Suga Shikao's second UK live treated all to a night of funk fire.
Despite it being a chilly and wet November evening, queuing fans remained enthusiastic outside the O2 Academy in North London. Having wowed Londoners with his debut overseas gig in London the same time last year, about twice as many turned up to see Suga Shikao this time around.
Shortly before the start of the concert musicians came out to tune their instruments, causing ripples of excitement as fans recognised his usual band members. They then cleared the stage, leaving it to Shikao who finally came out to greet everyone in his usual combination of t-shirt, waistcoat and signature black-rimmed glasses. He strutted across the stage to wild cheering and the introductory bars of the older song Zenjin mitou no HIGH JUMP, head bopping as he took up his acoustic guitar from the middle of the stage. He played alone to the backing track with all the audience clapping along in time. “Welcome to our Funkastic show!” he announced at the end. Then he launched straight into the funky KARAPPO, where he was joined by his bandmates. All the members noticeably enjoyed the song as much as the crowd: Shikao and his bassist stood back to back in a jam session mid-song. Non-Japanese-speaking fans were more involved this time round due to the presence of LED readers on both sides of the stage, which displayed translations of songs.
Everyone broke into dancing upon the start of Party People, one of the newer songs from latest album FUNKASTiC. Shikao's showmanship was on full display in this high energy song, with him sticking his tongue out playfully and whipping the audience up to join him in the sing-a-long “la-la”s at the end. Old favourite STORY followed, prompting practiced fans to wave and point at specific points of the song. The pace then slowed slightly with the deep bass intro of Ougon no tsuki penetrating every corner of the room. The bittersweet Amai kajitsu, a mellower piece of rock, followed to break up the pace of all the funk. A brightly contrasting synth loop then heralded the start of Shikao's cover of the COIL song Loveless, which saw him ditch the guitar to sing the dance track.
Hajimari no hi was up next. All the band members performed it with infectious enthusiasm, with in turn was picked up by the audience. The guitarist gestured for everyone to clap their hands in time, and he and the bassist both took turns to come to the front of stage to show off their skills and interact with the crowd cheekily. The lights then dimmed for the subdued verse of 13 kai no ELEVATOR, before illuminating the room again for the rocking chorus and mad jumping of the crowd.
Shikao then took a break from the continuous stream of songs to give his first MC of the night, asking the audience “are you alright?” in English to which he got a hearty response. He told the audience how he and the band always play funk and dance in their Japanese lives, so now he was going to play a few acoustic pieces for them instead. Just before he began however he showed off more of his English practice, introducing bassist Sakamoto, drummer Kishida, keyboardist Pochi and guitarist Tanaka, and joking with the bassist about his flies being open.
Three acoustic songs were performed, beginning with SAYONARA HOMERUN. Shikao played accompanied only by the bassist and drummer, allowing his smooth vocals to come to the fore. “My guitar – just like Jack Johnson!” he joked, strumming it flashily. The nostalgic HOME nite came after, followed by the laidback sounds of the slightly country Uchuu; the latter was written in London in 2005, he informed all.
The rest of the band rejoined for well-known Manatsu no yoru no yume, the quiet verse entrancing the audience before breaking into an affecting chorus. Afterwards, a string opening melody caused a cheer to erupt as most of the audience recognised Gogo no PARADE. The bright tune and disco beat got everyone moving again and shone a well-needed bit of Summer into a dull Autumn day. Halfway through, Shikao re-introduced the band members before leaving Kishida to take the spotlight in a solo. “Do you want funky music?” he called out, as Seigi no mikata started. The audience were swept along with the fun atmosphere onstage, clapping and singing along with the musicians' falsetto “do-do”s. Shikao himself danced with abandon around the stage towards the end.
The speedy brass opening of Oretachi FUNK FIRE, a newer song that had already established itself as a live favourite, worked everyone into a frenzy. The LED readers displayed the lyrics to allow everyone to belt out the song. It was obvious how much the band loved performing this: there was much flirtatious hip-wiggling, whooping and yowling into the microphones amid cries of “sexy sexy!” from the drummer. Midway through they all stopped and Shikao explained “he (pointing to Kishida) made this song. I don't know the meaning of funk fire!”, prompting fits of laughter. It was finished with a wild and energetic drum solo, and everyone was left buzzing after it was over.
“Clap your hands everybody, everybody clap your hands!” chanted the band before a new live mix of 19 sai drew massive applause from everyone. After this energetic performance it was onto the slower funk beats of Ijimete mitai to round off the main set, where Shikao impressed with his guitar solo, producing amazing wails from the instrument whilst racing his fingers across the fretboard almost lackadaisically. Tanaka tried to upstage him by playing his guitar round the back of his head, before sinking to the floor by the end. The drummer twirled his sticks madly with each drum strike during the raucous finale, and the members saluted the crowd then walked off stage to roars from the crowd.
The audience stomped vigorously for an encore, and after a short time they were rewarded by the band's reappearance. Shikao thanked everyone for coming, saying he had had a fantastic time and everyone had been awesome. The catchy 91:91 got fans bopping and waving in time to start the encore set. The final song of the night was the upbeat KONO YUBI TOMARE. Sakamoto treated everyone to a slap bass solo, and Shikao wandered around the front of the stage to greet fans for the last time and sing along with them. He invited them to come again, and they all finally left the stage and a mass of fans, old and new, who were reluctant to let them go.
Suga Shikao delivered a memorable concert, but was not the star of the show alone – the flawless playing and chemistry between all the band members together made the performance truly electrifying. It would be no surprise if the audience doubled again upon a repeat visit from the singer and his band.
Set list
01. Zenjin mitou no HIGH JUMP
02. KARAPPO
03. Party People
04. STORY
05. Ougon no tsuki
06. Amai kajitsu
07. Loveless
08. Hajimari no hi
09. 13 kai no ELEVATOR
10. SAYONARA HOMERUN
11. HOME nite
12. Uchuu
13. Manatsu no yoru no yume
14. Gogo no PARADE
15. Seigi no mikata
16. Oretachi FUNK FIRE
17. 19 sai
18. Kiseki
19. Ijimete mitai
Encore
01. 91:91
02. KONO YUBI TOMARE
