The summer heat departed, it was a beautiful sunny yet cool day that greeted the finale of the Merry SONIC '08 Retrock Festival with a Nero produced live at Hibiya Yagai Ongaku Dou. The outdoor nature of YAON lends a wonderful festive atmosphere to the lives held there and Merry's crackled with excitement as fans looked on at the stage with the giant hot-pink and black MERRY SONIC backdrop. Whoever chose the pre-live music made some fantastic choices too with a CD full of danceable rock tracks to get the crowd into the mood. In a neat coincidence, as Incubus' Nebula played over the PA and the lyrics shouted 'RISE', the lights came on stage and the crowd obeyed the CD, rising to their feet and calling the members' names as they strode confidently on stage.
Merry began without Gara, playing an extended introduction to Oriental BL Circus that had the four singing the introduction in lieu of their vocalist. When Gara did walk on stage he was greeted with almost deafening yells while Oriental BL Circus picked up the pace for an explosive opener. Merry played around with their songs; Yuu and Gara joined forces, taking turns singing the introduction to sweet powder in a call and response, then a neat bass solo from Tetsu led into Aikokufuta ni Masurao. The audience jumped up and down shouting along to the 'ne ne' refrain with Gara during this song that got the whole of Yaon heaving. Like at Yokohama earlier that year, it was no simple ordinary live as Merry put their heart into their performances. As ever Gara's vocals were clear and crisp rising over the nighttime air.
Twilight was descending fast as Saihate no Parade began and it was kenichi's turn to shine with some fast mini solo pieces played with technical precision. The audience never once stopped punching the air to this addictively dancy track with it's punchy verses. This continued into Meisai no shinshi as the crowd went all out on their furitsuke and Gara somehow sang perfectly while climbing and falling over amps. It was all very heavy although new song Montage changed the pace a little. Taking a distinctly poppier style for a second it sounded like Merry were playing a cover! It was played incredibly well though with a pop sound of their own, characterised with various Merry signature riffs and effects.
The first break came accompanied by Sasurai Rhapsody, broken up by a short Nero drum solo that rolled into LululuLaLaLa. Gara had donned a fedora and clutching onto it danced around the stage in his unusual hip swaying style while he sang. Hinodechou machikado tsunderera 2-ban home hen that followed seemed an unusual choice that would again perhaps have gotten lost in the open air venue but the combination of some interesting guitar work from Yuu and kenichi made it a mesmerising version. They played a little faster and higher than the norm, breathing new life into the music. The live had taken a more sultry angle in this second part, particularly as Merry played the cover Isesakichou Blues. As the stage was bathed in pink lighting, Gara perfectly imitated Aoe Mina's girlish sighs. It was a rather sensual performance of the enka song with the unique Merry twist providing an elegantly different feel to the evening. This pace continued with Bluesy Night. Nero and Yuu played off each other with a drawn out instrumental piece that verged into a 70s style melody before returning to the 30s jazz of Bluesy Night. Merry delivered as usual with their slick style.
As this second portion concluded, dulcet koto sounds floated over the air from the stage and roadies ran in with ink and paper for Gara. The girls read the paper he held up out loud, cheering as the last piece was held out. Today it read: 'Kyo wa kotoba nante iranai' (Today I don't need words). The calligraphy neatly bridged the quieter portion of the live to the next, which was much heavier and begun by Kigeki no Taboo to which Gara continued to climb over all the amps as he sang. Retro Future was solid if a little frantic but the strain of Yasashisa Kid that followed it sent the audience into a frenzy. They cheered the song with extra loud cheers and Merry responded, turning in a fine performance that seemingly involved the audience in the call responses of 'Yasashisa, High Sense'. Nero gave a little talk after, leaving the feeling on a high point. He thanked the audience for coming tonight. While mentioning the Yokohama Live DVD, he also noted that they were filming tonight too. He asked the audience if they were ok with being filmed. Somewhere behind some girls roared 'of course you can film us' in a thick slang as if Nero's asking was naive. This brief MC also introduced Japanese Modernist another favourite of Merry's fans to which everyone jumped and sang along with the lyrics. The stage meanwhile was bathed in sharp red lights and bursts of light to accompany Nero's powerful drums throughout. The whole band threw their all into it and continued into Midnight Shangri-la, the uncharacteristically super-heavy song released in May that sounds forever messy on CD but brilliant live. Tetsu's bass solo at the start was particularly cool and his bass remained the firm steadying rhythm throughout the general chaos. Gara took to lying on the floor as he screamed the vocals in an almost gutteral fashion. Midway through, laying flat on his back he waved his legs in the air. Yuu got a little too close and was ensnared by Gara's legs in what Japanese fans called a 'pincer attack'. Yuu's shocked face was priceless. He somehow broke free, almost falling over in the process while Gara calmly brought his legs down again. Perhaps most surprising though was that all the while this was happening Yuu continued to play perfectly as if he had not just had the shock of Gara's legs wrapped around his waist.
Mousouz Rendez-vous was rather tame therefore in comparison but it lit up Hibiya nonetheless with the singalong to its memorable chorus. Gara called out that the next song was to be the last, and Tozasareta Rakuen duly followed. It was a competent performance but compared to other Merry songs it just seemed to lack the pizazz necessary for a true closing song. Perhaps it should have swapped places with Mousou Rendez-vous. It however was not the end. The stage went black for a few minutes but soon the twang of a Spanish guitar could be heard playing a melancholic 30s style melody. Lanterns on the stage gradually came on, illuminating it in a soft brownish tinge full of atmosphere. Everyone knew the opening was for Gekisei, Merry's recent 15 minute long single. They played the full 15 minutes too in an awesome jaw dropping performance. Some girls tried to dance along but eventually gave up, instead standing a little dumbfounded by the song.
