TIMM's JAPAN NIGHT at ZEPP DiverCity Tokyo

JAPAN NIGHT is a new music festival in which many forms of Japanese music are showcased. The evening offered a good mixture, with hard rock from supergroup VAMPS, pop-rock from [Alexandros] and club music from multigenre artists sakanaction.

VAMPS

First out on the ZEPP DiverCity Tokyo stage was VAMPS, the hard rock duo consisting of Hyde, frontman of massively successful band L'arc~en~ciel, and guitarist K.A.Z of Oblivion Dust. Having started activities in 2008, the duo has enjoyed great success both in Japan and overseas.

With just over forty minutes onstage, VAMPS played an intense setlist, and without doubt gave it their all right up to the very last seconds of their performance. Starting off with THE JOLLY ROGER and DEVIL SIDE to work up the crowd, Hyde was as full of energy as the audience, jumping around on stage whilst keeping up his strong vocals. An MC and songs like HUNTING and REVOLUTION II all in a row made the setlist feel slightly empty. That said, the fans certainly seemed to enjoy Hyde playing the guitar for HUNTING, not to mention his great interaction with the audience during these songs.

VAMPS also played their latest single, VAMPIRE'S LOVE, an emotional ballad with a beautiful piano melody. Hyde showed his true capacity in songs like these, his powerful voice filling Zepp DiverCity with warmth and love. To close their set, they played the energetic SEX BLOOD R N' R, the perfect song to get the crowd going again as they had everyone sing along. Neither K.A.Z nor Hyde showed any signs of fatigue as they reaffirmed how great a live band they can be, even within such a restricted timeslot.

As the final chords of SEX BLOOD R N' R faded away, VAMPS left the crowd on a high as they handed over to [Alexandros]. Though not very widely known outside Japan, in their home country, these pop-rockers have built up quite a fanbase since 2007. Besides playing as opening act for foreign bands touring Japan, the tickets for their March 28th one-man live at the iconic Nippon Budokan sold out in just one day. Their sound is somewhat similar to western pop-rock bands, with catchy melodies that are easy to remember and enjoy.

[Alexandros]

Opening their setlist with the fan-favorite Run Away, they set a good atmosphere in the venue. Live, the song had something of a harder edge, with the electric guitars given greater prominence than in the studio version. The band’s vocalist Yoohei Kawakami showed himself to have great stage presence, managing to interact with the crowd and while both singing and playing his guitar.

Thanks to their breezy pop songs, plus the lightness of Yoohei's clear voice, [Alexandros]’s set created a real feel-good vibe in the venue. Although pop-rock music can often seem quite simplistic, this band’s compositions are full of twists, giving their songs far greater depth than some of their contemporaries’ works.

[Alexandros] rounded off their set with their latest release, Adventure. It’s a slower and more emotional song compared to most of their catalogue, but the fans loved it all the same. As the other members made their exit, Yoohei hung back, taking his microphone in hand and singing phrases that fans then repeated. The vocalist seemed genuinely reluctant to be ending his session so soon, and the crowd were certainly sad to see [Alexandros] go.

sakanaction

Last out onstage were sakanaction, a five-piece rock band like no other. With their fusion of rock with elements of folk and dance music, they have crafted quite a unique sound. Since 2005, they've played festivals with both Japanese and international acts, as well as embarking on multiple sold out one-man tours.

The onstage setup for the band’s opening song looked more like they would playing a DJ set, with the members standing in front of a table of MacBooks and other gear. The set opened with Ame(B) -SAKANATRIBE MIX-, an intense dance song that had all Zepp DiverCity jumping whilst the accompanying lightshow kept synchronized with the beat. All of a sudden, the setup onstage changed back to the way it was, and all the members reappeared with their instruments. sakanaction gave a really good mixture for the evening; their music is rooted firmly in rock, but makes substantial use of synthesizers to create an incredibly catchy signature sound.

sakanaction demonstrated its uniqueness perfectly during the song Yoru no tooriko, in which two masked dancers dressed in geisha costume joined the band onstage. Although the song is essentially a pop-rock number, it features hints of traditional Japanese music, such as the guitar trying to imitate the sound of a koto.

After playing Aoi, sakanaction promptly left the stage, leaving all of Zepp DiverCity shouting for an encore. The band obliged, and returned to play their coming release Hasu no hana. Even though it was completely new to the audience, everyone seemed to you really enjoy it. Far less synth-heavy, Hasu no hana was more of a slow pop song, but that didn't stop people from dancing along and waving their arms high in the air. As this song ended, so did the JAPAN NIGHT event.

VAMPS released Bloodsuckers, their first new album in four years, on October 29th, and will touring in promotion of the new record from November through late January. They've already sold out most of their concerts, but a few dates still have tickets available! As for [Alexandros], they don't have any forthcoming releases scheduled, but have plenty of lives planned for the rest of the year. sakanaction released their tenth single Sayonara emotion, featuring the aforementioned track Hasu no hana as a b-side, also on October 29th.


Setlist

VAMPS

SE: BITE SHORT
1. THE JOLLY ROGER
2. DEVIL SIDE
MC
3. HUNTING
4. ANGEL TRIP
SE
5. REVOLUTION II
MC
6. VAMPIRE'S LOVE
7.GET AWAY
8. SEX BLOOD R N' R


[Alexandros]

1. Run Away
2. Waitress, Waitress!
3. Kick&Spin
MC
4. You're So Sweet & I Love You
5. city
6. Starrrrrr
MC
7. Adventure


sakanaction

1. Ame (B) -SAKANATRIBE MIX-
2. MUSIC
3. Aruku Around
4. Yoru no odoriko
5. Identity
6. Rookie
7. Aoi
Encore
1. Hasu no hana