Awoi's Tour Final at Meguro Rockmaykan

The atmosphere in Meguro Rockmaykan was hot on Saturday night and the cheering was loud when Awoi walked out onto the stage, neatly dressed completely in black with the exception of singer Otogi's and guitarist Shin's red ties. Bassist Saki even hid his face behind a black scarf. The stage was low and seemed somewhat cramped, but at the same time, this gave an intimate feeling as the fans in the first row could almost touch the band members if they just stretched out their hands.

The band took plenty of time to greet the fans before launching into the first song, Suzumushi. The fans pumped their fists up in the air to the heavy beat and Otogi finished the song with a scream worthy of a demon. Melancholy was equally heavy but at the same time extremely catchy and had the audience dancing to the beat. The band members themselves seemed to have fun while still maintaining their tough attitude, which was quite a feat for guitarist Shou who managed to keep his cool metal look while wearing a velvet skirt.

After the first small break, it was time for the new song abelcain that gave a strong impression and felt a little harsher in the live version. After this, Otogi alone got to play around with his voice, accompanied by ominous piano music, howling and creating various fascinating sounds. In the end the hitherto red stage lighting turned green and the slow beat of Ashita started. This old song had been modified, with its rhythm a little changed and voice effects added, which turned it into a truly impressive number.

Next up was beauty from the new mini-album, but the audience was clearly already familiar with this song and chimed in to the gloomy chanting. During bedroom, the band switched to a softer rock style that seemed more inspired by jazz than metal, but the sound in the club unfortunately wasn't good enough to do the song justice. After this, drummer Ryo started Mizukagami, and the sound was back to heavy rock. A song that stood out from the rest was Koko de tozashite, where Otogi sang softly and emotionally while on his knees. The next song, Osero, was then introduced by Otogi singing a short phrase a cappella, clearly showing how much his vocal skills have developed during Awoi's activities.

The old song Kanashii uta started out almost brutally, but the slower parts were played with surprising sensitivity, creating an interesting mix of hardness and softness. During Sunnyday, there were several instrumental parts where the rest of the band also got a chance to show their worth and Saki's bass performance at center stage was good enough to earn him a kiss from Otogi. The catchy Kotodama, which had the whole crowd jumping, rounded up the main act and the band left the stage.

In response to the calls for an encore the band appeared once more on stage, now wearing tour T-shirts. Shou and Otogi teamed up like a pair of comedians and thanked the audience while joking with each other for some time before starting Ikiru tame no uta. During the fun and fast-paced Ghost, Otogi threw himself into the crowd and it was obvious that both the band and the audience enjoyed the cosy atmosphere. Koe became a mighty final, after which the band came forward to greet the audience and throw picks and drumsticks. Shou thanked the fans one last time and the band left the stage.

In all, it was an impressive tour final worthy of Awoi. Their special brand of dark and heavy yet surprisingly catchy rock, coupled with heartbreakingly melancholic melodies and Otogi's deep, rich voice make them stand out in the visual kei scene, and this concert proves that they are only getting better and better.


Set list:

01. Suzumushi
02. Melancholy
03. Siren
04. Merry-san
05. abelcain
06. Ashita
07. beauty
08. bedroom
09. Mizukagami
10. Koko de tozashite
11. Osero
12. Monochrome
13. Rain
14. Lullaby
15. Tsumetai te
16. Kanashii uta
17. Sunnyday
18. Kotodama

Encore
01. Ikiru tame no uta
02. Ghost
03. Ikiru itami, kimi e
04. Koe