On August 7th, the studs performed an unforgettable one-man at LIQUIDROOM Ebisu prior to their hiatus.
Many fans came to see the studs' last gig before their pause in activities, filling the LIQUIDROOM Ebisu almost to full capacity. Excited fans even stood at the back and near the bar stands.
As the usual SE started, the fans clapped their hands and called the names of the members as they walked out onto the stage, which was decorated with the studs' banner and logos. The show started with the instrumental after the introduction, in which aie and yukino turned to face the drum set with support drummer Sasabuchi Hiroshi behind it. At the end of the song, Daisuke joined them on stage.
"Bring it on!" screamed the vocalist, firing up the audience in the upbeat Natalie before urging them into the heavier Spider nest. As the fans shook their fists and screamed, he threw himself from the stage into the masses. The members continued playing with the moshing crowd during the aggressive disclosure, making the whole hall scream along to the song. In the pause, aie greeted the crowd and mentioned that they will not be able to meet for a while from this live so everyone had to make sure to make it an unforgettable evening.
The set continued with the more slow-paced, dark unsightly stupid, Daisuke showing a full expressive pantomime under sinister red lights. Following was Okitegami, to which everything froze as the audience listened quietly. Once again, fists went up and voices could be heard during Nageku akairo, the audience moving like waves. “Let’s meet again somewhere,” exclaimed the vocalist. He let the fans sing along to false the skin as they danced and waved their hands to the brighter melodies of the song. After a pause, another quiet spell started with Tobari. yukino’s intense bass lines were in the foreground of this performance. Next was grieve, starting with filigree guitar lines that increased in pace. As he sang this song, Daisuke’s voice was filled with a tangible harshness that crept under one’s skin. For Danmatsu the crowd was motionless at first, but warmed up as they watched yukino, who was unusually energetic, move around the stage. aie played his guitar as if he hoped to break the strings to the machine gun beat of the drums. Following was the quiet, moving and mesmerizing Ano oto: Daisuke fell to his knees with a scream at the end, and no sound could be heard in the following pause.
The atmosphere started to warm up once again with Shokuzai no hitsuji, which smoothly flowed into Tsuki ni tokehajimeta shuumaku. The more upbeat Yami nochi ame followed. The vocalist ran from one side of the stage to the other, urging the fans to sing along. “Tokyo, are you ready?” he screamed, before starting the bright song Creepy Crawly. The tension in the illuminated venue rose as the fans danced, beat their fists and screamed.
“Tokyo, can you get wilder? Come on!” Daisuke urged them on even more, and the crowd proved that they could go even further, moshing and screaming to Keishou. As the vocalist leaned over the front rows, they supported and held him up with their eager hands. To the speedy dread, headbanging, moshing and jumping could be seen. Daisuke, having jumped off the stage once again, was swallowed by the crowd as the other members continued to fire up the crowd. Keeping the mood warm, the set continued onto advanced insane, but real madness broke out during the last song, thursday. As the audience headbanged energetically, Daisuke took his shirt off and threw it off the stage, then took a drink from his water bottle and misted it out over the crowd. He also stuck the bottle into his pants before throwing it into the crowd. While almost half of the song was sung loudly by a strong choir of fans, the vocalist occasionally accompanied them with screams. He jumped into the crowd and was pulled out by the staff, but jumped in once again. Before leaving the stage, he passionately screamed, “I love you!”
The members left the stage and soon encore calls started.They returned a short while later. aie greeted those present and pointed out that the band is going to “turn the memories into a product,” as the live was being recorded for a DVD to be released in the future. He continued the MC in a light-hearted and joking manner, finally asking everyone to have fun in the short while left. The encore started with the quiet and moving Hyouryou no hana; the fans stretched their arms out as yukino and aie confidently sang the chorus. Following came one of the band's oldest songs, tonight is the night. It touched the audience with its changing harmonies. “Let’s sing all together,” the vocalist asked, and everyone united their voices.
The band left quietly, and the encore calls resumed. When they came out again, aie resumed his talk about “memory products." The crowd then persistently continued to call out to the quiet yukino, who bashfully came up to the microphone and simply said, “Good evening.” Then Daisuke joined them on stage and notified the crowd that they had any plans tomorrow, they’d have to cancel them. “Do you want to know why?” he asked playfully.
The audience screamed in response and he continued, “Well I guess I have no choice then...” Announcing Shousha kairai, the audience went wild, headbanging along to the loud and aggressive song. “Scream!” the vocalist urged and they followed his wish. Next was another violent song, Toketsu. In good fun, the fans moshed, jumped, and flipped their middle fingers to the band, while screaming “F--k you!” loudly. aie and yukino came forward and raised their arms, encouraging the crowd to go even crazier. After spitting water into the crowd, Daisuke pretended to leave the stage, only to stage dive into the crowd yet again.
The band returned for a third, and last, encore: raindrop started quietly, and only Daisuke sang, looking into the eyes of his fans. He moved smoothly into Niji no iro, but Daisuke suddenly stopped the song. “Wait, didn’t we forget something? Oh, we’re not splitting up... but let's do it again from the end of raindrop.”
The band did so, and after the last notes of the songs were played, Daisuke said that he couldn’t help acting cool and made a simple but rather dramatic speech. They would never forget the live that day, and they asked the fans not to forget it either and to believe that one day they would meet again. As Niji no iro started, he added, “Thank you, really.” The bright and moving song, the smiles of the members, and the rainbow-colored lights warmed up the hall with a sense of optimism, and fans joined their voices to sing together.
The band left the stage after the final song. However, the encore calls would not stop, even though the lights had gone up and some of the audience started moving towards the exits. When the lights went down for a moment, it was followed by a wave of screams that grew louder and louder. The band reappeared on stage and announced that they would play just one more song. thursday began, and everyone went wild, once again screaming their lungs out. Daisuke roared into the microphone as aie improvised, refreshing the sound of the hit song. “Thank you! I love you!” screamed the vocalist. As the crowd cheered, the members threw their picks and other personal items into the audience. A few moments later, all but Daisuke had waved their good-byes to the audience and left the stage. He asked for silence, and when the fans froze, he stepped away from the microphone and screamed “You’re great!” The crowd screamed for him until he left.
We are unlikely to see the studs in the line-up they performed with in LIQUIDROOM again, but they made sure to play an unforgettable live. Those present went home happy and satisfied, and fans can wait with anticipation for the band’s comeback.
Set list:
01. after this introduction
02. Natalie
03. Spider nest
04. disclosure
05. unsightly stupid
06. Okitegami
07. Nageku akairo
08. false the skin
09. Tobari
10. grieve
11. Danmatsu
12. Ano oto
13. Shokuzai no hitsuji
14. Tsuki ni tokehajimeta shuumaku
15. Yami nochi ame
16. Creepy Crawly
17. Keishou
18. dread
19. advanced insane
20. thursday
Encore 1
01. Hyouryou no hana
02. tonight is the night
Encore 2
01. Shousha kairai
02. Toketsu
Encore 3
01. raindrop
02. Niji no iro
Encore 4
01. thursday
