SILENT SIREN at Slim's, San Francisco

It was a quiet Sunday evening in San Francisco. Slim's, an intimate club, has hosted many Japanese artists performing in San Francisco. The venue was packed with fans that had waited all afternoon in the rain to get a good spot. At the very front, every dedicated fan had last year's SILENT SIREN tour shirts, towels, and fans. Many of them had followed them from their previous show in Los Angeles and one fan had even flown out from Ohio.

The lights dimmed and the low chatter quickly turned into an excited roar as everyone anticipated the start of the concert. The girls came out wearing cute white marching band outfits. Being former models, they were all extremely photogenic and carried themselves with poise. SILENT SIREN opened with the upbeat Fujiyama Disco, one of their newly released songs. Lead vocalist Suu’s voice was just as clear and sweet as their studio recordings. KeyboardistYukarun was a crowd favorite. She played keyboard with one hand and was able to dance and direct and engage the crowd with her other hand. Bassist Ainyan was the most “rock and roll” out of everyone. She was dancing around the stage with her bass and frequently leaned over the edge of the stage to high five fans. Drummer Hinanchu seemed like the cool, more stoic member of the band.

During the first break between songs Suu described their day as tourists in San Francisco. They went to Union Square, shopped at the grocery store, Trader Joe's, and bought Christmas themed tube socks. She expressed her gratitude for her dedicated fans, many of whom had been there at last year’s concert.

At the end of Hachigatsu no Yoru, each band member gave a solo performance showing off their musical talents. Yukarun played a dizzying and difficult piece on the keyboard while dancing and maintaining eye contact with the audience. Ainyan’s performance on her bass was powerful. She channelled energy that was usually reserved for heavier rock bands, but was somehow still able to maintain her constant smile and girlish flair. Their true musical talent was obvious after seeing their solo performances. It was refreshing to see an all-female band channel their energy in a way that seemed more “real” than most super-polished idol groups.

Halfway through the set, there was a Q&A segment where the band's translator came onstage to field questions. One fan said happy birthday to the keyboardist's dog. The drummer joked that the secret to their success was because they were all being paid the same, and because they all believed in "all for one and one for all". The vocalist had got warm in the venue and told the audience that she was very hot, and everyone in the front row started to fan their fans at her.

SILENT SIREN covered secret base ~Kimi ga Kureta Mono~, which is a famous song by the 2000s J-pop band ZONE. It was a slow ballad and the audience was singing along with pink glow sticks. Things sped back up with the energetic DanceMusiQ. Yukarun instructed the audience to use their towels by spinning them and throwing them in the air during certain parts of the song.

Cherry Bomb was a crowd favorite. Everyone in the venue was singing along, following the pianist’s dance instructions and having a good time. Even some older fans were jumping around and dancing. What was really impressive was how perfectly composed they were the whole time, even though they were jumping around and the venue was hot, the girls still looked flawless at the end of the night.

SILENT SIREN closed with Sinbad, and disappeared off the stage. Audience members were wondering what outfits they’d come back out in and some fans at the front seemed like they were trying to coordinate something. When the girls came back for their encore, the audience surprised them by singing happy birthday to the vocalist. The girls had changed into their tour shirts and encouraged people to buy merchandise, and thanked the fans in the front for their dedication for wearing the 2016 tour shirts.

When it eventually came time for the final song Guru Guru Wonderland, everyone in the venue was swinging their towels in the air with wild abandon. As SILENT SIREN left the stage for the last time, they promised to come back soon.


Set list

01. Fujiyama Disco
02. milk boy
03. BANG!BANG!BANG!
04. Hachigatsu no Yoru
05. What Show is it?
06. Joshikou Sensou
07. Starmine
08. stella☆
09. Bii-san
10. secret base ~Kimi ga Kureta Mono~
11. Just Meet
12. Kaleidoscope
13. DanceMusiQ
14. Cherry Bomb
15. Sinbad

Encore
01. KAKUMEI
02. Guru Guru Wonderland