Kra Tenth Anniversary Live at Shibuya O-East

Loyal fans were not the only ones celebrating Kra’s ten years together, but for the moment, they were the ones clapping along to background music of a prominent 90s pop-piano tune until the curtains opened to reveal drummer Yasuno appearing immediately behind the parting curtains on bent knee with a rose between his lips. Tossing the rose, and blowing a kiss, he incited a well-anticipated cacophony of shrieks. Then on jammed bassist Yuhra followed by guitarist Taizo. Lastly, vocalist Keiyuu came, clutching a big plastic pitchfork that matched the Halloween theme of their outfits. In fact, Yasuno wore nothing less than a giant pumpkin suit, Taizo’s jacket quartered with an orange and silver union jack and Keiyuu decorated with bats and pumpkin cut-outs sprucing up his design.

“This is Kra’s tenth anniversary live so let’s break it down from the top!” cried Keiyuu. “Ready for this song?” The opening guitar solo gave it away and Keiyuu’s yell of “Ame no-” was instantly met with a roar of voices: “Kokuhaku!” The crowd's hands fluttered in a storm of movement until Taizo hopped up for his solo and they pumped enthusiastic fists at him while Keiyuu flashed his hands in homage at the guitarist. Then came the groovy, upbeat tones of Fusion. As various members hopped around in circles when the mood took them, the projector screen on the back wall showed vibrant black and white checkers, the band making use of everything O-East had to offer. All sorts of images and videos accompanied the show throughout.

With an electronic flair, Haruiro no hana produced an intriguing melody on the lyrics “”hira hira hira,” Keiyuu’s deep voice was infused with a stylistic tremor that complimented a funky bass solo even as Sakura floated onscreen. “Ready? Shout!” Keiyuu’s own shout kicked off Fushigi na sekai kara no shoutaijou. The explosion of energy outdid anything so far, brass bones built into the structure of the song while Yasuno’s head tossed from side to side, caught somewhere between the realms of swing and rock. Then Daddy brought home the bacon, opening with wicked guitar and bass. The crowd jumped, Yasuno sang along as he drummed, and Keiyuu switched to a steep falsetto by the number’s end.

“We passed ten years, but it felt like a moment,” Keiyuu sighed, before asking the members their opinions on the subject. When picking on Yuhra, the vocalist immediately cut off with, “It was-” “Good, yeah? Yeah.” Indignant, Yuhra issued a complaint. “But you won’t say much, anyway,” Keiyuu retorted, skillfully manipulating the usually quiet bassist into talking with a firm, “I will!” Yuhra went on with a vengeance. “A lot of bands celebrate ten years but I want to go ahead and celebrate 20,” he announced. “Oh, so today means nothing, then?” teased Keiyuu. “No, no. It’s an important point to pass,” Yuhra quickly amended. Yasuno butted in briefly with a riddle which the crowd answered in immediate unison. A lot of chatter continued, primarily from Yuhra, Keiyuu’s ploy seeming to have succeeded splendidly. “I’m not done talking yet!” Yuhra yelled in reprimand to all the unrelated interruptions.

Eventually, Keiyuu got around to explaining the theme of the day. “Today, we wanted to play songs from each release but that ended up with 50 songs. As a result, we’re going to do three hours. In other words: about one song from one album or release from each year. By the time he reached that point, his voice had slipped into a strange character, an accusation from Yasuno labeling the voice as “Shinya?” The crowd, however, had other ideas, a yell of “Doraemon!” reaching the vocalist’s ears. He stopped, stared, called the offender “very brave” in a threatening sense, and promised to remember her face. That only incited more yells. “You guys are very free, aren’t you?” Keiyuu remarked in wonder. He then asked Taizo, the newest addition to the band, if he’d gotten accustomed to the free nature of their fans yet. Taizo was ready with a crowd-pleasing reply. “Yasuno is the free-est of all, though,” he said.