From the subtle, melancholic beginning played beautifully by Yuu, the rest of Merry came into the song in a flurry of music with kenichi's stabbing guitar and Nero's accompanying drums. The concentration on all their faces as they played the complex melody stood in contrast to Gara's passionate performance as he acted what he sang. The song became more and more chaotic and more exhilarating as it reached the six minute point. Merry threw themselves around the stage to the changes in pace climaxing with a scream from Gara that introduced the more measured melody once more. The stage went black as the Spanish guitar came back momentarily to introduce a gentler feeling and then finally into the finale. Gara's voice became a startling combination of weeping and singing while the guitars around him launched into a stunning bridge with a beautiful solo from Yuu. As Gara recited each of the words that finishes Gekisei: 'blue sky, world, sun, future, past, humans, you, peace, lies, eternity, dream, life, hope, despair, curse' he acted each word with overt gestures, pointing to himself and the world and finishing with an incredibly powerful, almost supernatural scream that sent shivers down the spine. The stage now in darkness, Merry left Yuu to finish the song becoming more and more frantic on his guitar until an abrupt ending when the music box sound to take over. The audience continued to watch the empty stage until the music box had finished playing. No one spoke over the melody and as it faded out a roar of applause filled Yaon. For all that Gekisei might be long on CD, live it was heart-wrenchingly powerful and struck half the audience dumb with awe.
Gekisei was not the end though. Calls for encore were answered when a Brazilian Carnivale samba band danced on stage banging their drums and wearing giant glittering headdresses. It was quite surreal and could not have been more of a change from Gekisei. The Brazilian band played alone for a while with their band leader. Shortly two dancing girls also danced on stage and then Nero. What followed was a special Nerrorism for 2008 as the Merry drummer played along with the Samba band. The crowd too quickly found themselves dancing along. Nero had a mini drum battle with the samba band leader too, in a copycat game. The samba leader could drum faster though and each time he did one too difficult, Nero stood up and pointed his drumstick at the man with a challenging look on his face. Eventually it got too fast and Nero threw away his drumsticks to use his hands instead. The audience cheered and shouted 'NERO' extra loudly when he begun his call response with the audience. The samba bunch eventually left as the rest of Merry returned once again, creating such a contrast as the four other members all in black stood out amongst the background of glitter and feathers. When they did pick up their instruments again, it was for the two old classics with furitsuke, Yellow Girl and Violet Harenchi. One great thing about Merry is their love of going to their past in their setlists, something the audience seem to love too as the air punching suddenly became precise arm movements to the time of the music.
After Violet Harenchi there was a short break before the second encore. Nero began this with an MC to announce the Merry Xmas live. He announced it by telling the crowd that, if they were lonely on Christmas eve they could go and join Merry instead. Then noone need be lonely. They also announced their newest single, Fuyu no Castanet to keep in with this Christmassy theme. He finished by asking fans to continue to support them, although he said it more as 'tsukiatte kudasai' which in Japanese usually translates to 'please go out with us'. Although bands do often say this, combined with the Christmas Eve comments gave it an amusing feel that being a Merry fan is like having a relationship with them all. Unsurprisingly, the fans obliged to this.
The second encore began with Charlie. As the crowd did the furitsuke they sang along loudly with Gara, being able to be heard above the boom of instruments on stage. Unsurprisingly, Karappo na Uta was next. Yuu's playing of the high pitched riff was especially clear as Gara got the crowd shouting and silver streamers blasted out from the stage. It was a rather spirited performance and midway through Gara requested the audience to sing as usual. Only the gentle strumming from Yuu and Tetsu could be heard as the rest downed instruments to hear Yaon sing for them. Gara introduced the first line 'Kujuu namete mo son wo suru you na yuuutsu na jidai sa' and the audience followed with 'Kasureta koe de sakebi tsudzukereba ii'. This was repeated a few times before Merry picked up the instruments again for the end of the song.
It was not yet the end though. They had one finale song, Soshite tooi yume no mata yume that was sang with such clarity and passion by Gara that it moved many in the audience to tears. It was a poignant end to the live with a melancholic song that stayed in the minds of the audience long after Merry had left the stage.
As Yuu walked off he spoke into the mic for a moment, 'Y.A.O.N' he shouted to be greeted by confusion. 'Yaon!' he repeated. The audience laughed and cheered the guitarist off and finally it was time for Nero to take a bow and walk off with the Merry flags to close the final of MERRY SONIC '08. The night had been produced Nero and he had made a sparkling night of music with a live to rival that in Yokohama in May. The fans left slowly as the new song, Fuyu no Castanet was played over the tannoy system keeping this festival atmosphere in the air and turned all minds to the next live, the first Merry Christmas.
Setlist:
1. Oriental BL Circus
2. sweet powder
3. Aikokufuta ni Masurao
4. Saihate no Parade
5. Meisai no Shinshi
6. montage(new song)
7. LululuLalala
8. Hinodechou, machikado tsunderera ~2 ban Home hen~
9. Isesakichou Blues
10.Bluesy Night
(Gara Calligraphy)
11. Kigeki no Taboo
12. Retro Future
13. Yasashisa Kid
14. Japanese Modernist
15. Midnight Shangrila
16. Mousou Rendez-vous
17. Tozasareta Rakuen
18. Gekisei
Encore
Nerrorism Special '08
Yellow Girl
Violet Harenchi
Charlie
Karappo na Uta
Soshite, tooi yume no mata yume
