The rock quartet wholly enraptured its audience at its Chemical Parade finale.
A two-minute incline from Tokyo’s Kudanshita subway station stands the Nippon Budokan, a martial arts hall that doubles as one of Japan’s most revered live venues. Originally built for the 1964 Olympics, the Budokan was modeled after a portion of Nara’s Hôryû-ji Temple; its proud aesthetic and supportive audience have since attracted a variety of legendary acts, among them Bob Dylan, Queen and Dream Theater. Countless domestic artists, too, have come to the Budokan to mark their own places in musical history, here including Saijô Hideki, BO0WY and, tonight, a rock band named MUCC.
Formed in 1997 as a cover band, the Ibaraki quartet has since evolved into an international headliner, with recent tours in Europe and Asia cementing their popularity amongst rock-metal enthusiasts worldwide. Yet MUCC’s fanbase back home has never been stronger, evidenced in part by the Disneyland-dwarfing line seeping out of the Budokan’s entrance leading towards the goods stand even before the venue doors were set to open. Pockets of fans both in and out of the goods line greeted and chatted with one another, with some holding black parasols to ward off the heat. Screams of excitement occasionally filled the air, but thankfully no one passed out from heat or anxiety.
When the Budokan doors opened at 4:00pm, the 93%-female crowd began trickling into the arena. Japan’s Hinomaru flag floated over the stage as always, with the stage itself predominantly void of color. Save for the drum set in the center, only the sound crew to the sides and six streams of half-dome light bulbs were clearly visible. A mix of rave-flavored instrumentals and rock-metal mashups kept fans’ ears entertained, along with the occasional bonus screams from particularly excited fans scattered throughout the Budokan. Fans sitting in opposite sides of the arena phoned each other in excitement. At the slated 5:00pm start, the background music changed to an energetic rock track, triggering from the audience nigh-universal claps to the beat. This continued for several minutes as the sound crew finalized their preparations.
A short time later, the arena lights vanished to approving roars from throughout the Budokan. Streams of green neon lights blasted the fans alongside Chemical Parade, the pulsating instrumental which opened MUCC’s latest album, Karma. Four massive horizontal screens, previously masked by the darkness, burst into color with “WELCOME TO THE PARTY” scrolled in from the right. Fans were greeted to this, the Chemical Parade tour finale, in multiple languages – “welcome,” “bienvenue,” and the prerequisite “yôkoso” appearing amongst others. A final greeting, “ARE YOU FUCK’IN READY?!”, brought the fans to their feet as the members finally took the stage.
The instrumentalists – Miya on guitars, YUKKE on basses, and drummer SATOchi – took the stage, each wearing semi-formal uniforms akin to their recent promotional posters. Vocalist Tatsuro, wearing his now all-but-trademarked black shirt under red coat/kilt ensemble, arrived last and took to center stage. As the neon lights flared and as the music kept the fans on their feet, both Tatsuro and the four screens announced the evening’s first song: FALLING DOWN, Karma’s second track. The party had officially begun.
At this, precisely 100% of the fans took to the skies, jumping to the beat and shaking the Budokan violently, causing some on the second floor to wonder if their balcony seats, too, would find themselves falling down. The Budokan’s architecture remained sturdy; so, too, was the fans’ collective resolve, jumping and moving alongside the decidedly party-savvy track. Small pockets of mini-moshers formed throughout the first floor seats, perhaps designed to sway alongside Tatsuro’s own hypnotic dancing.
Zeroshiki, the next song on Karma, kept the energy level high. It’s safe to say here that at least half of the songs featured tonight came from said album, released in last October. Other fan favorites like Nuritsubusunara Enji and Fuzz kept the crowd involved, in particular during Fuzz’s choruses. The four screens, which since FALLING DOWN had mostly served as a visualizer, soon displayed increasingly striking, fitting images: a circus of skeleton trumpeters for Circus, computer imagery for I am computer, and so on. One song even featured scenes of a dying Frankenstein’s Monster, though this splendidly bizarre inclusion would later be complemented by more serene images of fading memories and forgotten loves in Polaris. It was around this point that both the crowd and the Budokan slowly began to rest.
However, the moment Yuubeni’s opening snare roll finished, the reprieve met its decisive end. The arena lights burst back on as the crowd roared back to jumping and mini-moshing, while Tatsuro took to singing while sitting on the front edge of the stage. YUKKE and Miya strutted on both sides of the stage, leaving SATOchi by himself in the center. He didn’t seem to mind; all of this took place with the four screens now focusing on each individual member of the band.
The set continued for three more songs, eventually ending with Lion as the band departed. Calls for encores were quickly answered, although perhaps too quickly, as SATOchi tripped on his way up the stairs. The crowd loved it, and so did Tatsuro, who proceeded to ever-so-slightly bully him during the pre-encore MC. The first two encores were established songs Daikirai and Ranchuu, followed by their newest single, Akatsuki, announced for release that evening. As the members of MUCC thanked the crowd and left the stage, another instrumental took their place, bearing some big news for MUCC fans; in addition to a live at Studio Coast in June, it was announced that MUCC would be moving to Sony Music Associated Records.
What will become of MUCC with this new transition? Will more information be announced at the Studio Coast live? Will the fans still be as loyal, jumping, swaying, and screaming as ever? At least two of those questions don’t have answers yet, but if the Chemical Parade finale was any indication, chances are neither MUCC nor their fans will be going anywhere anytime soon.
Set List:
01. FALLING DOWN
02. Zeroshiki
03. Nuritsubusunara Enji
04. Chemical Parade Blueday
05. Fuzz
06. Circus
07. Corruption
08. Ageha
09. Koibito
10. I am computer
11. Polaris
12. Danzetsu
13. Yakusoku
14. Yuubeni
15. Namonaki Yume
16. Howling
17. Lion
EN1. Daikirai
EN2. Ranchuu
EN3. Akatsuki
End. Karma
