VAMPS at Irving Plaza, New York City, USA

VAMPS returned once again to perform in New York on Sunday, November 13th at Irving Plaza, on their third to last stop for their North America tour. This is their much awaited fourth time performing for very grateful and excited fans in New York City. VAMPS followed two opening bands that pumped up the crowd while the crowd eagerly waited. The excitement was palpable every time the vocalist of the second opening band Citizen Zero yelled “VAMPS!” just to get screams from the audience.

At around 9:30pm, following an energizing and skillful performance from Citizen Zero, the built-up anticipation was evident as fans burst into cheers when VAMPS finally arrived on stage, following a siren noise. HYDE waved around a small megaphone from which the siren sound was emanating and held his microphone over the megaphone while they performed one of their latest singles, INSIDE OF ME. HYDE swayed his entire body from side to side while holding the Jolly Roger flag over his shoulder, with his hood covering his hair and eyes. The crowd went wild when he finally pulled his hood down to reveal his new blond hair during the song REDRUM. He looked at the audience with a fierce intensity in his eyes while he continued to sing and sway around the stage.

Fans sang along while HYDE pulled out his guitar during the songs WORLD'S END and MEMORIES, reminding everyone he wasn’t simply a versatile vocalist, but a skilled guitarist as well. The band really got the crowd going during the song SIN IN JUSTICE as everyone screamed the lines over and over again, as if no one ever wanted the song to end! K.A.Z was characteristically cool throughout the entire live, jumping up on the riser in the middle of the stage every now and then, awing the audience with his beautiful guitar solos.

VAMPS' cover of Rihanna’s song Diamonds, although an unexpected song to cover, was a really beautiful rendition and the audience basked in the song. HYDE snarled in his deep voice at the crowd, asking everyone “Are you all bloodsuckers?” The energy throughout the live never died down as evidenced from everyone’s reply before VAMPS broke into the next crowd favorite BLOODSUCKERS.

The concert swirled quickly to an end. Everyone soon started to chant “Bang on, stomp everybody!” after the band exited the stage, which interestingly sounded a lot like “One more song everybody!!” to a non-discerning ear. The crowd went wild when the band returned on stage to play REVOLUTION Ⅱ. They finished off the encore with the very lively SEX BLOOD ROCK N’ ROLL, during which HYDE jumped off the stage at one point, exciting many fans at the very front. HYDE was leaping all over the stage as the crowd chanted "Sex, blood, rock and roll!"

The concert ended with fans still glowing and excited from the adrenaline rush. Everyone continued to cheer and wave while K.A.Z threw guitar picks and HYDE threw rose petals at the crowd, thanking everyone for a good night. The adrenaline-filled concert should tide fans over while the band continues to work on their next highly anticipated album.

Set list

01. INSIDE OF ME
02. LIPS
03. REDRUM
04. EVIL
05. REPLAY
06. GET AWAY
08. SIN IN JUSTICE
09. VAMPIRE DEPRESSION
10. DIAMONDS
11. MEMORIES
12. RISE OR DIE
13. WORLD’S END
14. BLOODSUCKERS
15. MIDNIGHT CELEBRATION

Encore

01. REVOLUTION II
02. DEVIL SIDE
03. SEX BLOOD ROCK N’ ROLL