DEXCORE One-Man Tour Final at Imaike Club 3Star

DEXCORE is a nagoya kei band formed two years ago by DEATHGAZE’s ex-drummer, Naoki. In 2017 their member lineup was eventually finalized, and the band is now a quartet comprised of drummer Naoki, vocalist Kagami, guitarist haku, and bassist to-ru. DEXCORE is quite a young band that has already managed to find its place in the sun, and secure the love of not only the audience but its older colleagues as well. The musicians are surely experienced enough for a solo tour, so in December the band decided to hold several shows in a few major Japanese cities: Tokyo, Osaka, and its hometown, Nagoya.

The final live show of the DEXCORE one-man tour was held on December 22nd, 2018 in Imaike Club 3Star. Although it would be a stretch to say that it was sold out, quite a large number of fans came to support the band, including a great share of foreigners. The musicians came on stage in their newest all-white ensembles. Naoki, to-ru, and haku took their places as the audience welcomed them with a loud ovation, while Kagami was the last one to come onstage. He announced the beginning of the show by shouting, “Are you fucking ready, Nagoya?!” and one could immediately hear the opening cords of the title track of their first single, The Dead Sea.

Drums can surely be identified as the main feature of the band. The rhythms that Naoki sets, with their vigor and impetuosity, hardly leave anyone indifferent. Given the strong support of the guitar and bass, as well as Kagami’s excellently performed extreme and rich vocal range, the band has managed to acquire its unique sound, and a special energy – fresh, young, and dynamic. It’s no surprise that after hearing the very first riffs fans went right for head-banging, with the vocalist easily organizing circle-pits in the first few rows whenever possible.

The beginning of the show was boisterous: the drums, guitar, bass, as well as the fierce growling were gruesomely combined, and after a small MC, the first part ended with a furious performance of NEW ERA, causing another adrenaline surge. After that, the band gave the audience a short break followed by calmer ballads, with the tender song magnet, and the heartfelt kodou. Soft blue lights cut with purple rays in time with the melody as they came to replace the aggressive white and red flashing from before. Kagami was caught in the spotlight, and the audience stood still listening to every word and sound from the band.

With the next song A.S.H DEXCORE proved that they can not only set the hall on fire with vibrant songs or steal hearts with ballads, but make the fans dance as well. There was head-banging, there were circle-pits, fans stood still, and then they danced. So, what's left? That’s right – the fans haven’t sung along yet! This situation was immediately remedied with Kagami mastering the motive, and the audience willingly repeating after him.

The rest of the concert was a complete hodgepodge of energy: whirling hair, arms up in the air, reckless drive, and sincere emotions. With the culmination of fire and ice during the performance, they quickly won over the fans' hearts. The end of the show was marked by the title track of their new single, Brain Washing, which felt like the quintessence of the entire creative work of the band.

After the closing, the audience began calling on the band to come back for an encore, and the band simply could not refuse them. Naoki was the first to come onstage and started talking to the fans. After that, the rest of the musicians who have now changed their outfits to black ones, came onstage. The encore started with a rhythmic intro by the drummer and bassist to-ru, once again revealing the versatility of DEXCORE’s music. In addition to their more reckless and furious tracks, the beautiful ballad shouto saakitto was performed, which is not typical for an encore. It’s no exaggeration to say that it was so moving it made some fans’ eyes wet. Kagami may have not yet unlocked his ultimate vocal potential, but his style can still touch even the most stiff cynic!

Encore is always a bonus; one can tell by the relaxed manner of the musicians and fans, and the atmosphere seems to become simpler and closer, among other things. Of course, there was a short MC with the band thanking fans for calling for the encore and announcing that this concert marked the end of not only the solo tour, but also of the year for DEXCORE. As Kagami was turning the microphone over to Naoki, he called the latter the ‘boss’ of the band. Although this is in fact true, it is still touching to hear it stated aloud!

For the end, the band went all out by performing I'm President and The Sky is Crying, allowing fans to let their hair down to their signature sound before leaving.

This was the last performance for the band in 2018, but they plan to return to the stage in January 2019. As time passes bands may disband while others come to replace them, and with this in mind, DEXCORE is certainly on its way to becoming great successors in nagoya kei. Many people have already become hooked to the music of this band, so maybe it is time for you too?

Photos from this show (as well as from many others) can be found on DEXCORE’s official Instagram page.

Set list

01. The Dead Sea
02. Coward
03. BLACK PIG
04. Imitation
05. noise
06. NEW ERA
07. magnet
08. kodou
09. Dismantling
10. A.S.H
11. DEX41
12. Naked
13. Drowning
14. Brain Washing

Encore:
01. above the clouds
02. Miserable imposter
03. shouto saakitto
04. I'm President
05. The Sky is Crying