EAT YOU ALIVE at Takadanobaba AREA

On the 10th of September, EAT YOU ALIVE took part in an event with six other bands, most of them quite minor but having a name in the visual kei indies scene. It took place in Takadanobaba AREA, which is a live house that's not very big, but is quite popular among well known indies bands. Though the hall wasn't full, the audience was still numerous, consisting mostly of ordinary looking girls.

EAT YOU ALIVE were to perform before the last act of the night, and as their turn came, the band's fans, mostly young, stylish girls with big hairstyles, moved towards the stage, while people who came to see the other bands looked curious about what this performance would bring.

Starting the show, heavy Western music played and the curtains opened to display an empty stage. The band members walked out slowly and proudly, taking their time to throw some piercing glances at the audience. Finally the vocalist Hiro appeared on the stage and turned his back to the audience, following Ryouhei and Kenzi's example. The band was not wearing excessively extravagant outfits, which set them apart from most of the other artists that took part in the event. Kenzi and Makoto looked similar to their last photo shoot, whereas Ryouhei and especially Hiro had changed their styles quite dramatically to look more casual, but still stylish, and it was apparent that what the band hoped to impress the audience with was their music rather than looks.

The set started with the yet unreleased song FLEAR. It had an almost symphonic intensity to it, and heavy guitar riffs along with Hiro's powerful growling made the audience go crazy, banging their fists in the air. The other members sang along into their microphones, Ryouhei came forward towards the audience dancing wildly and Kenzi headbanged, and as Hiro pointed his hand at the fans, they simultaneously jumped to the upbeat rhythms, driven by the animated Makoto's drumming.

Another unreleased song R.E.M followed. It was quieter and more harmonious, with melodic singing, but still possessing a saturated, hard sound. The vocals soon turned into more screaming and growling and the band members spun around and headbanged fiercely. Hiro's voice seemed to have improved in the past year and had become more smooth, but still held a certain raw, imperfect edge to it, which added even more roughness to their heavy sound. The third song, which was so new its name had not even been finalized, presented a more fast-paced, energetic tune, fired by another portion of Hiro's screams. As the lively Makoto swung his arms around showing remarkable facial expressions and Kenzi played his bass, raising it high above his head, Hiro bounced around the stage like a bundle of energy. Although the songs were quite new, the band sounded very confident playing them, and nothing stopped them from passing their emotions onto the audience. Though the fans were not especially numerous, they were so full of spirit and enjoying themselves that they unwillingly contracted the whole hall with their vigor.

After a short break, more familiar songs were played, and as MAVERICK started with Hiro's rapping, the fans threw themselves into moshing, bouncing and spinning around from one side of the hall to another. As Ryouhei screamed into the microphone they threw their fists up into the air, and both the band and the audience seemed to enjoy themselves, carried away by the music. Next was the more fast-paced, fresh and catchy JENNIFER, in which Hiro rapped fluently as the other members sang along, and more moshing, bouncing around and headbanging could be seen from the untameable audience. On this positive note the band ended their set, and the members left the stage, occasionally flipping the f-finger at the audience, Kenzi throwing his bass dramatically across the stage, putting an end to a spectacular show.

Having earned a lot of respect and established a solid fan base in their hometown Nagoya, EAT YOU ALIVE are not frequent guests in Tokyo, and are therefore still working on gaining popularity in the capital. Although the band did not seem perfectly satisfied with their performance, with their heavy but catchy, highly energetic sound and powerful stage presence they not only moved their faithful followers, but seemed to have impressed and captured the entire audience of the hall. EAT YOU ALIVE certainly have great potential and their lives are definitely worth going to, to experience their great music and just to have a lot of fun.


Setlist:
FLEAR
R.E.M
Oraora (title undecided)
MAVERICK
JENNIFER