heidi. 5th Anniversary Tour – Premium Showtime [-Birth-day-]

The venue was decked out in heidi paraphernalia, including a huge blow-up version of their punk goat mascot, heizo, set at the top of the stairs to greet the fans. Meanwhile, inside the hall, the stage sported heidi.’s fifth anniversary diamond logo set against a backdrop of red curtains. The seats were filled with a wide variety of people from younger fans to wizened women, not to mention a good percentage of young men. In addition to the fans, the variety of heidi. shirts alone was astounding and beside the rock-attired fans stood lolitas in their pretty dresses and puffy bows.

The band made their entrance as the fans clapped in time to the catchy guitar music, vocalist Yoshihiko last to take the stage. The set kicked off immediately with the band’s very first single number, Yuuyake to kodomo. In fact, the first section of the concert was composed purely of heidi.’s singles in chronological order. Yoshihiko and bassist Kosuke kept up a flurry of motion along with the crowd who moshed on the spot, drummer Kiri singing along cheerfully as his head bopped along to the music. In solemn contrast, Nao maintained a stoic image, transferring all of his energy into a wicked guitar riff. Clover kept up the excitement, lips moving throughout the crowd as fans passionately sang along. However, it was Synchro that seemed to release the pent-up excitement at last, a sea of bodies bouncing cheerfully and waving as they jumped. As all fingers converged to point at Yoshihiko, his wiggling, dancing hips gave away his enjoyment of the moment.

“Welcome to our anniversary live!” Yoshihiko cried sincerely. “Oh dear… I messed up from the beginning!” he lamented with a laugh referring to the opening verse of Yuuyake to kodomo which began without vocals as he continued to rile the fans. Fortunately, there was plenty of forgiveness in the crowd’s laughter. “Thank you all. This live is for you. Let’s have a blast!”

With Nao’s change of guitars from classic brown to dark red, the partner of the previous song, Hyururi, followed along splendidly. Grins grew exponentially wider from one song to the next. The ambient beam of sound opening Rem incited a wave of whispers before Yoshihiko’s voice rang out throughout the large hall. Then it was all hands on as hundreds of bodies dived over chairs or into the isles in homage to the intense riff. The more melodious chorus inspired a gentle rise of hands, palms up all across the rows. Letting rip with a guitar solo, Nao’s hair jiggled about his face as he dug into the sound-waves. The relaxed contrast of Orange Drama still embodied the lively spirit of the band with short riffs that kept the crowd’s bodies grooving. Even Kiri jumped up behind his kit, mobile yet never missing a beat. Lit in a bright spot, Yoshihiko sang his solo with impressive control to his strong voice.

“Are you ready for more? Here we go!” The fun tones of Tsubasa kept the vocalist moving across the stage, half-masked by a flurry of fists as the crowd shouted “Oi! Oi! Oi!” Yet again, Nao ripped out a kick-ass guitar solo that left the fans breathless but determined that their voices reach the far-away stage. “Sankyuu, arigatou! Are you having fun?” Yoshihiko asked. “Today is our anniversary!” His excitement was answered by a cry of “Congratulations!” from the crowd. “You’re all way too nice!” he laughed.

The next two songs were the singles associated with the anime “Kaichou ha Maid-sama!,” Yokan and Loop. Cool, fun and catchy, both numbers kept the crowd yelling, jumping, clapping, dancing and singing with full enthusiasm, a scene that reached the limit with the final single, Gekkou Showtime. The funky tune had fans grooving from start to finish as the vocalist, too, moved with the music, his voice always soaring deliciously over the top, only outdone by the powerful drums towards the end of the number. Without a word, the band left, the first ten songs completing the opening portion of the set.

