STEREOPONY at Sakura-Con 2012

Although all-girl group STEREOPONY has played in the US four times now, this performance marked the first ever played in Seattle. After this concert, the three performed in California at three locations. During the duration of the concert, fans not present at Sakura-Con 2012 could watch a live broadcast via NicoNico.com.

At the front of the of priority entry line, some fans stood holding a heavy fabric sign with the words “America ni youkoso” in large print. Fans stood in long lines to enter the Main Stage while others sat down and chatted with friends while waiting for last-minute happenings next door.

Soon, the lines of fans moved forward; a mass of bodies packed the Main Stage in near darkness. After a few minutes of waiting, It was time to rock! Bright white lights flashed over the audience as the members Aimi, Nohana and Shiho walked onstage. The three stepped into place, preparing themselves to play a short intro just to excite the crowd. Each member introduced herself and began to play.

Drummer Shiho counted in the first song, shouting “One, two, three!”, striking her drumsticks together three times to mark the beginning of the first song, Blowin’ in the wind. Pink, red and blue lights flashed over the stage at different intervals. On both sides of the stage hung two giant projector screens with an additional screen that stretched across the length of the stage.

Vocalist Aimi asked the audience to clap to the beat for the next song, I am a Hero, taken from the 2011 album, More! More!! More!!. Intricate lighting flashed. Up until now, most of the crowd still watched in awe while others captured photos with their phones.

Shiho’s facial expressions as she threw all of her energy towards the drum set was a sight to see! As soon as the song ended, Aimi said “hello” to the audience in a voice quieter than her singing voice. The crowd returned the greeting with many “hello”s; Aimi welcomed everyone to their show introducing the next song, Chiisana Mahou.

During Chiisana Mahou, an extended version of the opening to the TV anime “Tegami Bee REVERSE” played on both outer screens in time to the music, while the middle projector screen showed close-up footage of the stage for those who were further at the back. The crowd cheered loudly when Aimi hit a high note on the last word of the song, "kakette," sung just as a character in the opening theme fires a gun—more applause followed!

Spanning only just thirty seconds was Shiho’s powerful drum solo—she has spunk! Then smoke covered the stage as white light flashed wildly. Aimi shouted “make some noise!” during a short but wild guitar intro to the following track, effective line.

During Tsukiakari no michishirube, footage of the opening to TV anime “Darker Than Black” played on both outer screens like before. More audience members moved—this song was more recognizable than other older STEREOPONY songs throughout the hour long set. The last few lines of Tsukiakari no michishirube were sung very somberly. For a moment, only Aimi‘s voice filled the hall, nothing else. Afterwards, she thanked the audience. After a pause, she asked, “Are you having fun?” The crowd shouted "Yes!" in excitement.

Fans had the chance to hear the trio’s new single stand by me before its release date the following month—a very energetic track! Later, Ami said, “We only got a few more songs left. So let’s get crazy!” The group jumped into another song from More! More!! More!!, Viva La Viva La. But during the final song, Hoshikuzu kantera, Aimi and Nohana taught the audience some furitsuke, asking everyone to move their hands along to the music.

After the final song, within minutes, STEREOPONY stepped back onto stage with an encore performance of their debut track, Hito hanabira. Then Aimi yelled, “Thank you, Seattle” and began to play her guitar, singing the memorable opening lines. Nohana’s guitar solo presented much energy as the set came to a close. After thanking everyone again, Aimi asked everyone to huddle together; the stage lights brightened to illuminate the crowd as she took a photo of everyone to commemorate the live.

Set List:

01. Introduction
02. Blowin’ in the Wind
03. I AM A HERO
-MC-
04. Hana Hiraku Oka
05. Chiisana mahou
06. SUPER GIRL
-Shiho drum solo-
07. effective line
08. it’s a wild world
-MC-
09. Tsukiakari no michishirube
10. HANBUNKO
11. stand by me
12. Namida no mukou
-MC-
13. I do it
14. Viva La Viva La
15. Hoshikuzu kantera

Encore
01. Hitohira no hanabira