Twilight Girl Meets SHIBUYA-AX Megamasso 2010 Summer Tour Final

A lively crowd of loyal fans filled up the floor of SHIBUYA-AX on September 5, braving the heat one last time to celebrate Megamasso’s summer tour final. Shout outs to various band members commenced immediately when the lights went out, hundreds of hands clapping in unison to the beat of the entrance music. A singular cry rose from every throat as each member entered one by one, decked out in tasteful black with a hint of sparkles.

With a cool appeal from Inzargi to get the crowd moving, Junsui baiyou kicked off the set. The heavily bright tune soon had the entire crowd bouncing about with hands in the air. Inzargi’s impressive display of vibrato, so rare in the rock/pop scene, preceded a key change that brightened the whole venue both literally and figuratively. Toppling his microphone stand, the vocalist then dove right into Throne Angel. “Three, two, one, jump!” he cried, the stage alight in a deep red wash. There was an instant crush as fans began moshing with feeling. Hundreds of hands synchronized through the smooth chorus, flashing towards the stage as one. “Rock it!” Inzargi pressed. “More!” Ame gakki tai was lead in by Inzargi and Ryouhei clapping together, the crowd following along. Posing back to back as the crowd waved, they were then joined by Gou in side-stepping whilst the fans’ hands flicked in time to the music. A brief alteration of the chorus featured guitar responses courtesy of Ryouhei to Inzargi’s vocal melody, the duo smoothly rebounding off of one another.

“Shall we go nuts?! Everyone, go for it!” ordered Inzargi. Whilst keeping to the same musical effect of the previous songs, the following number allowed the fans to reveal another side of Megamasso. Happy Mosh Floor, Headbanging Song proved to be adeptly named as the crowd dutifully tossed their heads amidst strobe lighting to a tune without the slightest hint of malice. The chorus then had them moshing happily in accordance with the title. The members were not exempt from complying. Ryouhei bounced halfway across the stage, headbanging throughout the instrumental. Meanwhile, Gou encouraged the crowd in rocking back and forth, leading by example. Inzargi then did his part by leading the final mosh and bout of headbanging without restraint, thoroughly owning the stage. Expressing his wish for everyone to enjoy themselves, he requested that the crowd listen as one to white,white. The cheerful song held a laid-back feel that had Ryouhei singing along to himself, his expressions thoroughly invested in the music. The instrumentalists pulled back, allowing Inzargi’s voice to shine before the unit finished up together, the number coming to an abrupt end.

Amidst the blackout fell the sound of rain, a deep bass introduction followed by a brassy theme evolving into a typical, cymbal driven jazz beat in Yon no kissakan monogatari. Waking from a trance induced by the relaxing rhythm, the crowd raised their arms in a wave for the chorus which Inzargi encouraged throughout the instrumental. The number came to an end with the same rain-like sound, lulling the crowd into a premature relaxation. The soft entry of MEMORIES picked up fast into an upbeat number as Ryouhei rocked out, guitar heavy despite the calm melody. The song ended in a blackout, a rare silence crushed by one monumental cry of “Inzargi!” from amongst the midst of the crowd.

“You who are gathered here, please save me,” Inzargi murmured, introducing the ballad, Tasukete. Ryouhei, now seated behind a beautiful black grand-style piano buried himself in the piece. Meanwhile, backed only by the light, pretty sound, Inzargi’s voice soared appropriately, his vibrato resonating throughout the venue. Following on, Megumu misadame kitazora ni naku no re-introduced drums as well as a recorded backing to compliment Ryouhei’s piano. The interesting melody was enriched by Inzargi’s occasional flawless transition into falsetto, a fitting close to the acoustic section of the evening.

