With their unrelenting energy and slick performance, -OZ- showed the UK how they rock.
Fans crowded at the front of the North London venue on a chilly Saturday night, attired in everything ranging from hoodies and jeans to black corsets and frilly gothic lolita dresses. Surprisingly for a visual kei live there were quite a few male attendees as well. They weren't left waiting for long, as only half an hour after doors opened Birthday boomed out to announce the arrival of -OZ-. Amid screams from the crowd the members came onstage in pairs, bathed in an eerie red glow. They each held aloft lighters, an apparent gig ritual as the action was reciprocated in kind by some fans.
Zukki's thudding drum intro heralded the start of Rotate from newest album Rouge. Natsuki's confident vocals were calmly nonchalant in the verse. He greeted all with a "Hello London!" before diving wholeheartedly into the energetic chorus and encouraging everyone to jump wildly. The last 30 seconds dissolved into frantic headbanging. Despite the venue being filled to less than half capacity, the enthusiasm of the crowd more than filled the void. Even so it obviously wasn't enough for Natsuki, who beckoned them all closer called repeatedly for them to "shout louder." His wish was granted as they roared full-throated replies to his cries in Shangrila and Bitter&Sweet and they followed him in a frenzy of hair-whipping moshing in BLAZE.
Then came a short break during which Natsuki gave us his first MC of the night. He confessed that he couldn't speak English except "a little little," so it was limited to simple greetings. "But I can speak MUSIC!" he proclaimed to an appreciative cheer from the audience, as to them that was all that mattered. A pounding intro was supplied by bassist Nao for Zenith, a dark track played out like a dark lullaby. Halfway through, the volume went down for an unsettling quiet rendition of the verse. Natsuki put his finger to his lips to bring hush until silence fell, which he then broke by unleashing a nightmarish scream accompanied by the thrashing of the instruments. This led nicely into the equally noisy PLANT. "Let's get crazy!" demanded Natsuki at the start of Pressed flower and he certainly did, bounding around the stage without a single vocal waver. He introduced guitarist Aki, who shone in his complex and artful solo mid-song. flood bead brought down the pace a touch, allowing a strong and passionate vocal delivery from Natsuki and impressive bass work from Nao. Then, all band members minus Zukki rushed to the front of the stage for Strings, with guitarist Tama and Nao especially playing to and pouting at the front row to their delight. In stark contrast, the cheerful chorus of Seventh Tier saw the audience waving in time to the beat with Natsuki, although it wasn't long before the headbanging resumed. After so much activity, the band took another breather and Natsuki brought out a large Union Flag and draped it around himself, eliciting whoops from the home crowd. "Happy to see you! We enjoy so much," he told everyone, the rest mashing their instruments in agreement. After each statement he had a habit of saying "ok, ok," which some fans took to imitating back at him affectionately.
Everyone went crazy when the band launched into rousing fan favourites FILMY and Nerve[less], the latter causing the singer to whip his head round violently and later spray water over the crowd in true rocker fashion. The enjoyment of the band members themselves added to their performance, their wide grins and energy proving contagious. Even a technical hitch didn't dampen Natsuki's good humour, who playfully began singing "Uh oh, we're in trouble!" with the audience finishing with "something's come along and it's burst our bubble!" which was repeated when the fault recurred. When Protect:Code finally began everyone, on and off stage, jumped enthusiatically in unison. Even though they were reaching the end of the set, the band's enthusiasm never flagged and they seemed more and more energetic. By the time they made it through ENMITY and the final song of the main set, LEAD, Natsuki had succumbed to the heat and lost a lot of his clothes along the way to the gratitude of some female fans.
Of course the crowd wouldn't let the band depart without playing an encore and luckily, they were obliging. They returned to repeating stamping and clamours of their name and were met with great appreciation. "We are really tired..." Natsuki began dejectedly. "BUT!! We play ENCORE!" he continued to a mass of cheering. The first encore was ATHENA, which saw some fun interplay between the two guitarists and flirtatious behaviour from Natsuki. Then Butterfly was performed with such fervour that even those shy or aloof audience members who had remained still throughout were dancing with the rest. The last song of the night was the fiery DETOX, its powerful beats and engaging chorus providing an exhilarating ending to the night.
The band weren't shy about getting close to the fans to thank them, with Natsuki jumping off stage into the pit to greet them and Tama and Nao reaching down to shake their hands. Plectrums, sticks and the odd water bottle were flung out to eager hands. Everybody was excited by the experience after they left and even the security staff commented on how good -OZ- were. Having left a load of satisfied spectators in their wake, a repeat visit would definitely be highly anticipated by all.
Set list:
01. Birthday
02. Rotate
03. Shangrila
04. Bitter&Sweet
05. BLAZE
06. Zenith
07. PLANT
08. Pressed flower
09. flood bead
10. Strings
11. Seventh Tier
12. FILMY
13. Nerve[less]
14. Protect:Code
15. Enmity
16. LEAD
Encore
EN1. ATHENA
EN2. Butterfly
EN3. DETOX