Finally, Keiyuu suggested they get on with a song, however the crowd exhibited a rare reluctance to do so. “Fine! We’ll stop then, shall we?” the vocalist threatened. After a moment, he softened, evidently flattered. “There’s more emcee to come, so just wait!” Looking down at the hidden set-list by his feet, he made a sound of surprise which the crowd repeated with interest. “We’ve got some great songs lined up,” he said. With that enticing comment, there was nothing for it but to continue, Hadazamui kisetsu no yoake picking up with a moody melody and a little hint of funk in the music. With a slow bow to complete the number, the lights faded out… Only to fizzle in with a highly jazzy opening as Keiyuu’s strong voice belted out vocalizations to the opening of Koi no shikisai to elegy. Yasuno began to show off, sticks twirling between regular cymbal taps on brass surfaces big and small. The hats surrounded him like a stand of flat, gold mushrooms.

The fiery melody of Yamiyo no gene was complimented by a fiery screen but the chorus was the warm red of rose petals. Up behind the kit, Yasuno continued his theatrics, one stick circling his head, then pointing at the crowd in repeated choreography though he never missed a beat with either stick. The following blackout saw a big glowing pumpkin replace him in the gloom. Fu no zenshin then rocked for real with a heavy bass solo to open and Keiyuu screaming from the gut before singing up into the chorus. An angry death-voice rap split the song. Then came judge, Yasuno holding a cymbal steady after hitting it each time with all his might, spinning his stick in a rising twirl before each slash. The number itself remained heavy, completed with a nice guitar riff for the final instrumental. Once more, the stage faded to black.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, shush,” complained Keiyuu in response to the crowd’s never-ending screams. The talk then turned to the unexpected heat of the costumes, Yasuno exclaiming that he felt like he was running a marathon and that he would definitely lose weight – which means for the tour… “Nice body!” Then came the announcement that made the crowd’s day: After 10 months off, Kra would be reviving their fabled “Meruhen,” a live they’re famous for. Yasuno, who doesn’t write blogs, was excited to announce the continuation of Meruhen Radio where he could talk out all his feelings and experiences for 30 minutes on the 1st and 2nd Saturday of every month, this time just with the band. The guitarist then suggested having a tongue twister competition on the radio – which turned into a tongue twister competition then and there. For all his bragging, though, he failed miserably. Yasuno got about half way, Yuhra got it more or less right the second time, and Keiyuu, after being challenged to 5 repeats, got through four before he was entirely lost and gave up.

In a strange accent, Keiyuu announced the new album and live tour. “Do you know ‘one-man tour’? Today is a one-man. We’ll do that on a tour. I’ve also realized that if you all come at once, we can do it at a big place.” Picking on his odd new character, Yasuno teased the vocalist mercilessly. “To think we came 10 years together,” Keiyuu mourned, applauding in the pose of a punkish f-you at the drummer. Finally, the joking around wound-down and after a very lonely, serious comment from Taizo, the music came back to rescue the crowd from splitting their sides with laughter.

Akai kutsu no shoujo to omocha no kikanjuu was bright and cheerful, the crowd waving with renewed energy along with the vocalist who began to dance boyishly in bird. A deep, groovy drum solo slammed open Shonen to sora, the barrels booming while Keiyuu called out to each section of the crowd, riling them into a light-hearted jump even as Yuhra executed star jumps until he was forced to stop and wave his arms at Taizo along with Keiyuu for the solo. Pulling the mic down to distance his voice, Keiyuu sang over the military rattle in a haunting tone that soon brought the piece to an end.

The final choice of songs was an exciting combination offering a wide range of sounds, though the highlight was Showtime, in which each member took their solos before the whole floor sunk into a flurry of vicious head-banging. The la’s they sang along with Keiyuu near start and finish had a powerful impact. Meanwhile, they yelled through the middle, pitted left against right by the vocalist, guys against girls. By the final number, Sabiiro no uta, the whole band looked wrecked but the crowd waved proudly and they found the energy to go on, taking heart when the fans sang. “Thank you for letting us hear such amazing voices to finish,” Keiyuu muttered sincerely with a courtly bow.

The encore shouts were punctuated by a whistle, Kra fans evidently more organized than most. Now, a keyboard was set up centre stage and upon his entrance, Keiyuu sat before it. The encore began with a false start, however, as he slammed the keys in a fit of frustration after coming in on the wrong pitch. “I can do this,” said Keiyuu, taking a deep breath and starting over. This time, he did well. The acoustic version of Shanghai yuugi was a tad blue-grassy, Yasuno used flares to tap the drums, muting the sound some while Taizo bent over his acoustic, head bobbing. The breathily sung number ended with a “Thank you very much. Now, please listen to one more song.” Keiyuu launched into an a cappella opening. The interesting number was smooth and jazzy with some flair in the lyrics from the perspective of a circus master.

