vistlip First One-man – [VRGNL RIOT] – at Shibuya O-West

July 7th is an important date for vistlip, the day of the band’s formation. That is why the band insisted on playing their first one-man live on the 7th of July. Another aspect, just as important for the band, was this first one-man’s location. Their chosen venue, Shibuya O West, is close to their hearts since it’s also the first place they ever played.

At 6:30 a huge screen above the stage was turned on and started showing us extracts of the making of their first PV, EDY. Then it was Sara’s turn, followed by alo[n]e and drop note., last year’s singles. And finally EVE, taken from their latest album [PATRIOT], was shown on the screen, thus summing up the band’s activity in image, since their debut.

A few seconds after the screen had been turned off and lifted up, a voice resonated in the hall, saying “Welcome to the vistlip” and Tohya showed up under a thunder of claps and cheers. He appeared on top of a staircase that would remain on stage throughout the live, went down the stairs and took his place behind his drum kit. Then it was Rui’s turn, who was followed, in order, by Umi, Yuh and Tomo. Once all the members had settled in their positions, the band got into the first song, EDY. The fans started jumping during the chorus with their hands raised in the air and the first rows head banged frantically while Rui was playing the seduction chord with many smiles and winks. When the second song, Pavé au Chocolat started, people quickly got into clapping and jumping. Rui and Yuh were jumping too and the bassist was often muttering the lyrics. The audience started waving during the chorus, led by Tomo.

The band continued with the surface. Umi and Yuh swapped positions at the beginning and the members together with the fans got into some heavy synchronized head banging. Later during the song the two guitarists returned to their original positions. Yuh was doing “Peace” signs during his guitar solo and although this didn’t spread among the fans, they were obviously enjoying themselves a lot, jumping like crazy people with their hands still raised in the air. Then the band went on to play drop note., which had the fans screaming “Hey!” while raising their fits.

After the song, the band took a short break. It was time for an MC and Tomo talked about this first one-man, happening just as they came back from France where they had played at the Japan Expo. When he asked Umi if he had learned any French words, the guitarist answered “Merci” and “Pardon."

Then the live entered its softer part with BLACK-TAIL. The powerful rock ballad was accompanied by a very nice stage lighting. The quieter audience was listening more carefully, appreciating the strength of the song to the fullest. It was followed by Moon Light Snow Rabbits, another ballad with a more pop feeling to it that saw the return of clapping in the end. The band forged ahead with alo[n]e and the hands of the fans immediately started waving in the air while, at the back, Rui was seducing his fans again. As the next song legacy started, Tomo began to touch the hands of the fans in the first row. Fan girls were making hearts with their fingers every time the vocalist approached them. At the back, Tohya was smiling as if it was the happiest day of his life. And finally, as the song was about to end, Tomo climbed on the staircase and ended with a “Thank you."

Concluding the softer part of the set, the band took another short break. During the MC Tomo talked in particular about the tour goods. Then the concert resumed with the third part of the set returning to heavier things.

First with Sara, the audience started moving again, raising and waving their hands, and finally bending forward while at the back, Tohya was still obviously enjoying himself, smiling broadly. Then for EGOIST, Tomo got the tour towel and started shaking it above his head. Fans quickly began to do the same. Later on, Tomo touched his crotch just before Rui’s bass solo, thus adding considerably to the already strong sex appeal of the bass solo. Then it was Yuh’s turn to impress us with his skills as he got into his guitar solo.

Finally the band played EVE. Rui went to the top of the stairs and Tomo sat down at the bottom. Then smoke spread all over the stage until we couldn’t see anything on it and by the time we could finally see the stage again, the four standing members were all at the front where they played a little before swapping positions again. Umi headed to the top of stairs too and sat there before descending again, taking Rui’s place as the latter was standing on the far left, and they continued to change positions until the end of the song.

Then it was time for another MC. An acoustic guitar was set in front of Yuh while Tomo introduced the upcoming song, Kage oni, taken from their latest album. The song was highly appreciated by the fans who clapped frantically in the end when the vocalist said “Thank you." The band continued with Princess Dizzy. Fists immediately broke into the air. Yuh took the podium for his solo and Rui, seizing the opportunity to take his place, rushed to the right. The members switched a few more times, something they would push even further during the next song, Aya. The first rows went insane, head banging, rushing forward and bending over. On stage, the members kept trading positions, playing in every corner of the stage, at the risk of bumping into each other. When a collision did occur between Tomo and Rui, Tomo wrapped his arm around the bassist and they performed like this for a few seconds. In the audience, fans were going mad.

