exist†trace performed songs from their latest album, as well as some gems from their earlier works, at their one-man at MEGURO Rockmaykan.
exist†trace, a noteworthy visual kei band unique for its all-female members, held their one-man show Ambivalent Symphony～peace of the answer～ at MEGURO Rockmaykan on November 22nd. This is their second ever performance at this venue. It had been almost half a year since their release last October, and in this concert exist†trace gave an amazing performance, proving to everyone that despite the lack of recent releases, these girls could still rock.
Gothic SE echoed throughout the venue, which was packed with fans, both male and female. Soon the lights dimmed as the members showed up one after another, getting excited cheers from fans. The band started off with the heavy Ambivalence, which immediately had the audience pumped up. This was followed by RESONANCE, and the audience began to headbang to the music. Jou went up to the front of the stage, singing, shouting and stirring up the fans. In forward, which featured a guitar melody that could be described as Oriental alongside Mally’s driving drums, the audience moshed violently and the energy level was feverishly high. So far, the band had brought out the heavy numbers from the Ambivalent Symphony album. The performance continued on with Mabushii hodo no kurayami no naka de and THE COLORS. As the energy levels accelerated, miko came to the centre of the stage and sent the crowd into a frenzy.
After the heavy numbers, Jou announced in the brief MC, “We will show you the delicate side of exist†trace” and true enough, the emotional Requiem began. In Hana no sakanai machi, NAOTO's bass line created a comfortable ambiance, and the audience moved their hands toward the stage during the main melody. Next was Wrath, a mid-tempo heavy song that started with a symphonic intro that was both beautiful and agonizing. After the song, which was followed by a brief silence, Lost in Helix was performed. Jou sang beautifully in a falsetto. At this point, the band had shown both the heavy and delicate side of their music.
Soon the hall was cloaked in darkness, and Mally's drum solo commenced. Under red lights, the audience shouted in sheer joy every time Mally struck a particularly powerful beat on her drums. Mally went into a frenzy with her drums, playing as if her life depended on it and on the cheers of the audience. Then NAOTO went on the stage and accompanied Mally with a bass solo, and soon Omi and miko appeared with their guitars. They played a jam session with all of them gathered around Mally's drum stand.
Following a quick count down, ROUGE began with Omi and miko playing the intro phase alternately, winning a cheer from the audience. Then the more upbeat Orleans no shoujo was performed, and the crowd began to jump and wave their hands. The mood became more intense in Judea, with Jou’s shouts and the growling chorus of Omi and NAOTO. The audience headbanged frenetically as the guitarists moved around the stage, driving the fans crazy. In the last number, VANGUARD, the audience responded eagerly and feverishly, and during the climax of excitement, Jou bowed to the wonderful audience and finished the show.
Answering to the cries for an encore, Omi, miko and NAOTO appeared on stage. There was an ensemble of bass and acoustic guitars as the dramatic Umi no shizuku, coloured by the melody of a piano, was performed. In the song that followed, end-less, the harmony between guitars and bass was very impressive.
In the second encore, the members showed up wearing the band’s original T-shirts and rough black clothes. The fans surprised Mally by celebrating her birthday and in return, Jou gave the fans an announcement of another exist†trace performance in Rockmaykan. After the MC, the dark and heavy SACRIFICE BABY was performed to a swaying crowd, with Omi and NAOTO growling out the chorus. During Venom, Jou screamed many times, expressing the heavy music with her whole body.
After Venom, strains of [Owari no nai sekai] were heard. The audience swayed to the melody and the live ended with Jou's parting words: "See you again."
Set list:
―OPENING―
01. Ambivalence
02. RESONANCE
03. Forward
04. Mabushii hodo nokurayami no nakade
05. THE COLORS
06. Requiem
07. Hana no sakanai machi
08. Wrath
09. Lost in Helix
―DRUM SOLO―
―ROUGE intro session―
10. ROUGE
11. Orleans no shoujo
12. JUDEA
13. Liquid
14. VANGUARD
―ENCORE 1―
―Gt. ensemble.―
01. Umi no shizuku
02. end-less
―ENCORE 2―
01. SACRIFICE BABY
02. Venom
03. [Owari no nai sekai]
