SCANDAL in Cologne, Germany

Following their first successful European tour in 2015, all-female rockers SCANDAL decided to return to Germany where they played a hot show in Cologne's Luxor.

It was just 30 minutes before doors that the fans began to queue for the first of SCANDAL's two shows in Germany for their "YELLOW" in Europe Tour 2016. The entrance went smoothly and SCANDAL were not one second too late in starting their show.

The four rockers stormed on to the stage and started their set vigorously with Room No. 7 and Stamp!. HARUNA and TOMOMI enjoyed themselves, while MAMI decided to take it easy and seemed more restrained than the others, perhaps understandably, given the circumstances of this concert. There were no barriers at the small Luxor venue and the stage was almost at ground level, so SCANDAL basically played their concert face-to-face with their fans. An unforgettable experience for the fans, but certainly very different from the huge open air festivals the band are used to playing in Japan.

The fans were singing their hearts out as SCANDAL played the English version of Your Song and gave it everything to make up for the moderate number of people attending the concert. The crowd chanted and clapped as the band started playing Onegai Navigation and slowly but surely, the fans started to feel the vibe of the concert, supporting the band with everything they had.

In the next MC, singer HARUNA chatted a little about the band's trip to Cologne before announcing the next song from their recent album YELLOW. LOVE ME DO spread a positive vibe all around the club and the atmosphere reached the first climax. The fans were chanting and dancing to their heart's content and having an extremely good time. The positive vibe kept going with Sunday Drive, just before bass player TOMOMI had her few minutes of fame with Konya wa Pizza Party, which is basically a solo song of hers. TOMOMI’s fans were shouting enthusiastically when she started singing and added that special something to this already very poppy and cheerful song.

After that, SCANDAL decided to pull out one of their classics with DOLL. This song proved to be a crowd favourite, as some in the front rows whipped out their towels and started swinging them around during the chorus, just like the fans in Japan do. With this song, SCANDAL seemed more settled and started rocking the entire stage, while the insecurities from the previous, new songs were now completely gone.

As it had become so hot in the heaving, dancing crowd the next two songs, Sisters and Morning Sun, turned out to be a great way to take a little break. While there were still some people jumping and shouting the band's names during Sisters, the crowd definitely took a rest with Morning Sun and just enjoyed HARUNA’s moving voice.

After these two ballads, SCANDAL changed the pace again and surprised their fans with the groovy, upbeat new track Take Me Out. It wasn’t just the fans dancing energetically, MAMI also opened up and rocked the entire stage. The atmosphere reached a climax as both the fans and band were enjoying themselves equally and kept up with the next song Awanai Tsumori no, Genki de ne, which relied on the crowd’s chants more than any other song. The fans did as they were told and were shouting the chorus vigorously, clapping their hands and jumping in the air, keeping the atmosphere and volume at a high level.

The question, if the fans were ready to rock the house, was answered by loud cheering and clapping and so the band began to play LOVE SURVIVE. SCANDAL didn’t break their promise and rocked the place, while the fans supported them with chanting, clapping and even head-banging for the heaviest song SCANDAL played on the night.

With EVERYBODY SAY YEAH and Taiyou SCANDALOUS the band dug up two more classics. TOMOMI did a great job getting the fans to clap their hands, while MAMI and HARUNA challenged the crowd to see how loud they could chant. One of their most famous recent songs, Image, was saved until almost the end of the show. The fans knew the lyrics by heart and sang along, building a positive vibe and atmosphere, just before the band announced the final song Chiisana Honoo.

Although this was the last song of the set, the crowd didn’t show any signs of sadness. The front row joined together to wave their arms and everyone was touched by this very special moment that they shared with SCANDAL. Although it was impossible to feel sad in such an emotional moment, there were a few who couldn’t hold back a small tear or two.

The shouts for an encore didn’t take long and SCANDAL re-entered the stage, this time dressed in actual tour t-shirts. They began with an instrumental, during which the band stepped forward and once again urged as much crowd participation as possible, before they started playing one of their most famous songs, Shoujo S. Singer HARUNA was surprised at how many fans knew the lyrics and delighted that so many people could sing along. SCANDAL BABY made for a great, energetic finale before HARUNA introduced the band and they all showed their appreciation for this evening with a deep, long bow.

Before they went backstage, RINA and MAMI took a second to give high-fives to the crowd and chat briefly, which made the entire evening for some front-row fans.

All in all, the show was a great success. Although it felt strange seeing SCANDAL this up-close and intimate, both fans and band made the most of it creating a great atmosphere and an evening full of enjoyment.


Set list

01. Room No. 7
02. Stamp!
03. Your Song (English Version)
04.Onegai Navigation
05. LOVE ME DO
06. Sunday Drive
07. Konya wa Pizza Party
08. DOLL
09. Sisters
10. Morning Sun
11. Take Me Out
12. Awanai Tsumori no, Genki de ne
13. LOVE SURVIVE
14. EVERYBODY SAY YEAH!
15. Taiyou Scandalous
16. Image
17. Chiisana Honoo

Encore

18. Shoujo S
19. SCANDAL BABY