The crowd was not made to wait for long, though, and well rewarded by the video reel spiraling backwards through secret footage of the band. One memorable moment was the side-stage footage of b>hide Memorial Summit, Kosuke’s eyes boggling as he stated the obvious, “This is bigger than Takadanobaba AREA!” Yoshihiko’s sneaky peace at the camera whilst taking a drink at the back of the stage will surely become a popular anecdote, judging by the fans’ laughter. Another hit was the attempt at getting Yoshihiko to ride a roller coaster, which resulted in him kindly buying those who rode it drinks to calm their nerves. What he did attempt, however, was a slight alteration on the straight drop type of ride… One that bounced joltingly a mere five feet from the ground. The band’s terrified expressions gave nothing away, however, until the camera panned out to reveal the joke, Yoshihiko looking thoroughly pleased with himself for the deception. Some very early footage of Kosuke carrying Kiri on his shoulders in order to retrieve a lost frisbee received the final cackle before pictures of the band throughout the years scrolled by in a slideshow.

The second section kicked off on a nostalgic note with the bouncy guitar line and swinging cymbals of Hakuchuumu. In fact, even the band’s fresh costumes turned back the clock to darker, angura days. Then came a surprise. Kyouku ni sou sou, heavy at times and constantly in transition, kept the crowd on their toes, eyes on the animated vocalist and his invested interpretation of the music. Machikado Boujou followed, Yoshihiko announcing that it was their first ever recorded number. Groovy and sweet with lyrics written in the female point of view, the crowd could hardly keep hips and torsos still. Meanwhile, Kosuke seemed especially emotional, and when the song came to an end, Yoshihiko issued a big “Thank you!”

Not a voice dared intrude on the atmosphere until Yoshihiko joked, “You’re all very quiet!” In reply, the fans shouted his name with a note of apology. “Ok, that’s enough! You really are kind. Since today is a special day it’s going to be a long live. You can sit if want to. Did you see the video? I heard you all laughed every time you saw me on screen! There’s nothing to laugh about, you know!” That statement was belied by more laughter. “What exactly were you laughing at, anyway?”

A few peace signs were aimed at the stage, but Kosuke had his own interpretation. “It was that picture of you at the end. See, with me, it was ‘Oh, he’s changed.’ With Kiri it was ‘Awww, cute!’ With Nao it was ‘He was so young! Nao-sama’s gotten old!’ but with you, it was just outright laughter.” Continuing to comment on the reel, Yoshihiko made the statement of the evening. “Well, thankfully, after five years, heidi. can now afford to buy a frisbee a least,” he said, revisiting the memory of bassist and drummer piggy-backing after their lost frisbee.

Speaking of memories, Yoshihiko then introduced another piece rife with nostalgia, the SHOCK WAVE compilation album’s Hakana Hana. “Hey, can you tell me the name of that flower blooming over there? It probably wouldn’t match me, but what’s the name of that fiery red flower?” Romantic, sweet, yet with an undeniable funk, the rare number with its sweet bass line, impressive guitar solo, interesting rhythmic touch and powerful vocal performance was well received. Equally rare, Tsubureta Kaijutsu from CANNON BALL VOL.3 followed along with a sexy air that soon turned plaintive through a change in time signature that was very well executed.

Next came a volley of beautiful ballads each with its own merit, though the highlight was the rising chorus melody with crashing drums of Sora no tenjouga. Under the dim lights of a mirror ball, Nao strummed lightly on an acoustic guitar before switching to electric and back several times. Meanwhile, he joined Yoshihiko on harmony, the two reaching a nice balance with drums rap-tap-tapping in subtle concert.

“This is the first time we’ve sung so many of these songs at once!” Yoshihiko exclaimed. However, the atmosphere soon deteriorated, turning shy and awkward. “It’s okay,” Yoshihiko explained. “You see, heidi. are about music, not emcees,” he rationalized, inspiring laughter in agreement. “You really are nice,” he praised in response to the crowd’s forgiving laughter.

Kosuke all but rolled his eyes. “Of course they are! They came all this way just to see us!’ Meanwhile, the fans, nice as they were, yelled encouragement to the struggling vocalist. “Did you know this is the first time a rock band has played in this hall?” Kosuke announced.

“That’s right. heidi. is a rock band,” Yoshihiko asserted. “Now, it’s almost summer… When we think of summer… Our summer isn’t over yet!” As the vocalist yelled enthusiastically out of habit, the rest of the band just stared at him in confusion along with the audience. “Uh, let’s start that over again… It’s almost summer… Our summer starts now!” he cried, the not-so-subtle introduction to Natsu Ichizu taking off at last. Quite frankly, the opening guitar melody simply made the whole song.

