Doremidan ~Akatsuki no Sekai [Tokyo Himehajime] at Liquidroom

After their oneman at Shibuya O-East in September, Doremidan were once again back on the path to successe as they continued their Akatsuki no Sekai series with a show at Ebisu Liquidroom entitled Tokyo Himehajime.

The grandiose title was not lost on the set design with the backdrop of the staging draped in material that gave Liquidroom a theatrical feel. Under the hot spotlights the curtain turned a shade of hot pink while the members arrived on stage accompanied by a thudding SE. Each member assumed their position, the music died and the room filled with darkness. Through this dark the sounds of Makoto's accordian could be heard and the audience cheered for the opener, Boku no koe, kaze to tomo ni. This placid opener was a rather beautifully subtle way to open the live that, while musically lovely in its innocence was also visually gorgeous as the lighting was arranged in such a way as to cast the five members as sillhouettes.

Such calm did not last for long, Wakaba no Kioku saw both crowd and band explode into energy. The crowd jumped from side to side of Liquidroom, a mass of moving bodies crashing into each other, while on stage Makoto himself jogged animatedly around the stage. Later Ken decided to match his energy, leaping around while he played his guitar. Ryu then decided to join in during Traveller, the light playful sound infecting all in the room. Makoto continued oblivious to all, dancing like a lunatic. This segued into Wakare Uta, with a long protracted introduction for the crowd to punch the air in time with the heavier beat. Makoto started to lead the room in their furitsuke during Wakare Uta. They didn't even take a break before Tokyo Tragedy; just a little shout from Makoto and then straight in. It was a little poppier, but given the title, a little slower too making for a good variety to the early songs. Ryu's guitar was especially nice throughout. As the song drew to a close Makoto spent a couple of moments rallying the crowd with aggressive shouts before a very tight performance of the darker Maboroshii Lamp, which again featured an impressive piece of guitar work from Ryu. The spookier ambience of the song drew out some interesting dancing from Makoto as he began impersonating a marionette in stilted dance moves.

The seventh song of the evening, Girl Hunt began straight after; again they had barely a breather between songs, such was their energy that night. Girl Hunt was introduced for the first time that night, the signature jazz sound Doremidan are known for. The audience responded effusively, pounding the air while Makoto stood on the edge of Reika's drumkit surveying them. Meanwhile Ken decided to play his solo while kneeling on the floor with elaborate hand gestures, as the audience responded with even louder cheers.

Finally as Girl Hunt came to a close, Doremidan took a breather after the whirlwind of music that defined this first section. 'Happy New Year!' Makoto started his MC. "Even though it is raining, thank you for coming tonight! Hmmm what should I say..." after pondering a little, Makoto reflected a little on how Doremidan came to be. He commented that it was their 7th year this year, to a chorus of "congratulations" from the fans. Finishing his MC announcing "Let's start 2009 with a good feeling!" Doremidan proceeded onto a more relaxed collection of songs, starting with Sangatsu.

Sangatsu, a calm rock song with some lovely semi-accoustic strumming, had a slightly more mature sound, reflected in the minimal movement of the band. The following Asia, though, was a real highlight. From the lovely introduction with a drumbeat verging on tribal being joined by Ken's twirling riffs, to Makoto's vocals full of heartfelt and sincere passion it was a beautiful piece with class and maturity. When the final notes came, Makoto bowed to the audience and walked off, to be followed by all others except Reika who closed the song with a final echoing drum.

Reika was left alone for a solo: a fun display of drumming at high speed. After, he had a mini MC to chat with the girls, encouraging them first to say that both he and Doremidan were 'cool' and then attempting to lead a singalong. This was cut short though by the return of the other members with Makoto having changed costume into a pea-green jacket with a distinctly 17th century inspired cut.

The final song of this calmer mid-section was concluded by True Rain, before Makoto gave his second MC of the night. He commented that he was feeling very energetic that night, perhaps so much he looked drunk, despite not being so. This energy was put to good use as Doremidan roared through the final seven songs of the main set. The whole room was dancing, with the members bouncing around on stage, particularly Ryu who skipped around with his guitar, and was joined later by Shinji. As Jiishiki kajou, amai wana began, the whole of Liquidroom clapped to the beat of the long introduction. Makoto mumbled dancing instructions to the crowd before leading them in the rapid movements.

After some fun jazziness, The Faust brought back a measure of darkness with its spooky refrain. Ken and Makoto sang the chorus together, call and response style while the audience opened their arms up to the ceiling (the visual kei, 'saku') during Ken's lines. Makoto continued jogging around his stage whenever he didn't have to sing, so it came as no surprise that he announced he was out of breath during the short break that followed. "The Faust is tiring" he said.

Finally it was time for the end as the towels came out for Seishun Rollover and then pink glowsticks for Rensou Game. With one last burst of bounciness, the glowsticks were waved in the darkness frantically from side to side in a bizarre scene resembling something closer to semaphore than furi. Shinji really shone though; after spending a while lying on the floor while playing, he took over in a small solo which while short was very funky. The main set drew to a close with this, Rensou Game ended and after a few short goodbyes the stage was empty.

It was not long before they returned though, in the t-shirts from the concert.
"Are you guys well?" Makoto asked. "Happy New Year!" to which the audience responded with a loud "Happy New Year" back. "Ahh already I can see a good scene. Thank you" Makoto sighed. He went on to make some new concert and tour announcements joking that it would be at Shibuya BOXX. The girls responded with some loud "ehhs" and a bit of heckling before the MC ended with the announcement of a new song, Hello Brand New Day, which as the title might lead one to expect was pop in nature. This was swiftly followed by Memories ~yuuen no kaze ni akogarete~, to finish this first encore; a heavy track that indeed brought back memories of old Doremidan.

The second encore meanwhile was begun by Reika and Makoto, who appeared bearing goods. The black umbrella Makoto held was a gift to the fans who had attended the concert that day, a cute souvenir of the live. The other members then emerged from backstage for the finale songs, Kibou Toshi and an old track from the first mini-album in 2004, Aozora Generation. It was a superbly fitting finale song with a spirited atmosphere throughout. Everyone was jumping, except Makoto who took to climbing the drumkit instead. The chorus even had the fan-made dancing, complicated delicate hand movements amidst the frenzy of bodies.

Doremidan were truly triumphant when it finished, with all members beaming from ear to ear. They came together to thank their fans in one loud voice before departing the stage. The sustained energy for over two hours was incredible, Doremidan really gave their all offering a spectacularly fun live to their fans.


Set list:

1. Boku no koe kaze to tomo ni
2. Wakaba no kioku
3. Traveller
4. Wakare Uta
5. Tokyo Tragedy
6. Maboroshii Lamp
7. Girl Hunt

MC

8. Sangatsu
9. Asia
~Drum solo~
10. True rain

MC

11. Twilight Mix Juice Boogie
12. Jiishiki kajou, amai wana
13. Ame no Platform
14. The Faust
15. Tasogare Trapezium
16. Seishun Rollover
17. Rensou Game

EN1:
18. Hello! Brand New Day
19. Memories ~yuuen no kaze ni akogarete~

EN2:
20. Kibou Toshi
21. Aozora Generation