Doremidan's DON'T LET ME DOWN at Akasaka Blitz

It was the very picture of a perfect summer day on August 20th, when Doremidan’s Summer One-man Live DON'T LET ME DOWN took place at Akasaka Blitz. In harmony with its title - inspired by the Beatles song of the same name - songs of the Fab Four were playing in the background while the fans chatted or practiced their furitsuke (hand choreography) moves in order to pass the waiting time.

They didn’t have to wait for too long though. Soon, the instrumental introduction arose and the audience began to clap their hands along to the rhythm, giving the band a hearty welcome as well as setting the stage for a concert full of emotions.

A quiet melody, played on a piano, brought total silence upon the audience, and the stage was covered in darkness with only two lonely spotlights illuminating vocalist Makoto. His voice left the fans in a state of motionless awe and seemed to fill every nook and cranny of the venue more and more with every line - until the rest of the band joined in a few moments later and finally brought the crowd to action with the opening song Wakaba no Kioku. From that first moment on, the fans payed Doremidan their respect with wild dancing and loud cheers. But the action had just gotten started and with Twilight Mix Juice Boogie, the people, went even wilder, driven by the drums and guitar. The following Namidagumo brought no respite either - quite the contrary, fists were raised and loud screams could be heard everywhere, until a final shout from Makoto provided a very brief moment of silence.

However, it was merely an illusion of tranquility because mere seconds later, the crowd roared up once again and sent waves upon waves of cheers to the band to greet and celebrate the evening's heroes. Makoto returned the greetings with a happy, "Welcome, Akasaka!"

They continued where they broke off before, with cheerful and speedy compositions like Hameln that made the crowd dance and were just plain fun. When the calmer The Faust was played, the fans were left in awe for a short moment. It served as a stark contrast to Wakare uta and Maboroshi lamp, songs that took on the same momentum as the ones at the beginning. There was dancing, jumping and headbanging - and Doremidan gave everything to reach the boiling point.

But Doremidan is not all about fast and bright music. With Etsuraku shobousen, they demonstrated just how effortlessly they could switch to a totally different mood - something atmospheric, entangling, easy, and also a notch slower in tempo. Aishou kousa ten was a bit faster, but the basic mood of the song remained the same: a happy piece on the surface with a deep feeling of melancholy on the inside. An impressive silence filled the void in between this and the next song. The vocalist's announcement of True rain was a fan favorite. Makoto's vocals, performed in a way as if he was speaking more to himself than to the audience, were emotional and touching, and the guitar solo in the middle of the song had every listener enchanted.

The fantastic mood lingered with Higanbana, Doremidan's following song. It was a piece of impressive melody and rhythm which was at least equal to True rain's performance, if not even better. Applause filled the darkened hall, followed by an expectant silence where only the sound of the tuning guitars could be heard. Then the stage was lit again and Makoto turned once more to the audience. He thanked the fans for their support, chatted a bit and finally discarded his jacket - a wise decision, as the following Slow Motion, Tasogare Trapezium and Kibou toshi would have left him insanely overheated otherwise. The crowd, however, couldn’t resort to this option and were thus sweating up a storm because the three songs weren’t just fast and furious - they were hot!

The following quartet of songs - starting with Traveler - continued to bring on the heat. While playing Seishun Roll Over, Makoto brought out his towel, apparently a silent sign for the already waiting fans who in turn took out their own towels and started swinging them around to the music in a state of sheer joy. It was an amazing party, the enjoyment easily seen on the merry faces of the audience. The band was thrilled as well, playing Rensou game with extra vigour. Then Memories ～yuuen no kaze ni akogarete～ started, and it was the last song of the regular set list and the overture for the finale.

Of course, calls for an encore arose en masse and continued until the band - clad in tour shirts - entered the stage once again. While the rest of the members tended to their instruments, Makoto sat down and told the fans that the concert was on a very special date. This was followed by the announcement of Doremidan's first major album, which is due to release on November 25th, as well as a national winter tour following that release. As a teaser, the band presented the crowd the new song Time Machine off their new album; it was a fast-paced, wild song with a splendid melody and a catchy rhythm, like only Doremidan can pull off."Hello!! Brandnew Day followed, a well-known and equally catchy piece. The band and fans were both having a lot of fun, and everyone worked toward a grand finale.

But there was no end in sight!

To the delight of the audience, there was another, second encore, though it took the band awhile to assemble. Makoto was the first on the floor. He took a few pictures of the crowd and told them how "kawaii" they all were, then made an entry on his personal blog with his cell phone. The other members took their sweet time though. A few demanding calls and photos later, drummer Reika appeared on the stage and had a great time showing the fans his towel-whirling and gave a short presentation of the tour merchandise. After the somehow ceremonial but cute consecration of a daruma doll (Japanese wish doll) and a desperate search for the missing band members, the two guitarists Ryu and Ken and bassist Shinji finally appeared on the stage. A final "Thank you, Akasaka, thank you very much!" and the concert found a fitting end in the following, bright Aozora Generation. The band showed great vigour while playing the song, and the fans also gave everything they had, jumping and dancing and finally singing along as one while holding hands.

As the last notes faded away, the time had come to say goodbye. The band members turned, one after another, to the fans, giving their thanks, talking about their future plans and promising: Doremidan would be there for the following eight, nine, even ten years! "We’ll give our best. Please come with us!" After a final "thank you," the band lined up - holding hands - and encouraged the fans to do the same. With the Japanese countdown "Se-no!" everyone jumped together and the audience broke out in deafening cheers. Once more giving their thanks to the fans, the band members left the stage one by one, with Makoto the last to leave. Smiling peacefully, he stood on the big stage by himself for a long time, looking out at the audience - and finally, he took a deep bow before he left not only the stage, but also a contented audience behind.

In the end, their one-man live DON'T LET ME DOWN proved to be a shining evening for Doremidan, but it was also a concert the ones present will surely remember for years to come.


Set list:

01. Wakaba no Kioku
02. Twilight Mix Juice Boogie
03. Namidagumo

- MC -

04. Hameln
05. The Faust
06. Maboroshi lamp
07. Wakare no uta
08. Etsuraku shohousen
09. Aishou kousa ten
10. True Rain
11. Higanbana

- MC -

12. Slow Motion
13. Tasogare Trapezium
14. Kibou toshi

- MC -

15. Traveler
16. Seishun Roll Over
17. Rensou game
18. Memories ～yuuen no kaze ni akogarete～

En-1

01. Time Machine
02. Hello!! Brandnew Day

En-2

01. Aozora Generation