An eventful afternoon with the band formerly known as Billy.
Baddies promoted their first single Blue Bad Boys, which was released on August 19, after their appearance at the live event in Kanazawa AZ. While the members were already quite familiar to Kanazawa, the boys who used to be known as the band Billy, came here for the first time as Baddies.
BAKU, Minemura, Takuma, Tsubuku and Hiroshi arrived at Hokkoku Newspaper Building at 2:00 pm and went up to Radio Kanazawa. Tsubuku looked quite pitiful as he held a cold compress against his cheek; the bruise on his face was the result of supposedly harmless tomfoolery in his hotel room. Hiroshi too was feeling a bit under the weather. Nevertheless, these young and talented musicians braved on and recorded comments for the radio program Sunday Style Cafe in the glassed-in studio where one could see a picturesque view of Hakusan Peaks. In the interview with Hokkoku Newspaper, the band members talked seriously regarding their single Blue Bad Boys. 'We present to you our first single, which has the theme of 'fooling around seriously.' We aim to be like Hikaru Genji of the Heisei era," they said, referring to idols of the Showa period who sang and roller-skated playfully, but also took everything - including having fun - seriously.
During their free time in Kanazawa, the Baddies enjoyed a stroll in Bukeyashiki and lunch at the restaurant located in an old Japanese house. The restaurant also had a display area for works of art, such as Kutani pottery, glasses and gold leaves. Minemura was seen grabbing hold of some expensive ceramics playfully yet carefully. Later, resting at a cafe, the members had some Japanese sweet cakes made of 'fu,' a bread-like food made of wheat. Then they moved to Tatemachi Street in Kourinbou, where young people usually gathered. When approached by fans, the band members were very down-to-earth and friendly. Minemura gleefully took photos with them and of them. He even had them strike a pose that was his own trademark during lives: both hands raised and leaning to the side. Minemura's playfulness got him into trouble later, however. He tried to get into a scene he was not supposed to be in during a shoot in the restaurant and was scolded by the producer.
The members moved on to FM Ishikawa at 5:30 pm, where they gave autographs and wrote messages. They also did a brief photo session for the homepage of FM Ishikawa. After a quick meeting with the producer, the live broadcast started in the main studio. The members sounded quite tense during this session, even as they received presents from fans who had gathered there. However, they met up with Rie Matsuoka, whom they had met before, and the atmosphere soon turned lighthearted and jovial as the a battle of witty remarks began. Thanks to this, the fun 30-minute show passed very quickly.
Baddies will release their second single, Book, on October 21, and will do a one-man live tour in November. These two events are definitely worth looking forward to.
Live Report
The live event CRUSH OF MODE-EXTRA EDITION was a nation-wide tour organized by ART POP and was held in Kanazawa AZ Hall. The original band line up consisted of ALiBi, Mamono, Jully, Sex Android, Baddies and NoGod.
When the sound effects started, loud applause and high-spirited calls of "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" could be heard from the audience. The beginning of the concert was as expected; the atmosphere was cheerful and lively with Hiroshi, Tsubuku, Takuma, Minemura and BAKU appearing on stage one by one. Each of them struck a pose for their fans. All of them wore black jackets, their new Baddies look. “Let’s go Kanazawa!” cried BAKU, waving a white flag as strains of Casablanca sounded through the venue. People raised their fists to the music, and the level of excitement was running high. “You can do better than that!!” The members got the fans moving as they played Blind Good Girl-Watashi no kare wa toumeiningen-, the coupling song off their new single. Tsubuku headbanged as he played his bass, while BAKU's sensuous voice complemented the guitars played by Takuma and Minemura.
During the MC, Minemura made a lot of jokes and with his ebullient nature, interacted easily with the audience. Afterward, they played Blue Bad Boy, and the audience pumped their fists into the air, jumped and headbanged together. Hiroshi hit his drums mightily, adding to the intense mood. The audience's response was awesome, considering that the song had only been released recently. “This it the last one! Can you go any further?” For Blossom, the crowd waved their hands and swayed; clearly they were having a great time. Baddies gave a brilliant performance in Kanazawa AZ Hall, and we look forward to seeing them in other venues again soon!
Set list
1. Casablanca
2. Blind Good Girl-Watashi no kare wa toumeiningen-
MC
3. Blue Bad Boy
4. Blossom