“Man, I was nervous,” Keiyuu admitted. “But I think we’ll be doing more of this from now on. Next time, I’ll practice, though.” Just when all the hi-jinks, pointless chatter and in-fights of the evening seemed to be coming to an end, the band were surprised by a voice from on high and on the video screens flanking the floor of O-East appeared the band’s little dog-like mascot. “”Hi, Kra. This is Kohsuke. I can speak. Wow! Thank you everyone for coming to Kra’s tenth anniversary. We were supported by lots of staff and by all of you. Now here’s a little present.:”

One by one, BORN, SCREW, D=OUT, ViViD, SuG, Alice Nine, the GazettE (also celebrating 10 years), and the lady boss of PS Company all appeared onscreen, taking their time to chat and reminisce about Kra, congratulate them on their 10 years and wish them well from now on. In fact, one member of SuG confessed that his little sister is actually a Kra fan and often watched the band’s DVDs in their living room. Another comment of note came from SCREW, a certain member confessing his love for Yasuno. During the last video, Keiyuu begged for the screens to be turned off as the four members sitting along the stage-front seemed to glow with embarrassment. “There was some odd noise at the end, there,” Keiyuu said coldly of their boss, “but man, SCREW were long. It was like watching ourselves.” Of course, after all that, Kra had to have their say, Keiyuu being scolded for his constant lateness and mistaking the new album title as “Naruto”.

At last the encore continued with a song from the new album, Machibito. Groovy and fun, Keiyuu had announced it as “The main song of the new album with a good tempo, lyrics and score… It’s just a good song.” And that it was, upbeat and gorgeously sung. “Thank you very much! Now, EAST! Let’s blast on to the end! Mutaku to mutaku to." The crowd moshed furiously, twisting around each other, and continued rocking out throughout Cab.D. Keiyuu screamed away over the brass and deep bass, half of him all jokes and the other half hardcore as hell.

One last talk, full of gratitude – and with a little info about the current goods for sale thrown in – ended with a last stand of teasing among the members until Keiyuu apologized to the audience. “Sorry we’re such a cool four – sweating and dripping snot we’ll power on! Ready? This is the last song of the encore! What day is it today?” The question incited fervent squeals. “Nichiyoubi!” Keiyuu sang out splendidly until the very end, the crowd pitching in on la’s once more for a heartfelt finish. “Thank you so much for these ten years and for coming to this tenth anniversary live. We’re counting on you for the future, too!”

As the band came up to bow, of all music, Greenday blasted out around them, and they bent low to the lyrics “Sometimes I give myself the creeps…” When all the choicest catches had been made, Keiyuu talked briefly about the coming lives, interrupted by a pitchfork in the backside courtesy of Yuhra. “Let’s meet on the tour!” he cried.

The members had hardly disappeared from sight when their music video Machibito appeared on screen, the cute film revealing the reason behind the Halloween costumes as a young girl had her first kiss stolen at a Halloween party, taking solace in the miniature band inside her jewelry box. The highlight was, in fact, Taizo’s solo, captured inside a blizzarding snow-globe.

The live was very touching and yet never lost its sense of fun with over-dramatic gratitude and tears. Kra saw their tenth year just as they passed the time, sharing their blinding grins with the crowd.

Set list
Opening: Children
1. Ame no Kokuhaku
2. Fusion
3. haruiro no hana
4. Fushigi na Sekai kara no Shoutaijou
5. Daddy
6. Hadazamui Kisetsu no Yoake
7. Koi no Shikisai to Elegy
8. Yamiyo no gene
9. Fu no Zenshin
10. judge
11. Akai Kutsu no Shoujo to Omocha no Kikanjuu
12. bird
13.Shonen to Sora
14. I no naka no… Ari?
15. artman
16. Showtime
17. Sabiiro no Uta

Encore
1. Shanghai Yuugi
2. Circus
3. Machibito
4. Mutaku to Mutaku to
5. Cab.D
6. Nichiyoubi