Many Merry Days 5th Anniversary Special 2night - White Sheep Event

Celebrating both the new year and five years together, Merry decided to end 2006 and welcome in 2007 with back-to-back shows held at the C.C. Lemon Hall (Shibuya Kokaido) in Shibuya on December 31st. Merry's first show was the highly anticipated White Sheep event for which the fans had been encouraged to dress nicely, which many did, and behave during the show as one would at a symphony concert or other such sophisticated event. These same fans gathered hours before the doors opened to either claim a spot in the winding tour goods line or meet up with friends by the whimsical sculptures decorating the plaza in front of the live hall. Once inside and out of the cold, the audience sought out their first floor or balcony seats to the sound of jazz music being played over the speakers.

When the red curtain inside the concert hall was raised, it revealed a beautiful stage; the main floor was done in a gray and white checkerboard print while there was then a second story containing what appeared to be two dressing rooms. The one to the left of the audience had a clothing rack, from which hung numerous coats, while the one to the right was nearly empty aside from a small chair. Two other pieces of furniture, a red couch and a small brown table holding a number of trinkets beside it, sat in front of the drum set. The rooms were sectioned off from the rest of the stage by draped white cloth, which also framed the main stage. The effect of the drapes was breathtaking, it made one feel as if they were peeking inside someone's private, elaborate home as opposed to watching a concert. The entire look was topped off with a glittering glass chandelier hanging from the stage's center.

Drummer Nero was the first band member to appear on stage. As Merry had asked for their fans to dress appropriately, they too had dressed the part; each member was clothed entirely in white and after stepping on stage, would walk up the short stairs to the hanging coats to select their own. After pulling it on, the member would take their position on stage. Vocalist Gara was the last to set foot on stage and appeared not only dressed in white, but with a mask on as well. After fetching his coat, he removed his mask to give a low bow to the audience. The show was about to begin.

Opening with an older favourite, Tasogare Restaurant, Merry quickly set the mood and promised the gathered an event unlike anything else experienced at a rock concert before. The audience sat still and respectfully silent during this song, their eyes all transfixed on the men on stage. As it came to an end, each member was spotlighted and Gara clasped his hands together as if in prayer. Rennai Kousaten and Tick Tock followed then, the latter starting quietly but building in emotional intensity as the performance continued. The guitar lines played by Kenichi and Yu drifted over the crowd along side the spinning stage lights, seeming to be searching for something or someone. Gara's vocals became more and more raw in their emotion as he hid his face in his hands, as if embarrassed by his own display.

The usually energetic Merry had been rather stationary during these opening songs but as they began to go into Bluesy Night, the audience was treated to a bit more movement. Gara switched hats, plucking a black top hat from the hat rack on stage in lieu of the white hat he'd been sporting before, before beginning to dance with his microphone stand. Both Kenichi and bassist Tetsu were more animated as well, as Yu provided the backing vocals.

As a background track began to play over the speakers, Gara slipped his earlier mask back on and ascended the stairs to enter the room to the right of the audience where he sat, almost hidden from view. The rest of the band remained on stage as, to the fans' surprise, a woman in a becoming red dress and fur coat came onto the stage, dragging a small black chair behind her. A man dressed entirely in black, a sharp contrast to Merry, entered after her. It was time for the fifth song, Kousoubiru no ue de Last Dance. As Gara sang, the couple danced beneath him; twirling and embracing over the checkerboard floor.

As Kousoubiru no ue de Last Dance came to an end, the dancers left the stage as did nearly all of Merry, save Gara who slowly came back down the stairs to settle on the red couch. With only Merry's support keyboardist to provide the music, Gara alone went into the next song, Sayonara Rain. As he looked skywards, Gara's poignant performance was felt all through the live hall as some fans hid their eyes beneath their fingertips. The stunning and unexpected song came to an end as Gara then found his way to the small black chair brought on stage by the dancer and sat with his knees pulled up, concealing his face from the audience once more. Guitarists Yu and Kenichi returned then, each man carrying an acoustic guitar and also finding a small chair to claim on either side of Gara. The three of them then went into another stirring performance as they began an acoustic version of Mado Kara Nigeta Love Song. A white spotlight illuminated each man, their faces obscured from view as they looked downwards, as fans continued to fight back tears.

