Dolly at Shibuya WOMB

The tiny venue Shibuya WOMB, dominated by an enormous disco ball in the ceiling, had more of a nightclub atmosphere than a typical live venue. To further accentuate the unusual feeling, the square stage had been placed in the middle of the floor. As the four band members came out on stage to an electronic, disco-like intro, they placed themselves in different directions. Drummer Tsuguki would have his back to singer Mitsu, who was facing the entrance, while bassist Hachi faced the left side of the venue and guitarist Masa the right side. All band members were dressed in black and white clothes with somewhat psychedelic polka dots and stripes, the same clothes as they wore in their latest music video. Looking around, you could see that this fashion had been picked up by the fans, since quite normal polka dot skirts and black-and-white striped tops were abnormally common in the audience.

Fitting to the costumes, the show started with the latest single, Moonlight disco, and the huge disco ball spread blue light dots all over the venue, adding to the dreamy feeling of the song. The stage was then lit up and Mitsu greeted the audience before launching into PLAY. The audience was jumping at times during the song, something that seemed slightly out of place for this slow, sensual number, but as is so often the case in visual kei, rather than spontaneous movements, synchronization with the rest of the audience is used to show appreciation.

1999-Last Judgement- started with a scream from the singer, and this slightly more attitude-filled song, where both Hachi and Masa got to sing backup vocals, turned out to be catchy to the point were one found himself or herself humming along to the refrain. The edgier sound continued into the next song, where Mitsu treated the audience to a rap which sounded surprisingly aggressive. The audience produced glowsticks in various colours for GOTHIC PARTY, and the sensual rhythm as well as the brass and accordion sounds in the background made this song stand out from the rest of the set.

A short interlude with only piano and the bubbling sound of water served to quieten down the mood for the following two slow ballads, during which black and white pictures of nature were shown on the screen at the back of the venue. Also the next two songs, although not ballads, had a distinct melancholic feel to them, continuing the dreamy mood. Tentai escape eventually broke the melancholic spell with its straightforward rock sound.

The band then in turn chatted a little with the audience, and Tsuguki turned around and expressed his joy over finally being able to see the fans standing behind him. Mitsu shared that he has started watching the long anime series "One Piece," which was taking a lot of his time, but instead of seeing it as being holed up alone at home, he saw it as going on an adventure. His confession was awarded with a loud cheer from the apparently numerous "One Piece" fans in the audience.

Suisai palette followed, an old song that appeared a little bland compared to the rest of the set. The next song, Vertigo, also did not impress too much although the speed was raised a little. The impression was however raised considerably with Music's Cube, the b-side on Dolly's latest single, where the colourful light effects and bouncy disco beat had the crowd moving. This energetic feeling lasted through the rest of the main set, which concluded with Shooting Star-, during which the audience again waved their glowsticks.

The band came out on stage again in response to the calls for an encore, and this time singer Mitsu was equipped with a guitar. He used it in the performance of the ballad downer's pool, which turned out to be a sensual tune with a nice bass line. The band members then talked a little in turn again, and Tsuguki greeted his mother, who was apparently in the audience. Hachi expressed his unhappiness over his mother not even wishing him good luck, but instead just sending him an email about the flowers in her garden. A lot of laughter followed, but in the end all band members agreed that their respective mothers were all pretty cute after all.

In response to a previous fan request, the band went on to play Yuuyami ni oboreta shiroi balloon, and during this song balloons of various colours were let out over the audience. The crowd clearly enjoyed the stunt, and as the old Miffy number started, everybody answered the singer's screams in unison. As the song neared its end, Mitsu shouted "thank you" and ran off stage, while the rest of the band finished off the song and greeted the fans on all sides of the stage before leaving. The band was yet again called out for an encore, and as a reward for their patient waiting, the audience was treated to one last song, Hanauta. The remaining impression of this concert was that the new songs had a higher quality and a more distinct sound than the older ones, clearly showing that Dolly is a band in development, with great potential to become one of the more unique and memorable bands in the visual kei scene.



Set List:

01. Moonlight disco
02. PLAY
03. 1999-Last Judgement-
04. $ Game
05. GOTHIC PARTY
06. Angelfish no namida
07. Albino
08. capsule world
09. Shiny merry
10. Tentai escape
11. Suisai palette
12. Vertigo
13. Music's Cube
14. Alice in Dizzypit
15. Orange
16. Shooting Star

Encore 1:
17. downer's pool
18. Yuuyami ni oboreta shiroi balloon
19. Miffy number

Encore 2:
20. Hanauta