Kyary Pamyu Pamyu at KOKO, London

You wouldn’t expect anything less than a dramatic entrance from Kyary Pamyu Pamyu (KPP) and, at 7:30pm sharp, the lights in London’s KOKO went out for the strong spotlights to cast six silhouettes onstage. Excited noise from the crowd met KPP On Stage, the not-so-subtle announcement tune showing KPP was ready to sing and dance and lead everyone through 90 minutes of colourful J-pop madness.

Regularly playing much larger stages, such as the Moshi Moshi Nippon festival in Tokyo, there was intrigue to see whether that spectacle of a show would translate at a smaller overseas club. After all, unlike your average pop star, KPP isn’t just about one person singing, but the accompanying visual performance, whether that be a music video, costume, stage set or backing dancers.

The audience were not disappointed. The venue was a good choice. Despite a rather low stage, unobstructed views from several balconies allowed almost everyone to have a good spot, and the audio system was mixed well, so the music and vocals were clear and balanced.

By the time KPP launched into the tour’s titular 5iVE YEARS MONSTER early in the set, the quality of the show was established. A large video screen behind Vegetable DJ, which constantly played graphics inspired by the current song, also played host to favourite accompanying characters from the past several years. What version of CANDY CANDY would be complete without an appearance from the Onion King, or PONPONPON without the faceless, dancing pink lady, the latter of which received as big a cheer as the real dancers in front of the audience.

Speaking of extra characters, the accompanying four main dancers, all wearing afro wigs and sparkling costumes, really added a lot to the show. Going above and beyond traditional choreography, their enthusiasm coupled with smiling and gurning, rubber facial expressions made them as deserving of attention as the leading lady herself, by telling the stories of the music through their actions.

Vegetable DJ also played more than just a visual role, regularly joining KPP in leading the crowd through hand gestures and clapping along to really help make the whole show a giant party. It should come as no surprise that the crowd were up for it, with arms waving and constant cheering reaching right up to KOKO’s high rafters. A stand-out moment of this followed KPP teaching the audience a thumbs up movement – referred to as “Double Good Job!” – and a clap-along routine for the Sai & Co finale. There was plenty of confusion amongst less able dancers in the crowd, but DJ Veggie helped them through!

Looking around the audience, it would be highly unlikely that you’ve seen such a broad variety of people outside of a festival. Cosplayers, many wearing KPP music video-inspired outfits, stood shoulder to shoulder with Lolitas and people wearing heavy metal T-shirts.

So what of KPP’s singing performance? She didn’t stop moving through the whole show save for a costume change mid set, and it was honestly surprising just how well she held every tune throughout the night. There were one or two falters during harder high notes following long phrases and heavy dancing, but given the sheer amount of energy put into the performance, this would be expected.

The set itself was a good length, and KPP managed to squeeze in just about every popular song, including remix and intro variants of PONPONPON and Kira Kira Killer, giving them an interesting but familiar sound.

Following a huge call for an encore, KPP came back on stage with her biggest smile of the night and launched into the apt Kimi ni 100 Percent. She had been smiling the whole way through her performance, and unlike many dead-eyed pop stars who put on a brave face, you could tell this was the smile of someone who wants to be on stage and loves being able to share this moment with her crowd. Waving bye-bye, KPP skipped off the stage shouting “I love you” as the house lights came on, and judging by the audience's reaction, everyone present loved her too!