When WagakkiBand addressed the audience from the stage at the
legendary Nippon Budokan in January last year, singer Yuko Suzuhana made
a request: She asked the audience to help carry the band to even bigger
and better things.
13 months later, seeing WagakkiBand own the stage of Tokyo
Metropolitan Gymnasium for the first of two sold-out shows on February
17 and 18, 2017 – a total of 15,000 glowstick-waving fans – it was clear
her wish had come true.
Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium is one of Japan’s largest concert
venues, sometimes even used to host music festivals; it will serve as a
venue for the Olympic Games in 2020, as it did in 1964. Filling a room
this size for two nights is impressive enough, but WagakkiBand did not
stop at just filling it – they put on an unforgettable show to boot.
I was worried as to whether we would be able to connect with the
audience members all the way at the back of such a huge venue, but you
have shown me that we can,” Yuko told the crowd, her voice heavy with
gratitude. Because of you, we are growing as a band. Thank you!
Growing as a band, yes, but also as a live phenomenon. The spectacle we
have come to expect was on display, of course, with the eight impossibly
accomplished musicians joined by 30 dancers as acrobatic as any Olympic
gymnast. A horseshoe-shaped catwalk extended the stage around the edge
of the stalls and the first balcony, allowing the members to get close
to their fans.
.
There was even a snow machine, in reference to the February 17 show’s
title, “Great New Year’s Live 2017 ‘Yuki No Utage’” (“Snow
Celebration”). (The second night, “Sakura No Utage”, had a sakura theme,
with the two shows symbolizing the passing from winter to spring.)
But more than that, WagakkiBand have begun to adapt musically to
their successes on the stage. Yuko told the crowd that the songs on
forthcoming album “Shikisai”, due in March, were written specifically
with live performance in mind. The bruising riffs of “Valkyrie -Ikusa
Otome-” bore this out explosively, while the slower-paced recent single
“Okinotayuu” blended Daisuke Kaminaga’s comforting flutelike shakuhachi
with Machiya’s faux-Spanish guitar to present a sure-footed ballad.
Later, the audience got their very first chance to hear unreleased
song “Ukiyo Heavy Life”, with a frantic tempo perfectly suited to the
stage. Wasabi’s stop-start drums and Daisuke’s deep stabs of shakuhachi
built teasingly to a rock-out chorus, while traditional Japanese painted
“ukiyo-e” imagery of flaming spirit ladies, skeletons and haunted
animals graced the jumbotron behind the stage.
WagakkiBand know exactly what will please their ever-growing crowd.
Breaking the band’s usual style of rock played on traditional Japanese
instruments, an interlude made tongue-in-cheek use of hard-edged house
music and digital club visuals to introduce the ever-popular drums vs
wadaiko (taiko drum) battle that has become a centerpiece of their
concerts.
The set-piece was as awesome as ever, with muscular drummer Wasabi
and charismatic wadaiko player Kurona joined by four more
percussionists, building an intricate six-man polyrhythm using only
hand-cymbals, before Wasabi clambered behind his drum kit and Kurona his
wadaiko set for a barrage of heavy beats. The pair then tossed away
their drumsticks in unison and proceeded to beat their instruments with
their bare hands.
Every band member had their chance to shine. While Kiyoshi Ibukuro
takes a supporting role on many of WagakkiBand’s songs, his skills with
the harplike koto created a beautiful melody during his solo spot titled
“Kochou No Yume”. Beni Ninagawa bookended the coquettish “Yoshiwara
Lament” with an intro and outro from her Tsugaru-jamisen (a type of
shamisen), later joining forces with shakuhachi player Daisuke for an
extended workout over a twisted EDM beat for their duet “Tono
Monogatari: Shi Shi”.
Wearing white Noh masks, bassist Asa and guitarist Machiya formed a
power-trio with drummer Wasabi for “Homura”, a fist-pumping instrumental
metal workout whose title translates fittingly as “Blaze” – all beefy
basslines, aggressive drums and wailing guitar harmonics. The three
musicians were joined by robed dancers, and Machiya dramatically pulled
off his mask – to reveal another one underneath. It’s these neat touches
that make WagakkiBand’s shows so much fun.
Front and center for most of the set was Yuko. Her mastery of shigin,
a powerful vocal technique with over 1,000 years of history, is always
mesmerizing to behold. Her voice soared with aching emotion on the
graceful “Hoshizukiyo”, as she stood against the screen with its
full-moon backdrop, dressed in a stunning snow-white kimono – with white
hairpins, hair accessories, obi belt and hand-fan to match.
On “Setsuna – Hakuo No Yoru -”, Yuko (this time dressed in delicate
black and white lace) even led a troupe of yukata-clad dancers in a
theatrical sword-and-fan-dance performance known as kenbu.
The main set closed out with the forthcoming album track “Yuki Yo Mai
Chire Sonohou Ni Mukete”, an ode to the snow, and that’s when the snow
machine kicked in – white confetti floated elegantly downwards as the
song’s warm mid-tempo melody unfolded.
And then as the band left the stage, the audience began the
now-customary chant of the chorus to “Akatsuki no Ito”, their voices
drifting like the snow, summoning WagakkiBand back on to play the song
themselves.
“It’s always over so fast! Is it already the encore?” exclaimed Yuko.
“When I stand on the stage in front of your smiling faces, I’m always
struck by the diversity of our audience, from kids to people in their
70s. You are our treasure.”
They ended the set with “Senbonzakura”; the band members prowled the
catwalks as silver confetti ribbons were shot overhead, then regrouped
center-stage to rock out together. Kiyoshi’s Koto led seamlessly into
Beni’s commanding Tsugaru-jamisen solo. Although it is a cover,
WagakkiBand have made this song completely their own, with their
powerful live performances and ever-mounting YouTube views (55 million
and counting).
All in all, not a bad start to the year. WagakkiBand’s next domestic
tour will take them to medium-sized halls all around Japan, a return to
more intimate surroundings, but even in the vast Tokyo Metropolitan
Gymnasium, they seemed right at home.
As the video screen played a teaser of every song from the
forthcoming album “Shikisai”, the crowd cheered along, excited to hear
how the stage has influenced WagakkiBand’s latest music – and how that
music will influence their shows going forward.
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