Danger Gang live report

To sit and wait for a concert to start can often be rather boring, but in this case it was different. Watching the fans entering the live house, it was clear to see that they loved the band, as some were dressed in handmade coats of different colors with ”Danger Gang” on the back. Danger Gang’s fans are mostly young girls, but today was a oneman and fans both male and female, family and friends had come to show their support.

All the talking disappeared as the background music faded away and was replaced by screams and shouts. Soon, big spotlights of white light moved around the stage to the short opening tune for Danger Gang. The red curtain pulled away and the light stopped to focus on each member. They were already in position on stage, none of them moving a muscle and seeming like statues. Seconds later, Waka screamed loudly into the microphone and the first song began.

The first song, Samurai, was a classic song. All the fans knew and loved it. A hard rock sound filled with power made everyone headbang violently from the start. Drummer Rei pounded on her drums, very focused on what she was doing while Thera, the bassist, smiled like the sun. Hiko, their guitarist, looked like she was on the verge of pure bliss as she played her solo.

The second song had a catchy opening with heavy bass lines and playful guitar playing. The audience clapped their hands together as the members danced a simple, yet intricate dance.

The following song was also an older one where the audience had to jump and turn, imitating the same cute dance Waka did on stage. Hiko teased everyone with her guitar riff before she switched places with Thera, who screamed into the microphone while Waka rapped. Hiko showed her talent with yet another solo, and all the fans sat down on the floor to give the guitarist their full attention.

During the MC, Waka asked the audience to say “konnichiwa,” which everyone happily did. Waka talked about how she felt the presence of the whole world in the live house and that the atmosphere was loaded with power and energy. Before the MC ended, the singer told everyone that people from Cure, a J-rock magazine, and JaME were present and doing a live report of the concert.

The fourth song was filled with screams and headbanging; heavy sound and movement came from both the band and the fans. The room became heated; one could clearly see how much the fans meant to the band, and how much the band meant to the fans. Then their first ballad started. Slow and beautiful, the song felt painful as Waka put all her emotion into her singing. With her hand to her heart, she gave her message to the people in the audience, who slowly moved to the rhythm.

The last song before another MC was a completely new one. It was quick and powerful, and without any growls and screams the song was a bit different from their earlier ones. Waka moved as if she was performing a voodoo dance, wailing softly as fans touched Hiko, who had thrown her leg up against the fence. Rei did a good job, strong arms moving fast as she kept pace with Thera on bass.

The second MC was filled with information; Waka told everyone that the band was making new songs and that they were going to be on a women’s collaboration CD, which will be released in Japan, Europe and the USA. They were also going to show their new PV Duty on Japanese TV the fourth of October. The singer then asked her bandmates to say something, and they all contributed their thanks and positive messages to the fans who came that night.

During the seventh song, towels flew in every direction and lights blinked merrily. Screams and growls were mixed with rapping along to a dance that Waka made up, in which everyone followed without a missing a step. The rap was fast and sometimes hard to understand, but the atmosphere in the room stayed high. Then it was time for another ballad. The heated live house went still when the vocalist’s eyes filled with tears as she sang.

The last three songs were all hard, fast and filled with joy. The band got the fans to really move when they showed them how and when to dance. One could see just how tired the band started to get, but they kept on playing with smiles on their faces. The song they played last was The Danger Gang Theme.

Fans began to scream for an encore even before the band left the stage. When the band returned, there was one more MC in which Waka, after some hinting and dramatics, announced it was Thera’s birthday. Everyone applauded and Thera came up to the front of the stage, where Waka asked her how it felt. When she tried to answer, the vocalist pressed the microphone to Thera’s cheek so she was unable to, and Waka cheerfully thanked her before she managed to say anything. After a few minutes, one of their staff came out with a birthday cake. Hiko went to light the candles, but when the lighter didn't work she threw it to the ground and went to get another one. That one was dysfunctional and tossed as well. Third time was the charm, and the whole room sang "Happy Birthday to you" before a teary eyed and happy Thera blew out the candles to the audience's applause.

With the birthday celebration over, they started up on their first of two encore songs. It was powerful and super happy, and both fans and the band headbanged hard. Waka was everywhere with her dancing, and the tempo was insanely high. The absolute last song was one of their newest works, where Waka rap-sings. The bass was heavy and the whole room shook as the fans waved their orange towels. During this song, Waka was standing close to Hiko’s side when she decided to jump out into the audience. As Waka hugged some of the fans and danced happily to the music, Hiko screamed out that everyone was the best. No one has ever seen such a big smile on the guitarist’s lips before.

The song ended with the band standing in a line, holding hands as they looked out at their audience, smiling. "Thank you so much" were their last words before they left the stage.

It was a good concert and even though the live house was small, both sound and lighting turned out to be great. They managed to play their way through all of their songs without any problems. Waka’s voice was powerful and everyone worked hard to make this first oneman something that you could remember. Danger Gang is a band that really knows how to make an audience happy. All the luck for the Danger Gang in the future!

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Pictures by ajoa.