Luv PARADE Tour PANDEMONIUM at SHIBUYA duo MUSIC EXCHANGE

Luv PARADE, a session band consisting of three-quarters of visual rock band D’ESPAIRSRAY, wrapped up their recent PANDEMONIUM tour on March 8th at Tokyo’s SHIBUYA duo MUSIC EXCHANGE. Accompanied by their usual support vocalist, defspiral frontman TAKA, the band packed a few surprises into their usual blend of cover songs by D’ESPAIRSRAY and assorted Western pop divas.

One by one, Luv PARADE walked out onto the venue’s shadowy stage amid a thumping electro-rock backing track. First came drummer TSUKASA in a sleeveless gilet, followed by bassist ZERO and guitarist Karyu in loose flowing jackets, their faces painted with designs resembling warpaint. Finally, TAKA stepped out, dressed to the nines in a black suit with a long purple cashmere scarf draped over his shoulders.

Without so much as a word to the crowd, the quartet launched into their rockified renditions of Britney Spears’s Toxic and Lady Gaga’s Poker Face. This double whammy of 2000s pop has become something of a Luv PARADE trademark. As ever, the band performed both songs without a hint of irony. TAKA spat out the “P-p-p-poker face! P-p-p-poker face!” refrain with particular earnestness.

These straight faces were tested by Dub-I-Dub, a 1995 song by Danish duo Me & My that largely bypassed the Anglosphere but was a runaway hit in Japan. TAKA sang what few lyrics the Europop classic has bathed in a turquoise haze. Meanwhile, ZERO and Karyu handled the infectious “Dub-i-dub-i-dub-i-dub-dub-dub” hooks in perfect harmony.

“Nice...dub-i-dub-i...yeah!” said TAKA, smoothly sashaying to the front of the stage in the manner of a lounge singer.

Regular service resumed as all but a few lights went out, and those that stayed on shone scarlet red. ZERO led the crowd in clapping along to the electronic intro of Billie Eilish’s BAD GUY. This suitably brooding number segued into back-to-back D’ESPAIRSRAY songs. The familiar sounds of DEVILS' PARADE and DEATH POINT — which opened with a spotlight on TSUKASA whipping his braids about on drums — had the Tokyo audience jumping with open palms.

After a post-punk take on Björk’s Hyperballad came an arguably bigger surprise than Dub-I-Dub. Awash in appropriately azure lights, Luv PARADE boldly embarked upon a cover of Celine Dion’s “Titanic” theme song, My Heart Will Go On. In lieu of a panpiper, a twinkly synthesizer backing track accompanied the rest of the band while the audience swayed in reverent silence. TAKA went all-in on the final chorus, letting loose with his soaring vibrato.

Karyu stripped down to his tank top ahead of the ensuing battery of rock songs. Band and fans alike jumped together beneath hues of green during LOVE IS DEAD. As if worn down by this and the copious amounts of headbanging he did in BITE THE BULLET, Karyu spent a portion of MIRROR sitting down to the far left of the stage. Meanwhile, ZERO took the guitarist’s place over on the right with TAKA draped over his shoulder.

Once Luv PARADE had left the stage waving, the crowd carried on a persistent chant of “Luv PARADE!! Luv PARADE!! Luv PARADE!!” for a solid five minutes until the quartet came back out, wearing matching black T-shirts. Karyu was armed with a black acoustic guitar. He, ZERO and TAKA perched on stools around TSUKASA’s drumkit and chatter ensued. Combined with the soft orange lighting, the venue took on the relaxed ambience of a coffee shop.

Luv PARADE promptly undermined this cosy vibe with an acoustic version of Nine Inch Nails’ dirgy ballad HURT. The arrangement, and Karyu’s guitar work in particular, was truer to the original than the somewhat better-known Johnny Cash cover. The mood was soon lifted by more chatter, followed by Don’t Look Back in Anger by Oasis.

TSUKASA played the role of Liam Gallagher to TAKA’s Noel, stepping out from behind the drums to sit beside the singer playing a tambourine. The singer threw in the occasional extra “oooh” as Karyu strummed along, standing with one foot on his stool. The acoustic section of the encore concluded with D’ESPAIRSRAY’s Kogoeru yoru ni saita hana. This fan-favourite worked remarkably well as a folk-rock number.

Next came a blackout, some hasty furniture removal, another change of guitar for Karyu, and finally Sk8er Boi. This cover’s bouncy pop-punk energy carried over into Never Ending Story. Unlikely as it sounds, the Tokyo audience was certainly into it, hopping along with TAKA while Karyu spun in circles.

After a volley of increasingly extravagant thank-yous from TAKA, Luv PARADE brought proceedings to a close with KAMIKAZE. The frosty blue lights clashed with the evident warmth of feeling onstage. In the predictably cacophonous outro, ZERO waved and Karyu blew kisses until TAKA turned up to lock fingers with the guitarist.

Before the band departed, TAKA shouted out TSUKASA six times, Karyu five times, ZERO four times, and himself three times. TSUKASA was the last to go, walking to the front of the stage and striking a pose before he waved farewell.

Set list

01. Toxic (Britney Spears)
02. Poker Face (Lady Gaga)
03. Dub-I-Dub (Me & My)
04. BAD GUY (Billie Eilish)
05. DEVILS' PARADE (D'ESPAIRSRAY)
06. DEATH POINT (D'ESPAIRSRAY)
07. Hyperballad (Björk)
08. My Heart Will Go On (Celine Dion)
09. LOVE IS DEAD (D'ESPAIRSRAY)
10. BITE THE BULLET (the Underneath)
11. MIRROR (D'ESPAIRSRAY)

Encore

01. HURT (Nine Inch Nails)
02. Don’t Look Back in Anger (Oasis)
03. Kogoeru yoru ni saita hana (D'ESPAIRSRAY)
04. Sk8er Boi (Avril Lavigne)
05. Never Ending Story (Limahl)
06. KAMIKAZE (D'ESPAIRSRAY)

Luv PARADE's next event will be held at Shinjuku BLAZE on July 9th. Fans can keep an eye on the band's official website or follow them on Twitter to stay tuned for more details about the show or other future activities.