the studs' Tour'08 creepy crawly Final

the studs' tour '08 creepy crawly, having had a number of stops in different regions of Japan since autumn, was concluded by a final on the 17th of January in Tokyo's Shibuya O-EAST. The rather large hall was full of hundreds of excited fans, many wearing the studs T-shirts and with 'bloodstained' tour towels around their necks, waiting impatiently for the grand finale to start.

The band's usual SE music had been playing for a while and as it became louder and the lights dimmed, the fans clapped their hands and screamed for the band. The members then appeared as silhouettes on a semi-transparent black curtain, lit up from behind. Creepy music began playing, with the noise of dripping water, as in the beginning of shizuku (rain drop another version) and Daisuke started singing rain drop. As the other members joined him, the curtain fell and the fans stretched out their arms towards the stage. Spider nest then sparked a much more energetic mood in the venue as the members came to the front, encouraging the fans, who started shaking their fists and screaming to the beats. The next song was dread and surprisingly early on during the live, Daisuke threw himself into the audience. The moshpit enveloped him eagerly, while the rest of the crowd headbanged and jumped.

aie greeted the audience in a joking MC and asked them to enjoy the live with them until the very end. Gathering in front of Hibiki, the band went onto the next stage of the live with unsightly stupid. Although this song was quieter and slower it was still dynamic and Daisuke’s singing, paired with aie’s backing vocals, were truly captivating. The fans raised their fists to and hate, as the vocalist came to the edge of the large stage, sitting down with his legs crossed, and addressed the front rows as if in a private conversation. Nageku akairo, although not exactly an aggressive song, had the audience moshing and waving their arms, screaming out loud parts of the lyrics in the bridge, covering the instrumentals with their voices. As Daisuke walked around the stage acting lost and slightly disturbed, the public jumped and danced.

After a short pause, during which the fans had a chance to scream the names of their favourite members, hyouryou no hana started slowly and quietly. The audience didn’t miss a chance to do some more dancing and shaking their fists and most of the attention in the song was shifted towards Yukino and his strong bass lines. Tobari, thanks to aie’s unique guitar sound, had an almost jazzy touch to it and was followed by aru asa, another quieter song with a positive, light mood to it. The audience remained motionless and Daisuke once again came to the edge of the stage, sinking to his knees and singing quietly and intimately to the fans. The crowd froze completely for ano oto, enchanted by the darker atmosphere, and Daisuke, still at the very front of the stage, once again fell to his knees with a wild, piercing cry. Although the next song started with a distorted guitar improvisation, the harmony of missing vain was recognizable and Daisuke started singing in an almost pleading voice, while aie’s ever-changing guitar took a style turn to give the song more of a shoegaze sound.

The mesmerized public clapped and then stayed silent during the following break, not making a single sound. For the transition from the quieter part of the set, the studs could not have chosen a song more appropriate than gaze. It started moderately, but slowly gained volume, raising the tension in the venue. As Daisuke, having taken off his jacket, put down his microphone, the fans sang along loudly and gradually started shaking their fists. yami nochi ame kicked off with the upbeat pace of the rearranged version from the latest release, sounding even more fast-paced and energetic, and the smiling audience danced along. As the atmosphere became hotter and hotter, creepy crawly started and the fans were banging their fists and shouting, when aie suddenly stopped the band, saying that his guitar was broken.

Trying to entertain the audience while the trouble was being fixed, Daisuke amused the crowd with a philosophical speech about how when people are alive, all sorts of things can happen to them. However, as aie is usually the one doing witty MCs, Daisuke soon ran out of words and bashfully told the audience: "I love you all, so please wait!" When aie informed the relieved crowd that his guitar was fixed, creepy crawly started once again, this time without any mishaps. Both the audience and the band were visibly enjoying the positive atmosphere of the song. Once it had finished, aie asked the audience to wait while he found out what the problem with his guitar was. In the meantime, Hibiki and Yukino started improvising, supported by the clapping masses, and were soon joined by aie. Daisuke screamed: "Follow us, Tokyo!", and the more violent keishou awoke the audience, who began moshing and shaking their fists. As Daisuke sat on the edge of the stage, the audience pulling gently on his outstretched arms, Yukino, despite his usual habit of keeping his distance, also came dangerously close to the edge and was almost pulled in by excited fans grabbing his bass. Even more aggression broke out during the hard disclosure, with excited jumping, as the audience sang along to Daisuke’s harsh screams. Advance Insane sent waves of headbanging through the masses and as they heated up, Daisuke, who was covered in sweat, tried to pull off his shirt but got one arm stuck in the sleeve. He made a joking attempt to break free with the help of his feet, then gave up and enjoyed the rest of the song with the fans. Wrapping up the set was the audience's favourite thursday, in which Daisuke poured water all over himself and performed his signature action of sticking a bottle into his pants. He screamed for the headbanging audience to let him hear their voices, dived off the stage and was almost carried away by the crowd. As he stumbled back, the other members waved goodbye to the crowd and left the stage.

After the eager public got the band out for the encore, aie explained that his troubles were most likely caused by the effect pedals so he would have to play without it, letting the audience hear his guitar's naked sound. Daisuke came out at last in a white suit, which suspiciously resembled his past band's outfit, and the encore started with tonight is the night, which was however quickly stopped by aie, who was still having problems. Immediately, Hibiki and Yukino took up their instrumental improvisation, since Daisuke said that usually in such a case there would be a witty MC from the vocalist, but he had to confess, in a dramatic voice: "I am boring!" Finally, tonight is the night could be successfully played and the audience had not lost their enthusiasm, dancing and singing along as if nothing happened. They continued shaking their fists and screaming to the positive niji no iro, as rainbow-coloured lights filled the venue and the encore ended on this happy note. Daisuke thanked the crowd, confessed his love to them, and one by one the members left again.

Of course, the live could not finish without another encore and the audience continued screaming at the top of their voices. As the drummer, bassist and guitarist came out, screams for Yukino could be heard, congratulating him as it had been his birthday the day before. He bashfully thanked the audience and looked like he wanted to say more, but as the vocalist returned to the stage, the girls' screams interrupted Yukino’s rare and shy attempt at an MC. The second encore kicked off with Daisuke’s loud urge for everyone to throw away all their worries and aggression in the violent toketsu. As the fans jumped and screamed, the members ran around the stage, at last coming together at the edge of it, enjoying the view of the large hall becoming one in their ecstasy. The crowd went even crazier for another thursday attempt as Yukino played, sitting on the edge of the stage and Hibiki drummed powerfully, smiling and singing along. Daisuke removed his shirt and even his socks and, once again jumping into the crowd allowed himself to be swallowed by it as he continued singing. As the visibly tired but satisfied Daisuke and aie thanked the crowd and left, Yukino and Hibiki stayed behind to throw some personal items into the screaming masses and the show ended with a well-deserved round of applause.

Despite the technical troubles, this experienced band managed to have a powerful, fun and very enjoyable show and concluded their tour with a great final live. It will definitely be a happy memory for all fans that took part, and they will look forward impatiently for the studs' next tour announcement.


Set list:

01. rain drop
02. spider nest
03. dread

04. unsightly stupid
05. and hate
06. nageku akairo
07. false the skin

08. hyouryou no hana
09. tobari
10. aru asa
11. ano oto
12. missing vain

13. gaze
14. yami nochi ame
15. creepy crawly

16. keishou
17. disclosure
18. advance insane
19. thursday

Encore:
01. tonight is the night
02. niji no iro

Encore 2:
01. toketsu
02. thursday