Slowly raising and lowering their hands, Inzargi and Gou set the scene for Hoshi furi machi nite. Back on guitar, Ryouhei cut into the shiny, 80’s feel with an awesome riff. Gou contrasted his fellow instrumentalist with a cool attitude to match his smooth bass sound. The catchy chorus had people dancing happily, further spurred on by the return of that brief, catchy guitar line. After recruiting the crowd to sing, Inzargi’s expression of gratitude was greeted by enthusiastic applause from the audience.

Launching into an MC, the vocalist announced that it was so hot they had rehearsed in the nude, to which Ryouhei responded that it wasn’t complete nudity, but ‘rockstar-like nudity.’ “In other words, what Inzargi calls nudity is actually a tank top.” Next, the face on Ryouhei’s shirt addressed the crowd, the guitarist securing his self-proclaimed wish never to be considered ‘cool’. After first shying away from the microphone, Gou then fired up the crowd by complaining about their feeble yells. Eventually, he took the liberty of introducing the next song. “Please listen. MOON.”

Manipulating the microphone stand as if it were an extension of his body, Inzargi sang out the positive melody. Twilight Star was another melodic, positive piece, one that saw Ryouhei go for a wander during the chorus before digging into the heavy instrumental along with Gou, the two of them jumping in time to a cymbal crash. At the peak of the song, Inzargi dramatically raised a hand high, leading into the final chorus and finishing the piece off with his falsetto. “Feel free to rock,” he announced then in introduction to Byakuya no shouyakusei. Voices raised and fists pumping, the crowd gladly lived up to his expectations. The three members jumped up on pre-set boxes, bouncing along before they visited unfamiliar territory across the stage, greeting fans throughout the crowd. Next up, chimes instantly spurred hundreds of hands into motion and Inzargi jumped enthusiastically along with the crowd. The music fit the title very well as chiming notes rang through the verses. Meanwhile, the chorus was underlain with unexpectedly heavy guitar. Then, with Inzargi’s final pose, a fist raised high, the song came to an end.

After an emotional MC concerning Megamasso’s beginnings and current path, Inzargi announced that his greatest pleasure was to hear the fans' voices. Not one to disappoint, the crowd gave it to him loud and clear, all the preparation they needed for the next heavy number, Kakeai sakasamanji. Gou, lit with a red spotlight, applied his voice to the song in a deep growl, aided by the crowd who raised their own voices in cohesion with their fists. Meanwhile, Inzargi outdid himself in dancing and Ryouhei joined the vocalist in singing, the two sharing a microphone. Another heavy piece, complete with headbanging, Torisarideishi’s Love featured an introduction full of fascinating guitar runs. Even Ryouhei was taken in by the dark side of the piece, bent over his guitar, hair tossing from side to side as he headbanged along with the crowd. However, his detested ‘cool’ image was destroyed by an ear-splitting grin.

Reduced to a silhouette, Inzargi led the crowd, hands raised high and wrists colliding through the introduction to the deep-voiced Dream to Secret Room. There was a mysterious air to the number, Gou’s blonde patch standing out, bouncing about amidst green, misty lighting. Practically going solo, Inzargi skilfully traversed the key change. Then, mirroring the introduction, the song finished with the vocalist silhouetted once more, fist in the air. The fun dance to Gyuunyuu (mjolk) was also led by Inzargi. The section prior to the fast paced chorus was quite dramatic, a darker sound contrasting with the majority of the upbeat piece. Spreading his arms wide to finish it off, Inzargi cried, “Last one! Let’s go!” Instantly bright, World Is Mine sent the audience into a frenzy. Hands in constant motion, some fans jumped about in circles, faces decorated with massive grins. Inzargi’s cry of “Guitar!” prompted a wailing solo, following which, Ryouhei and Gou took over centre stage whilst the vocalist fell back to his box. The guitarist simply looking cheerful, both vocalist and bassist rocked heavily to the music, tossing their bodies back and forth to mirror the fans. In pure diva style, Inzargi capped the piece off with a wailing vocal improv that remained in the mind long after he left the stage.

