stylish wave EXTRA ’09 at CLUB CITTA

The hall of CLUB CITTA’ was filled with fans of the seven bands that were about to play. Most of them were randomly watching the two big screens hanging on both sides of the hall, which were showing clips of live performances and interviews from bands who had participated in previous stylish wave events. The starting time was getting closer and excitement was spreading as fans wondered which band would play first. Finally, at 5pm, the show started and the first band was revealed.

SERIAL⇔NUMBER:

Sasaki Jin, Shiyuu, Kazune, Hibiki and Kai walked onto the stage one by one to take their positions. All of them wore matching shades of black, grey, white and red. They started their show with GO!YA !NUMBER~Nuchigusui~, a heavy song that got the audience headbanging almost instantly. During the guitar solo, vocalist Sasaki Jin showed off his dance technique while the first rows moved their heads to the rhythm. GO!YA !NUMBER~Nuchigusui~ was followed by the more pop-sounding and melodic Yumenchu no sora. Guitarists and bassist were the real stars of this song as they showed their skills, a moment highly appreciated by the fans. Guitarist Shiyuu, acting on his feminine side, was entertaining the front rows.

After the first couple of songs, Sasaki Jin addressed the audience with an MC for a rather long period of time, during which he promoted the creation of their fan club and the release of their upcoming single before moving on to introduce the dance he wanted the audience to do during Churasan ga koronda. The dance consisted of racing towards the right on one foot and then back to the left on the other foot. As if this weren’t fun enough, they also dropped huge balloons on the crowd for everyone to play with. Churasan ga koronda was a greatly amusing and entertaining song, especially when Mr. Hoshiko, the president of the company star child & Zy-connection and organizer of the event, joined the band on stage to dance together with the members. The members were unstoppable and they repeated the chorus several times, giving the audience a real treat. It seemed difficult to maintain such high energy for the last song, Kimi ni aete, but Sasaki Jin didn't let the crowd down. He kept the crowd going and prompted them to raise their hands until the very last note.

SERIAL⇔NUMBER’s energy is one of their best assets, and they were a great way to start the evening! They were followed by a band which is getting more popular by the second...

DaizyStripper:

The band was already on stage as the curtain raised. The sound of a piano started to fill the hall before vocalist Yu-giri sang the word "Hallelujah," thus beginning their cover of hide’s song Misery. The hall was dimly lit with a few spotlights and a disco ball, which provided the perfect atmosphere to their ballad version of the song. After a long piano and vocal duet between Yu-giri and Kazami, the guitars, bass and drums finally kicked in to give even more power to the song. Yu-giri’s amazing and powerful voice definitely won the hearts of everyone in the crowd, and although a ballad isn't the usual way to start a performance, the audience loved it and clapped with all their might when it ended. The second song was the more aggressive Hoshizora to kimi no te, a very powerful song that allowed the members to show their excellent skills.

After a short MC, during which Yu-giri promoted their one man tour and new single to be released on June 3rd, [Dearest], they immersed themselves into MR.UNCHAIN, a much heavier song. The clapping of the fans quickly turned into violent headbanging and fists in the air. The band had clearly thought their set list over as their show was gaining more power with every song.

They ended with decade, a hymn-like song that allowed the band to bond with the audience. DaizyStripper’s performance was a blast, proving that they are definitely one of the most promising new bands.

Irokui.:

The third band of the evening, Irokui., started their performance with Mr. Carbon. The audience got into it instantly, and both the band and the fans were headbanging. The first song was followed by an MC. After mentioning the creation of their fan club and their new maxi-single, vocalist Yuuri talked the crowd into doing a new dance. He asked everyone to clap their hands high in the air, then taught them some furitsuke choreography that ended with making the peace sign. The audience happily followed the vocalist's directions on the second song, sakura seven. There was also a lot of interaction between the members on stage. The show continued with uragiru hermes, a much heavier song that got everyone jumping. The band was releasing a lot of energy and was easily spreading it to the audience.

They ended their set with sorashita sanka. The talkative Yuuri, very at ease with the audience, asked everyone to take the hand of the person next to them so that they would all wave their hands in unison. He definitely found a way to bring the fans together, making everyone enjoy the show. Could Yuuri and Sasaki Jin from SERIAL⇔NUMBER have been competing for the "best entertainer of the evening" award? They were both confident and prompted the audience continuously.

Irokui. certainly knew how to use the short timing of the event to their benefit, and they delivered a highly entertaining show.

SCREW:

As the evening progressed, the fourth band SCREW came on stage. Probably having learned a thing or two from their seniors at PS COMPANY, SCREW knew how to make an entrance. They all looked cool and sexy, especially the vocalist Byo, who was sporting sunglasses and going shirtless under his jacket. There were lots of screams from the fans as they started off with KAIROS. The great guitar sound and the singer’s dark voice set the tone of their show right away. They continued with molder, another heavy song that got everyone jumping.

After a very short MC, they started up again with VEGAS. The audience was really into it, and Byo’s way of interacting with them was by spiting water all over them, proving - much to the fans’ delight - that he’s more the trouble-making type than the entertaining type. VEGAS was immediately followed by RAGING BLOOD, another heavy song that transformed the audience into a sea of flying hair as the singer immersed himself in dark and tortured screams. Having played only short songs, SCREW had time for one more blow: HEEL. By that time, the vocalist had gotten rid of his jacket and was exposing his bare torso to the public. He continued to provoke the fans by spraying water all over himself and pouring water down his pants, and he ended the song by falling dramatically on the floor. The band exited the stage after a few picks and water bottles were thrown to the fans.

