: “It’s too bad if don’t like us, because we love every one of you.” As if to reaffirm his Anglophilia, the vocalist listed his band’s favourite artists: Oasis, Queen and Blur. “Those guys are our teachers.” Bassist Hiroyuki then joined in, speaking about band’s global ambitions: “We’re gonna be everywhere.” Finally, the duo revealed [Alexandros]’s big dream: to be the first Japanese band to headline the legendary Glastonbury Festival.

To the crowd’s audible disappointment, Yoohei announced the next song would be their last. “We would play five more, but VAMPS would kill us,” Hiroyuki chipped in as his bandmate began singing Adventure a cappella with fans. Throughout the song, Yoohei wandered the stage, leading the crowd in the “Whoa-oh-oh” refrain before descending to the barriers once more.

The vocalist’s reluctance to end his set was palpable as the song ended. After namedropping each of his bandmates, he led the audience in one last “Whoa-oh-oh” before making his exit.

Set list

S.E.
01. Stimulator
02. starrrrrrr
03. Kick&Spin
MC
04. Dog 3
05. Famous Day
06. Wataridori
MC
07. Adventure

VAMPS



The sound of a creaking door resounding through the venue heralded the start of BITE, VAMPS’s trademark SE styled upon a classic horror film. Support drummer Arimatsu and keyboardist JIN were first out, taking their places in front an enormous VAMPS flag roadies had put up as a backdrop during the interval. Guitarist K.A.Z and support bassist Ju-ken were next out. Then, the crowd erupted as HYDE himself stepped out, dressed in black jeans and an unbuttoned shirt.

The band’s set got underway with WORLD’S END, during which the purpose of the monitors’ size became clear as K.A.Z spent a good portion of the song standing on his. For LIPS, HYDE put aside his guitar and roamed freely about the stage. Ju-ken did the same, providing some of his backing vocals via K.A.Z’s microphone at the opposite end of the stage.

After EVIL, the lights dimmed and everyone but JIN vacated the stage. Dressed in a black suit and respirator mask, the keyboardist cut an imposing figure as he played the haunting piano intro to Vampire’s Love under dim blue light. In keeping with the ballad’s sombre mood, the other members were far less energetic in their performance when they re-emerged. For his part, HYDE remained almost motionless throughout the song, moving only to produce a rose from within his flowing shirt.

“Thank you,” said HYDE as the post-song applause subsided. “My mum loves him!” yelled a local fan in the ensuing silence to much laughter. After pausing for a moment, the singer also smirked. The band ended this calmer phase of the set with the dreamy ZERO, firing up a mirror ball suspended from the ceiling. Then, it was back to hard rock.

“Are there any BLOODSUCKERS here?” asked HYDE at one point as he paced up and down the stage, repeating the question while Ju-ken and K.A.Z searched the crowd. During this much-extended version of the song, the audience became the most animated they had all concert. So animated in fact that Ju-ken felt the need to dowse those nearest the front with a bottle of water.

A musician with immense stage presence, throughout the set, the bassist engaged with the crowd almost as much as HYDE. When he retreated to the stage’s rear for MIDNIGHT CELEBRATION, it seemed at first to let the central duo of VAMPS enjoy the limelight. However, it soon became apparent it was more for his own safety. HYDE took similarly evasive action, spending most of the song down on his knees by the monitors while K.A.Z flawlessly executed a series of guitar spins.

At song’s end, the band headed offstage, and it took just seconds for the shouts for an encore to gather momentum. Some fans seemed to already know what was coming, as many shouts soon turned into calls of “Bang on stomp everybody!”, the chorus of REVOLUTION Ⅱ. Sure enough, within minutes, the intro of this very song began blaring from the stage’s speakers, and VAMPS reappeared.

Before resuming playing, Ju-ken sloshed another bottle of water over the frenzied crowd. This time, HYDE joined in, throwing his empty bottle up to the balcony overlooking the stage. Over the next five minutes, the atmosphere in indigo reached fever pitch, with many fans joining K.A.Z and Ju-ken in head-banging.

After a quick MC, in which HYDE announced the band would be back in the UK in November supporting Finnish “cello metal” band Apocalyptica, VAMPS took this JAPAN NIGHT to a fiery conclusion. For the last song SEX BLOOD ROCK N ROLL, the vocalist strode about the stage with microphone stand over his shoulder, even descending to the barriers at one point. Meanwhile, JIN complemented Arimatsu’s thunderous drumming with electronic percussion, assaulting two drum pads with luminous green drumsticks.

Before taking their leave, VAMPS indulged in some unusually generous gift-giving. Arimatsu tossed his sticks and K.A.Z his plectrum, whereas Ju-ken not only gave away the pick he’d been using, but about ten of his backups stuck to his microphone stand. Meanwhile, having produced another rose, HYDE threw handfuls of petals into the crowd, and when those ran out, he tore up the stem and distributed that too before exiting.

Set list

S.E.
01. WORLD’S END
02. LIPS
03. EVIL
PIANO SOLO
04. VAMPIRE’S LOVE
MC
05. ZERO
06. ANGEL TRIP
07. BLOODSUCKERS
08. MIDNIGHT CELEBRATION
S.E.
EN1. REVOLUTIONⅡ
MC
EN2. DEVIL SIDE
EN3. SEX BLOOD ROCK N’ ROLL