Responding to the crowd’s demand for an encore, the three returned before long, each sporting a different coloured version of the tour shirt. “What’s so good about lives?” Inzargi asked in all seriousness. “No, no, no. It’s strange to answer ‘Inzargi.’” Responding to suggestions, he repeated them back to the crowd. “Live performance… Live voice… No, not Inzargi!” He then continued on to tease Ryouhei, claiming that the crowd calling him cute was nothing special as they would call anything cute, including the green rubber coaster he plucked from atop a speaker. True to form, the fans squealed over the cuteness of the ever so mundane object. Ryouhei took his time explaining the various scrunchies being sold on the tour. Then, it was Gou’s turn. “I went to fireworks in Kanazawa with Ryouhei,” he said. “I was there, too!” Inzargi insisted. “I drank beer with Ryouhei,” Gou continued. “I did, too!” Inzargi appealed desperately. Ryouhei responded with “It’s more fun without you so we pretended you weren’t there.”

Following Gou’s deep, emotional explanation of why he loved fireworks, Ryouhei began a guitar improvisation. Going with the flow, the lighting crew dimmed the illumination and threw a spotlight on Inzargi who threw off confusion and seemed to react out of instinct, improvising spoken lines based on Gou’s poetic appreciation of fireworks. The crowd laughed even harder as Inzargi suddenly cut it out and started scolding Ryouhei and his accomplices in the lighting booth for going off tangent when there were announcements to be made.

When all was said and done, the encore began for real with the sweetly named Hanabira. For such a pretty title, the piece had an unexpectedly stable sound despite the liberal use of falsetto. “Everyone raise your hands,” Inzargi requested. Maegami, deforumesareta kayoukyoku wo tsukuru was among the rare assortment of heavier pieces, with dark interludes and a swift pace. Up on his box, Gou stamped his foot to the beat before jumping down and diving across the stage, passing Ryouhei on the way. The already excited crowd was fired up further by Inzargi as Imomushi no nushi began, a fast, jumping number with an interesting melody. The vocalist strutted his stuff, holding out a note at full vocal strength for an impressive length of time. Driven on by his falsetto, the crowd was a sea of flying heads and hands until the very end. Then, without a word, the band took their leave once more.

A short interlude saw Megamasso back onstage and down to business. “Let’s enjoy the remaining songs,” said Inzargi. Balloons fell from above, the crowd tossing them about playfully or waving them in time to LIPS. The whole number was simply a bundle of fun, both members and fans completely relaxed. Awed and delighted, the crowd gasped their appreciation as Inzargi introduced the final song, “Please sing along. Namida neko.” He then cued the crowd as to when their shouting voices were needed, the fans coming through splendidly. Throwing his arm about Ryouhei’s shoulder during his solo, Inzargi then beseeched the crowd to sing. He even played up to the song title with cat-like actions echoed by the crowd. “Woah! Yeah!” came the final, emotional wail.

Reluctant to leave for good, the band took their time in saying goodbye, but the evening eventually had to come to an end. Thus, faced with an empty stage, satisfied fans slowly filed out of the hall, discussing the concert and the coming tour in excited murmurs. Summer might have ended for Megamasso fans, but that only meant that another fun season was looming around the corner.

Set List

01. Junsui baiyou
02. Throne Angel
03. Ame gakki tai
04. Happy Mosh Floor, Headbanging Song
05. white,white
06. Yon no kissakan monogatari
07. MEMORIES
08. Tasukete
09. Megumu misadame kitazora ni naku no
10. Hoshi furi machi nite
11. MOON
12. Twilight Star
13. Byakuya no shouyakusei
14. chimes
15. Kakeai sakasamanji
16. Torisarideishi’s Love
17. Dream to Secret Room
18. Gyuunyuu (mjolk)
19. World Is Mine

Encore
01. Hanabira
02. Maegami, deforumesareta kayoukyoku wo tsukuru
03. Imomushi no nushi

Encore II
01. LIPS
02. Namida neko