SCREW presented a very steady set: they started hard and heavy and kept it that way all through their live.

hime ichigo:

After fifteen minutes for the band to set up, hime ichigo came on stage to the sound of Dear…from [alice] and continued with re: alice, a rough and heavy start that got the fans headbanging in force. Then, hime ichigo showed the oshare kei side of themselves with the upbeat rock song sher[R]Lock. At the end of the song, the singer Suzuya promoted the band’s homepage, their new fan club, album and tour, before moving on to their third song. They played Ko vistrip, a heavy song with a more melodic chorus, and the singer interacted with the fans. The end of Ko vistrip transformed into a member roll call and Suzuya introduced, one by one, the members of the band: drummer Ruka, bassist Jin and guitarists Reina and Jun.

They finished their performance with depression. The song had the singer communicating a lot with the audience. The guitarists and bassist gathered at the center of the stage during the catchy chorus before moving back to their positions in order to headbang in unison with the fans.

hime ichigo’s good sense of rock music definitely got the flow of the event going.

Wizard:

The second to last band, Wizard, won the audience in an instant as they started very heavily with Trap•lunch and kept the hard and heavy going with [Ω] side. Guitarists HIRO and Masumi sang backing vocals on that song, and the audience began jumping like crazy. During the MC, vocalist Kaito promoted their full album and upcoming one-man live. This was followed by Kimi no sekai, their latest single that has impressive melodies and great guitar playing.

Wizard also decided to compete with SERIAL⇔NUMBER, but this time for "best stage-dance" of the evening as Hiro, Masumi and bassist Saki started to spin on one foot from left to right during Hana ichi monme. They also got the support of Mr. Hoshiko, who came back on stage to dance for a short moment. The members really looked like they were having a great time, often changing positions and traveling the length of the stage. At the end of the song, they started to dance their one-footed-spinning dance again.

Wizard chose Sadistrip, another hymn-like song, to end their show. During the performance, hands rose in the air before the audience gave in and started headbanging

Wizard played loudly and well, and the audience obviously enjoyed the band as they screamed for the band as the members left the stage.

lynch.:

By the time the last band lynch. came on, many in the audience had already left, leaving only lynch.’s fans in the crowd. The fans showed their support instantly by clapping their hands loudly. lynch. started out with I’m sick,b’cuz luv u. The lighting effects perfectly suited their darker style: the members were all wearing black and showing more technique and maturity in their stage play. The crowd didn’t need any prompting to go crazy as they got into the second song, STARZ. Vocalist Hazuki was dancing and, as usual, making lots of facial expressions as they went into their third song, EVILLY.

After a short MC, they continued with the now-classic melt, a more melodic song on which guitarist Reo sang backing vocals. There was some very good interaction between him and Hazuki, who was using his full body to express the music.

Noise and energy returned in the shape of the strong and powerful SHADOWS . Hazuki invited the audience to raise their fists in the air, and so they did. For unknown lost a beauty, guitarists Yusuke and Reo played at the center of the stage while Hazuki sang to the fans in the front row. Once again, the lighting effects created a great atmosphere.

They finished their main act with last year’s first single, the excellent Adore. Compared to the other bands, Hazuki spoke less during MCs than the other vocalists, but he had a way of connecting with the fans that simply didn’t need words. The band left the stage on a strident guitar sound, and the audience immediately started to scream for an encore.

They came back to play pulse_, and the audience instantly started to jump like crazy with fists raised in the air. Hazuki left his right hand in the pocket of his jacket, which gave him a very cool, rock’n’roll attitude. At the end of the song, drummer Asanao, Yusuke and Reo left first, and after saying thanks to the audience a couple of times, Hazuki left too.

With their dark, heavy and unique music and their experienced stage play, lynch. showed why they are one of the best live bands in the visual kei scene today.

For the fans that stayed until the very end, the stylish wave EXTRA ’09 was probably was a long and intense event! But it was definitely a worthy one, as it put some great bands on stage. Some were experienced and some less experienced, and all of them played different kinds of music, but they all had one common goal: to give the audience their all!

It's safe to say "mission accomplished!"


Set list::

SERIAL⇔NUMBER:

1. GO !YA !NUMBER~Nuchigusui~
2. Yumenchu no sora
MC
3. Churasan ga koronda
4. Kimi ni aete

DaizyStripper:

1. MISERY
2. hoshizora to kimi no te
MC
3. MR.UNCHAIN
4. decade

Irokui.:

1. Mr. Carbon
MC
2. sakura seven
3. uragiru hermes
4. sorashita sanka

SCREW :

1. KAIROS
2. Molder
MC
3. VEGAS
4. RAGING BLOOD
5. HEEL

hime ichigo:

Dear from [alice] (SE)
1. re: alice
2. sher[R]Loch
MC
3. Ko vistrip
4. Member call
5. depression

Wizard:

1. Trap•lunch
2. [Ω] side
MC
3. kimi no sekai
4. hana ichi monme
5. Sadistrip

lynch.:

1. I’m sick, b’cuz luv u.
2. STARZ
3. EVILLY
MC
4. melt
5. SHADOWS
6. unknown lost a beauty
7. Adore
Encore:
8. pulse_