VAMPS Live at KOKO, London

Anticipation has been high ever since VAMPS announced their return to London at the start of the year, fresh off of their world tour at the end of 2013. Hoping to plant a flag here to begin their infiltration of the UK and spread their influence across the West, they decided to come back. They played a one-off international date at the famous KOKO club in Camden on March 28th.

Fans had quickly filled up the two floors of the venue wherever they could, making way for the camera crew who were there to stream the action live to the ZEPP TOKYO back home. The back wall was covered with the huge skull and crossbones logo as seen on the cover of overseas debut SEX BLOOD ROCK N' ROLL. Without warning the whole stage was hit with a kaleidoscope of lights as "VAMPS!" was repeated over the speakers, which quickly echoed en masse. As the music crescendoed, the backing band members arrived, with guitarist K.A.Z and then HYDE appearing at the end. From there, it was straight into the familiar heavy guitar at the beginning of DEVIL SIDE, which saw the lead singer strutting in loops around the stage in his usual opened black shirt as he sang out the falsetto "hoo"s perfectly. The audience proudly sang out the title lyric in the chorus, full of enthusiasm. Their fires were stoked with the rock goodness of REDRUM after and HYDE's lip licking, pouty performance. They barely needed his call for them to jump, and also found his suggestion of "let's make love" afterwards favourable. Everyone clapped in time when the pop rock THE PAST started up, the bass of the ominous-sounding intro clearly ramped up as it rattled the walls and also the bones.

The variety that VAMPS serves up was definitely on display here. The gothic SECRET IN MY HEART was less rousing than the songs that kicked things off but allowed the guys to show a different side: K.A.Z was lost deep in his solo, while HYDE provided an impassioned ending with his final closing cries. It ended with him staring into the crowd with glowing red eyes and bathed in blue light while K.A.Z raised his axe into the air. As they looked out people raised their hands in the VAMPS "V" salutes. The next song had an equally dark start with the eerie pipes and an organ, erupting into the crowd-pleasing REPLAY. HYDE's showmanship was turned up to full: from the solid vocals to his slinking body movements he gave the audience everything they wanted. He showed off his ability as he jumped from his usual vocals into full death metal voice in DOLLY, which culminated in headbanging from the singer and sent bassist Ju-ken into a moment of electrified ecstasy, fitting perhaps with his hair already standing on end. He was thoroughly entertaining and relished sending seismic waves of rumbling bass through the building. Then it was a complete change in mood as a hush fell for SWEET DREAMS. Ju-ken swapped to a double bass, which he played with as much passion as his electric one, his head swaying emphatically with the sweet, lulling melody along with the crowd. It was subdued yet emotional, and proved to be a soothing interlude.

The duo have performed covers of British songs in their lives before, and they didn't disappoint this time. Their heavy rendition of Life On Mars? has a touch of foreboding, but HYDE's theatrics, vocal embellishments and strong, exaggerated vibrato made it worthy enough of Bowie. On the other end of the spectrum their version of Shampoo's TROUBLE is upbeat, frivolous and slightly camp, making it fantastically fun and easy for anyone to join in. There was a frenzy of jumping throughout.

There were clearly some real fan favourites, and those in the know could see them coming. "I'm feeling empty", a dejected HYDE stated halfway through. "Who will I eat?" he asked the mass of screaming fans. "Who's the craziest one? Where's my lamb??" he roared as they launched into HUNTING. The venue lights were turned up to brightly illuminate the audience, allowing the band to clearly see the faces of their potential sacrifices between the choruses of "Hi ho! Let's hunt". K.A.Z's huge grin during this was a clear testament to the fun he had, and he scanned the crowd with his hand over his eyes as enthusiastically as HYDE and Ju-ken. The intro of HYDE's solo song (written with K.A.Z, as was DOLLY) MIDNIGHT CELEBRATION was easily recognized by fans, and the darkwave-infused rock track was a hit with all the 'blood suckers', as HYDE dubbed them. It gave K.A.Z, plenty of his own moments in the spotlight, and he cut an imposing figure with the hood of his top pulled up.

London also had the honour of experiencing the first live rendition of the single WORLD'S END. This is the English version of AHEAD which was released last summer, so most of the fans were more than familiar with it. The whole band played it with a lot of energy and it was very well received, especially when plectrums were thrown out into eager hands at the end.

After the main set it wasn't long before the crowd started clapping and calling for more. Someone started up the singing of "Bang on stomp everybody!" from REVOLUTION, which quickly became contagious. The band obviously wasn't going to keep them waiting, as shortly after this began the guitar riff from this track blasted out and the lights suddenly blazed. The singing continued in a duet with the guitar as the members filed back on, with Ju-ken stirring everyone up as he returned. HYDE and K.A.Z joined in, raising their arms to up the volume. What followed was a performance that packed a punch and thrilled the crowd, who were always ready to fill in the gaps when asked. HYDE's growling delivery of "rise up in revolution" was a raucous delight. "Have fun?" he asked after it was over, replying to the positive noises with "me too". He had to tell everyone "don't be sad", even though only three songs remained. In the remainder was the old school warmth of MEMORIES, where K.A.Z had a nice rapport with the crowd, followed by the cheeky flirtiness of LOVE ADDICT. Things were brought to a close with the fantastically noisy SEX BLOOD ROCK N' ROLL. The whole band had a blast and the audience responded in kind, shouting the title lyrics back as loudly as they had when the gig started. HYDE was taken by the moment and decided jump off of some stage equipment in time with a musical cue. With its relative lack of lyrics the song had the perfect mix of simplicity and attitude and left everyone on a high.

"See you again!" HYDE repeated as the guys took their leave. "See you June!" was the last departing note, most likely referring to their newly-announced appearance at the Download Festival later this year and their next attempt to leave their mark on the UK. After this showing, it looks like that won't be difficult for them. VAMPS proved that they are polished, brimming with catchy tunes and all about entertainment. It's their frontman who will prove key to their future UK success however - while K.A.Z is the major creative force and reels off a mean riff, HYDE's flawless live vocals and charismatic showmanship have the audience eating out of his hand. The UK better prepare themselves for a VAMPS invasion.

Set List:

1. DEVIL SIDE
2. REDRUM
3. THE PAST
4. SECRET IN MY HEART
5. REPLAY
6. DOLLY
7. SWEET DREAMS
8. Life On Mars?
9. HUNTING
10. WORLD'S END
11. ANGEL TRIP
12. TROUBLE
13. MIDNIGHT CELEBRATION

Encore:

EN1. REVOLUTION II
EN2. MEMORIES
EN3. LOVE ADDICT
EN4. SEX BLOOD ROCK N' ROLL