Needless Lyrics First Live NEEDFUL THINGS at Omotesando FAB

On the last Sunday in May, Needless Lyrics held their first live show.The sky was cloudy and it seemed it would rain, but that didn't stop people from filling the Omotesando FAB. Everyone was excited and happy, even though the long line spilled out down the sidewalk. It was easy to see how much they were looking forward to seeing Needless Lyrics.

When the live began, the band was lit from behind, and their silhouettes were cast across the stage impressively by white light. The theme song of "Rocky" started to play, and the hall was wrapped in a calm atmosphere. The members appeared, waving their hands to the fans. Vocalist Mizuki was last to make his appearance. He immediately set to stirring up the crowd, and the fans shook their bodies just like Mizuki did. The heat of the fans had the venue vibrating.

The first song was A letter to parents. The sound of this song was warmer and richer than the CD version. The voices of Mizuki and Daisuke harmonized beautifully, creating a pure and sad feeling that swept up the audience. Seiichiro kept pace on his drums while smiling happily. The performance perfectly showed how live music surpasses CDs and recordings. Everyone experienced the sounds with their whole bodies. After the performance, Mizuki said "thank you" to fans who were hushed by the moving music.

Bathed in the blue light, Yuta broke the silence by picking a guitar string. Grasping the microphone, Mizuki started into the next song. The members sang and jumped together during the chorus excitedly. When the bands members came to the front of the stage, they gave the impression of being closer than they were, like the distant yet intimate stars. Seiichiro stood up and beat the drum, and the fans responded to this display by immediately applauding and shouting his name. When the song ended, Mizuki thanked the fans, and they shouted "You are so hot, Mizuki!" with admiration.

"Hello everybody, we are Needless Lyrics," Mizuki greeted, waving his hands and smiling. "I am so happy! Really happy! I think the live has to be like this...just fun." Mizuki went on to talk about how he wanted to share this time with everyone. Shouts of "You are so cute!" came from the girls again and again. The other band members started to talk about their CDs and the start of their mobile phone music delivery service. After that, they mentioned how much they love to sing for their fans, although they still weren't used to the applause! The atmosphere of the hall became warm and comfortable through the friendly MC.

Sharirariraretta was the next song, and it was an emotional one. Everyone seemed to have tears in their eyes. The following song, Maboroshi, was quiet and calm, but at times it was surprisingly intense. The song unfolded and brought up memories of the band. It called to mind their philosophy, once stated in an interview: "Even if our songs are needless for many people, we believe that somebody needs our music, so we keep singing our music for the fans." Transcending language, culture and race, the band's ideal was realized through this song, and some of the fans started to cry tears of joy.

During a quick break, Mizuki said almost shyly, "We praise ourselves only for our music. We are proud of it. Our sad songs are serious, and our joyful music is intense. Please accept our music, and please support us." Mizuki mentioned that he used to be shy and never spoke in front of people, but he changed himself. "I am able to stand in front of everyone now. I think people can change to how they want to be. Everybody here has the chance to change. When your time comes, I hope my songs will still be by your side."

With that, the band began to play again. But I believe... was strong and fabulous. The next song, Namidagoe, started with the band members bathed in the blue light. The fans started to sway their bodies slowly to the rhythm. All of the fans in the hall received the feelings that came from the stage, and the venue was filled with excitement and heat. Flat opened with Seiichiro smiling happily. Yuta and Daisuke sang together, and it was clear to see how they all supported Mizuki. Their cohesiveness as a band was really telling. Mizuki raised his hands and sang beautifully, showing his skillful voice.

"Are you having fun? You know what? Music is great, isn’t it?" Mizuki started to talk about what music is to fans, making the audience laugh. He continued, "Actually, today, I should apologize to you. I am so sorry that the vocalist - that I am new to the band. If I were a fan of this band, I might be disappointed. But I can't quit. I keep singing because I love to sing. I can honestly say Needless Lyrics makes the best music, so please keep supporting us." The fans accepted his candor with loud applause.

The next song, Higher ground, had everyone jumping. Everybody was smiling and the crowd got wild. Yuta took a picture of the audience with his cellphone. The wave of the sound carried throughout the hall, and the atmosphere was buzzing. Mizuki shouted, “Let’s get wilder! We're going to have fun!” Seiichiro stood up and drummed madly while Yuta threw his pick to the fans. Daisuke and Mizuki shouted together to stir up the crowd. Misunderstand finished with the band members jumping together on the last note. The band moved on to Period, and all the people in the hall shook their bodies to the rhythm. It was an intense end to the live, and the crowd's applause continued on, even after the band left the stage.

The members soon came back to the stage for the encore. Yuta said, "We played all of our songs, so we don’t have anymore songs for the encore!" Everyone laughed, and the band proved Yuta wrong by launching into Maboroshi (Acoustic). Drummer Seiichiro played the kahon, a box type musical instrument. When the song ended, the band members talked about their changing tastes in music and why they decided to change ACID to Needless Lyrics. Although it was a long and difficult process, Mizuki said, "I never worried about the members. I really appreciate the miracle of coming across such band members."

The next encore song was But I believe... (Acoustic), followed by A letter to parents (Acoustic). "Please sing with me if you remember the lyrics," Mizuki asked, and the fans eagerly responded. The band members raised their hands in the air and smiled at the audience. When the song was over, they left the stage to thunderous applause.

Not allowing time for the venue to cool down, the second encore started almost immediately. Mizuki came out with a new CD that contained a remix version of Sharirariraretta. Mizuki announced, "l’ll give you this. This was supervised by Daisuke, and he did an amazingly great job. It's quite different from the original song. Please listen to it." He then talked about their new live project, which would have them playing shows from July to October. Although every live was scheduled to be in Tokyo, it was still wonderful news to know they would be playing a live every month.

The band also played an unreleased song. The song started with a quick rhythm and the melody was evocative of summer, making everyone feel like university students on summer vacation and leaving everyone wishing to be by the ocean. After the debut of the new song, Mizuki grabbed the mic again and said, "I want to say thank you! Thank you so much! The time passed so quickly. Please do your best at your jobs, in romance and love. Please keep smiling until we meet again." The words from Mizuki touched everyone's hearts.

The final song of the night was Imagine by John Lenon. The stage was warm, bright and full of hope while they played, and when the song ended, the band shouted their thanks to the audience. Their first one-man was a big success.The members shook hands and embraced each other, grinning, and then formed a line to bow to the audience. The fans cheers and applause followed them off the stage.

Although many in the crowd started out fans of ACID, by the end of the night, they were all Needless Lyrics fans. Even though the music style was different, the truly important things hadn’t changed at all. The feelings each member wanted to share still reached the audience, even though they used different instruments and lyrics. The new song and their next performance are things to look forward to as Needless Lyrics continues to impress the world with their reason to exist.


Set list:

-SE-
01. A letter to parents
02. Kirari
-MC-
03. Sharirariraretta
04. Maboroshi
-MC-
05. But I believe...
06. Namidagoe
07. Flat
-MC-
08. Higher ground
09. Misunderstand
-MC-
10. Period

en.1. Maboroshi (Acoustic)
en.2. But I believe... (Acoustic)
en.3. A letter to parents (Acoustic)

en.4. New song
-MC-
en.5. Imagine


Pictures were taken during Needless Lyrics' live at Shibuya RUIDO K2.