Finally the band got into the last song. They had chosen Dead Cherry, the song they had released for the fans at the end of last year. On stage the members kept moving around, entertaining the fans to the maximum. In the audience, the fans were raising their hands constantly, showing their appreciation. The song ended with the singer saying “Thank you, thank you! It’s so much fun! Thanks, thank you so much, it feels really good you know!” and they all left the stage except for Tohya, who took the time to throw his drum sticks at the fans.

After an hour and a half, the main set had ended and the fans immediately started screaming for an encore. Tomo was the first to come back on stage. He came back alone and started talking to the fans. Wearing the purple version of the tour T-shirt designed by Umi, he complained about the color not suiting him. The T-shirt said “Five barking animals,” a sentence that was also hand-written on Tomo’s left arm. He went on to talk once more about their experience in France and Umi came back on stage to say “Merci." He was quickly followed by Rui and Tohya who were wearing the black version of the T-shirt and holding hands on stage. Finally Yuh came back and everyone took their places. There were chairs on stage for Umi, Rui and Yuh, and Tomo sat on the stairs as the band started the encore with Re: Ashita haretara. The quiet, jazzy piece had everyone listening carefully. The fans clapped loudly when the song ended and Tomo thanked them before introducing the followin song, a new song, their latest single - OZONE -. The audience got stirred up again to the sound of this new fast piece, helped by its catchy chorus and loud guitars.

The set got heavier when the band got into the next song Gizen MASTER. Tomo started the song screaming “Let’s go!” and immediately the fans began to clap and jump. Rui was jumping too and murmuring the lyrics again, and a moment later he was playing facing Yuh. There was a great conviviality between the two of them, and they were obviously having fun. When the song ended loud screams exploded in the audience.

The band was about to play their last song but first that they had something to say. Tomo started, saying it was sad that their first one-man was coming to an end, and together with Umi they talked about their experience since their debut exactly two years ago. Then it was Tohya’s turn to share his impressions, followed by Yuh and finally Rui, who, probably too shyly, only said “thanks." The long MC had gotten quite emotional and it was now time for their last song, the appropriate July VIIth. Tomo was very moved throughout the song. Soon, fans started taking each others' hands and waving, the mood quickly spread in the audience. The result was a magical moment of connection and interaction between every vistlip fan present that day, a sight that must have looked beautiful from the stage and certainly didn’t help calm down the band members' emotions.

In the end, still shaken by emotion, Tomo said to his fans “I love you, I really do! Thank you, thank you!” It was the end of their first one-man live but the members were not ready to leave the stage yet. They lingered around for a while, hugging and consoling each other. Yuh had joined Tohya behind the drum kit and they were turning their backs to the fans, hiding their emotions from them. Tomo, who was also very shaken, moved around the stage to go hug his bandmates. When they had finally managed to regain control they all came to the center of the stage to salute their fans. Holding hands, they bent down and jumped, and then spread around to throw picks and water bottles at the fans. Once there was nothing left to throw, they all left the stage except Tomo who stayed a little longer, waving goodbye and saying “Thank you” one last time before leaving the stage for good. As a treat for the fans, the screen was let down again and showed us their newest PV for the single – OZONE –.

Thus ended vistlip’s first one-man live. The band showed us tonight that they definitely possess all that is elementary for a live: excellent skills and stamina, interaction between the fans and the band, and a good complicity between the members on stage. Add to it the fact that their music is excellent and you obtain the promise a bright future for the young band.


Set list:

– SE –

1. EDY
2. Pavé au Chocolat
3. the surface
4. drop note.
– MC –
5. BLACK - TAIL
6. Moon Light Snow Rabbits
7. alo[n]e
8. legacy
– MC –
9. Sara
10. EGOIST
11. EVE
– MC –
12. Kageoni
13. Princess Dizzy
14. Aya
15. Dead Cherry

– Encore –

16. Re: Ashita haretara
17. – Ozone –
18. Gizen MASTER
19. July VIIth