Following along from Natsu Ichizu with a run of heidi. hits, Utakata rocked the house, Nao and Kosuke absolutely ripping the familiar tune as Yoshihiko spiked in energy. Sentimental and Omaesan sent the crowd careening into each other and out into the isles in some cases as they jumped around in circles. The crowd sung splendidly when required to in both songs and then, pausing before the last words, Yoshihiko sported a cheeky grin. “Soon, I won’t be doing this ‘Yoshihiko corner’ anymore, so just this once, I want to pour five years of history into this last word.” He sang the lyric “Omaesan,” his voice ringing clearly throughout the hall and then shifting into a growl that truly did seem to hold five years of hard work and dedication. The highlight for the song though was the moment the vocalist looked at the crowd with a sweet grin and sang “Ore ga sukina na no wa OMAE~SAN!” (“You are the one I love!”).

Giving the crowd a chance to breathe, the band then instantly shifted the mood of over 600 people with the ballad, Mirai no hate. Deep, tinny drums, strongly melodic guitar, steady bass, and a simple but lovely vocal line, the crowd stood and listened transfixed for all six minutes and hardly noticed the return of their breath and energy in time to yell for an encore.

The band re-appeared before long, having changed into tour shirts. “I’m having a great time, how about you?” called Yoshihiko. “Today, we played all our singles for the first part, and then a lot of older songs mixed in with our newer hits. Now, we want to play a brand new song for you!” Positive and upbeat with a romantic lyrics and a melody reminiscent of the older generation of Japanese pop, the number had fans nodding along in no time. Then the vibrant Parade had the whole crowd jumping and clapping “as one” in willing obedience to Yoshihiko’s wishes. “Let’s all become one!” Hands sliding down in a groovy little wave during the darker parts of the song, the crowd then sang out a chorus of “Woah”s in collaboration with the main melody sung by the vocalist.

Then came the clincher. With a passionate scream of “MARIA!” from Yoshihiko, the crowd lost all sense of themselves, either headbanging furiously or moshing up a storm to the wicked riff of guitar and bass, flying hands tangling in flying hair. On the words “Haru ni saki!” (flowering in Spring) every pair of arms in the hall spread wide in a parody of blooming flowers, a heartfelt offering to the band. Then, after that special treat of the coupling song from their first single Yuuyake to kodomo to Maria, which was the show’s opening number, the band returned for a second encore with the powerful ballad Yasashii Uta. “This is the last song. We want to send it out to all of you who came to celebrate with us tonight.” Throughout the hall, fans sang along quietly so as to remain involved yet not disturb the poignant balance of sound. Despite having just poured his soul into twenty-nine songs, Yoshihiko persevered brilliantly. No matter how tired his voice sounded, he held nothing back. Singing out the gorgeous melody and his own intense solo, the vocalist consolidated his dedication to the band and to the fans with Nao keeping up the sweet harmony like a trooper.

From their very beginnings to their present and back again in a wonderful collage of all five years, heidi skillfully presented their past and future. Holding onto their roots while forging new paths ahead, the band maintain a unique perspective well shared with both fans of old and newcomers to the heidi. world view.


Set List:

Section 1
01. Yuuyake to Kodomo
02. Clover
03. Synchro
04. Hyururi
05. Rem
06. Orange Drama
07. Tsubasa
08. Yokan
09. Loop
10. Gekkou Showtime

Video reel

Section 2
11. Hakuchuumu
12. Kokuu ni sou sou
13. Machikado boujou
14. Hakana hana
15. Tsubureta kaijitsu
16. Sora no tenjouga
17. Charles
18. Asu he
19. Anyui
20. Last Piece
21. Natsu Ichizu
22. Utakata
23. Heaven
24. Sentimental
25. Omaesan
26. Mirai no hate
27. (New Song)
28. Parade
29. Maria
30. Yasashi Uta