It was time then for the last two members of Merry to return. Nero removed his coat before taking up a spot behind a large pair of bongos and Tetsu stepped out to toss a red rose to the audience before sitting on a small chair near Kenichi. The band remained seated as they went then into BLUESCAT, which Gara sang through a pink megaphone voice changer as Nero played the bongos with his usual enthusiasm, almost tipping them over.

An older song, tokyo telephone (jazz piano ver.), was next during which Tetsu, Kenichi, and Yu remained seated as Nero retreated behind his drum set. Gara sought out the couch once more and poured himself a drink, alternating between taking sips and staring into the glass in apparent melancholy as he sang. As it came to an end, the lights went out completely aside the chandelier glowing over the stage. Nero then took a moment to MC, peering out over the crowd to see who was dressed up and addressing their 'dear fans' fondly.

While Nero spoke, the rest of the band returned to their feet in time to go into the next song, the lovely kohakuiro no ballad as Gara kept his drink in hand. Following this was an interesting performance of bara to katasumi no blues, as the thin vocalist seemed almost agitated, unable to sit still as he prowled around the small chair, alternating between crouching on it or leaning against it as if overcome by drinking. refrain ~doyoubi no namida was next after which there was another brief MC by Nero, who introduced the keyboardist that had been assisting them throughout the night. He also mentioned that Merry may do 'dinner shows in this style' which prompted a soft, excited 'oooh' from the audience.

ringo to uso came next and featured a much more animated Merry as Gara danced up a storm on the stage. This energy translated to no less emotion however as ringo to uso managed to pack an almost unexpected emotional punch as compared to that heard on its recording. Although the fans had sat still during the earlier performances, a few began to do some furi/hand motions although they remained seated and otherwise quiet and respectful. Merry wrapped up their set with a song they'd performed previously, Sayonara Rain- with another twist as they performed its 'reverse version'.

As the gathered audience applauded, the men took their bows before the guitarists exited, followed then by Gara and Tetsu. Nero took his coat in hand before coming down to the front of the stage and giving a low bow to the applause of the fans before leaving as well. The audience continued to applaud long after the lights had dimmed and the band had left, creating an overall very classy and lovely atmosphere.

A few moments passed before the fans, apparently trying to decide if shouting for an encore was appropriate for this event or not, decided to call their band back out. The floor and the balcony seemed to playfully echo each other with shouts of "encore!" coming first from those seated on the floor and then those in the seats higher up. After a short wait, the stage lit back up and Merry returned, going into the first song of their encore, Tokyo ni huru Yuki. Fittingly, a soft snow began to fall which added a beautiful touch to the band's performance.

Merry's final song was the powerful CALLing. As the band went into their moving performance, their PV for CALLing was projected behind them over the white curtains draped over the back of the stage. Beneath the video, Merry, now decked out in dark grays and black, poured themselves into the song; Yu and Kenichi nodding their heads and kicking their feet slightly as Gara sang, a hand clutching over his heart. As CALLing came to its end, the red curtains swept closed, hiding the band from the view of the thunderously applauding fans, who found their way to their feet to give the band a well-deserved standing ovation.

The lights went back on and slowly the audience filtered out of the Shibuya Kokaido, many hurrying to buy a small dinner or hot drink from the open restaurants nearby as others hurried off to change their clothes. After all, a formal dress would be out of place for the second half of the night, Merry's Black Sheep event....

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Set list:
01. tasogare restaurant
02. rennai kousaten
03. tick-tock
04. bluesy night
05. Koso Buil no Ue de Last Dance
06. Sayonara rain (acoustic)
07. Mado kara Nigeta Love Song (acoustic)
08. BLUESCAT
09. tokyo telephone (jazz piano ver.)
10. kohakuiro no ballad
11. bara to katasumi no blues
12. refrain ~doyoubi no namida~
13. ringo to uso
14. Sayonara rain (reverse version)
15. Tokyo ni huru Yuki
16. CALLing