Concluding an eventful tour, ONE OK ROCK shone with professional showmanship and good old fashioned rock at their Zepp Tokyo final.
After a tumultuous summer and a tour that had seen a couple of dates cancelled due to the flu, ONE OK ROCK was now at their final destination, the finale at Zepp Tokyo. The quartet produced a dazzling show, quashing any fears and giving their devoted fans hope for a bright future.
There was a massive scream as the lights went down; both guys and girls were whooping and cheering in the darkness, waiting for their idols to appear. Even the SE could not drown them out. It was an intriguing piece with an Indian flair to it, and as the stage was illuminated, the screams became even louder. From the outset, the crowd was bouncing about as TAKA managed to make even his snarly vocals clear. The band was as energised as the fans, and together they jumped manically through the heavy coda.
"Everybody!" shouted TAKA as he began clapping to introduce CONVINCING, "Let's get this on!" The arrangement of the song was new, heavier on the bass with spikier guitar notes and TAKA's singing becoming more like shouting. The crowd sang along enthusiastically, embracing this heavier, more violent version. It segued neatly into Melody Line no Shibouritsu with Tomoya's syncopated punk drumbeat. The crowdsurfers, encouraged by the aggressive rock beat, began to roll over the heads of their fellow audience members, people who were somehow attempting to wave towels above their head while trying not to get hit!
"Good evening, we are ONE OK ROCK!" TAKA greeted them before a rallying call of "TOKYO!!!!"
"Welcome to our tour final in Zepp. is everyone in good condition? Don't lose, OK!" His inspirational words geared up the fans as TAKA reached for a guitar to play 20 Years Old. This new version had a raw sound, with a less twirly opening riff. It felt very Foo Fighters with a high energy, danceable beat. Toru and Ryota swapped sides; the latter was so swept up in the song he danced his way across the stage.There was barely time to catch a breath - not that the crowd minded as they happily obliged TAKA's outstretched mic and sang along passionately while moshing.
With each successive performance throughout their tour, the band became more professional, and the music they played at their tour final now took on an extra dimension of rawness. From the deep, throaty bass opening of Kaimu to the aggressive notes of Reflection, it was a captivating scene. In the latter, TAKA held his mic aloft under hellish red lights through the introduction before unleashing a very loud scream. His singing was perfect, with astoundingly held notes and vocals that could go from melodious singing to screams flawlessly.
The change of pace brought by My Sweet Baby was quite welcome. The soft tones of this rather straightforward rock ballad combined with some beautiful vocals soared across the audience, who was held in rapt awe throughout. "I don't want it to end!" TAKA said as the band took a break with an MC. He mentioned a little how they had cancelled a date due to the flu paying a visit mid-tour, but they were all fine now and raring to go. The audience responded with loud cheers, welcoming the band warmly as they bounced endlessly about to the music. Crazy Botch became funkier in sound, with a more resonant bass line. The crowd sang along joyfully, trying to keep up with TAKA's fast vocals.
Before continuing with Yume yume, they gave a short bout of intros and mini solos, starting with Tomoya on drums, then Ryota and finally Toru showing his prowess as the now lone guitarist of the band. "Let's raise the tension!" called TAKA as the solos became the fun Yume yume; Toru's rapping encouraged even more toe tapping to the funky beat.
Before they finished with a storming finale, Karasu marked a final slow down in pace. The opening notes were gorgeous. As Toru strummed, TAKA sang partly a capella before the audience took over. TAKA encouraged them to scream more, louder and louder before the full power of the piece was unleashed. It was a stunning performance to watch and rather breathtaking. The audience and band looked rather hot, which was made evident when Ryota stripped off his top and then sprayed the audience with water.
It was a short respite before the final four songs. The first was the new single, Kanzen Kankaku Dreamer. It showed for the first time what the group could do as a quartet, and they impressed with a thunderous metal song with powerful drums and a strong riff from Toru. The vocals were as ever rich and compelling, showing that the new ONE OK ROCK will be as much of a force as before.
It led, without break, into a pulsating intro. Toru's guitar was like a siren behind the punch vocals. With fists raised, the audience punched the air while TAKA high-fived the front row. Then it all turned to headbanging and violent dancing for Viva Violent Fellow and Naihi Shinsho as the audience and band did not stop moving until the very end.
The encore calls did not take long to begin, and the endless chant in the darkness went on until the band re-emerged. They took a while when they first reappeared to thank the audience for attending, particularly as they were now a slightly changed band. The crowd needed little reassuring; they were solidly behind the band and had reacted well to the new arrangements.
The encore kicked off with a trip to the past with the band's first single, Keep It Real. The solid, methodical opener soon gave way to some high paced rapping and a slight hip-hop flavour that got toes tapping on the second floor and bodies heaving in the mosh below. It was strong and gave way to a high powered finale in the form of Borderline. The voices of TAKA and audience became one to sing along to the catchy refrain while a few mosh pits opened up on Toru's side of the stage. With its strongly optimistic sound, Borderline closed a bright live and opened a hopeful future that showed ONE OK ROCK's power to go on.
Set list:
1. CONVINCING
2. Melodyline no Shiboritsu (Death rate of melody lines)
3. Yoru ni shika sakanai mangetsu (The full moon that only blooms at night)
4. 20 years old
5. (you can do)everything
6. Kaimu (Nothing)
7. Reflection
8. Sonzai shoumei (Here I am)
9. My Sweet Baby
10. Hitsuzen Maker (Necessity Maker)
11. Crazy Botch
12. Yume yume (Never stop dreaming)
13. Karasu (Crows)
14. Kanzen kankaku dreamer (Dreamer)
15. Koi no aibou kokoro no cupid (Partner in my love, cupid in my heart)
16. Viva Violent Fellow~Utsukushiki moshpit~ (Viva Violent Fellow)
17. Naihi shinsho (I keep it inside)
Encore
18. Keep it real
19. Borderline
