COUNTER CULTURE at Akasaka BLITZ

The Counter Culture mini-tour kicked off at the Akasaka BLITZ. When the venue opened, fans of lynch., heidi. and Sadie streamed inside expecting to be blown away by the three dark rock bands.

The atmosphere was buzzing as independent visual kei band Kalvary came on as the opening act of the concert. They played a new song from their January release Mystirudom Lips and three more songs, warming up the crowd for the three main bands.

lynch.

When the band members appeared, shouts of joy came from the crowd. The first song, Adore, drove the crowd wild from the start. The vocalist Hazuki shouted "come on!" and the crowd responded by pumping their fists in the air. The next two songs, STARZ and 59, were very intense. The crowd was headbanging and pumping their fists like when Adore was performed.

Hazuki called out, "You guys are all pumped up. Let yourself cool down a little, and please listen to a new song." The crowd listened intently while Reo played the new song on acoustic guitar. The sound was so great that the fans all seemed to be impressed. The next song, Ambivalent Ideal, was dark and intense. While the band was playing the universe, the crowd began clapping their hands and jumping.

"Put it up," Hazuki shouted. The song, I'm sick, b'cuz luv u, has a great melody and a shouted chorus. During DOZE and unknown lost a beauty, the concert became rowdy with the crowd headbanging, fist-pumping and jumping. Hazuki moved back and forth across the stage, shouting, "Shake it!!" The excitement continued through the last song, pulse_, with the band starting to headbang. The performance was hot from start to finish.

Set list:

1. Adore
2. STARZ
3. 59
4. new song
5. Ambivalent Ideal
6. the universe
7. I'm sick,b'cuz luv u.
8. DOZE
9. unknown lost a beauty
10. pulse_


Sadie

When the band members made their appearance on stage, the crowd immediately responded by pumping their fists in the air. The first song, meisai, began when the vocalist Mao shouted "Tokyo!!" There was a small stand at the center of the stage and the band members sang loudly from there. The following song marionette made Mizuki, the guitarist, shout. The fans responded by jumping toward the stage.

During Sexual affection, Mao yelled out "fly!" and the crowd began fist-pumping again. During the last part of the song Ice Romancer, Mao held the microphone out to the crowd and proceeded to sing a duet with them. By the time the band started playing Psychedelic chemical movie, Mao had stripped to the waist and had moved to the platform on center stage to scream the lyrics. While playing Grieving the dead soul, the guitarist Tsurugi joined in by screaming the lyrics with Mao.

The fans were jumping toward the stage during CHILDREN OF DESPAIR. Mao jumped around the stage and gave the microphone to Mizuki. Tsurugi then appeared at the front of the stage and called out to the fans. For the last song, Under the chaos, Mao was fantastic. He sang clearly and powerfully with his arms wide open while headbanging intensely. It was like he was performing with his whole body.

Set list:

1. meisai
2. marionette
3. Sexual affection
4. Ice Romancer
5. Psychedelic chemical movie　
6. Grieving the dead soul
7. CHILDREN OF DESPAIR
8. under the chaos


heidi.

The band came on stage bathed in blue light. NAO, the guitarist, was barefoot. Yoshihiko, the vocalist, shouted, "Let's get going!" When the first song Shinkirou started, the crowd streamed toward the stage. During Flashback, Yoshihiko yelled, "Everybody, start clapping." The crowd responded and continued clapping in time through the next song, Heaven.

After the song, Yoshihiko said, "Hi, we're heidi. We want to thank everybody for coming out tonight. Our next tour, East Meihan Expressway autocrat tour, will start in the spring. We hope you'll all come out and see us." The crowd really enjoyed the powerful vocals and guitar solo of the next song, a quiet number called pray. In contrast, Remu was fast and intense. The crowd had their hands over their heads and were moving them back and forth during the guitar solo.

During the next two songs, tutatuta and Parade, Nao and bassist Kosuke took to the small stand at the center of the stage. The fans excitedly jumped toward the stage, pumping and clapping their hands in the air. For the next song, sentimental, Yoshihiko held the microphone to the crowd and the fans waved their hands. After synchro, Yoshihiko told the crowd, "Thank you very much. We had a great time." Then the band left the stage.

For the encore, the band was joined by Hazuki of lynch. and Mao of Sadie. They played heidi.'s song utakata. Afterward, the live came to its end with the fans sated and happy. Some few were probably looking forward to the next Counter Culture live, which was just as hot!

Set list:

1. Shinkirou
2. Flashback
3. Heaven
4. pray
5. Remu
6. tutatuta
7. Parade
8. sentimental
9. synchro

Encore session
1. utakata