little HEARTS. Third Anniversary Event at Shinkiba STUDIO COAST

Explosive would be the best word to describe the event held by Sendai based music store little HEARTS. for their third anniversary on 6th November. An unusual yet bombastic line up brought a diverse crowd to Shinkiba’s STUDIO COAST for over five hours of visual kei for all tastes and styles!

Sadie

Sadie kicked off the show with a superb performance that set the mood for the whole live. At 4pm sharp the band made their entrance to flashing lights and the crowd’s roaring claps. There was no time for warm ups with the band diving into a heavy repertoire that set the hall aflame. Rosario, and its thunderous drums, marked the tempo for the thrashing heads while vocalist Mao, face wrapped in a torn black cloth, made quite an impact growling ferociously as he stressed the lyrics with every move! The old favorite Meisai followed, leaving no time for the crowd to breathe. The song made for a stunning visual presentation as fists were pumped in the air in unison, the fans helping with the chorus. Guitarist Mizuki was unstoppable, moving restlessly throughout the whole show while guitarist Tsurugi and bassist Aki took a little longer to loosen up.

“Are you ready for more?” Mao asked with a cry firing up the mood for Shingan. The vocalist’s energy was contagious and reflected itself in the crowd’s response. Pumping fists to shouts of “Oi!” the hall moved like a giant wave under a storm. Drummer Kei stood out, arms flying up and down as he pounded the drums with vigor. With an ecstatic crowd in hand Sadie gave all they had, the four men in the front moving around and demanding more from the audience. “Give us more! The show has just started!” the vocalist shouted out before guitarists and bassist joined him in the front for a powerful finale with Cry more.

Set List:
01. Rosario
02. Meisai
03. Shingan
04. Cry more

vistlip

vistlip lightened up the mood with their cheerful choreographies and catchy tunes. To flashing colorful lights, vocalist Tomo, guitarists Yuh and Umi, bassist Rui and drummer Tohya made their entrance, being received, literally, with open arms. Despite lacking the fierceness of the previous performance, the band kept a good grip on the crowd and showed incessant energy. the wonderland from LAB. and EVE got the venue jumping and moving with the furitsuke, the front men zealously moving to the beat.

After thanking and congratulating the hosts of the show Tomo explained, “We will need a towel for the next song!” “Or you can use a handkerchief!” the guitarist added with a teasing smile. Towels raised high, the crowd reassumed the jumping, this time accompanied by the band for FIVE BARKIN ANIMALS. The atmosphere was vibrant with the spinning towels contributing for an interesting visual performance. The last two songs were a rollercoaster of heavy beats and pop. The guitars and drums stood out during SINDRA with the three men doing a good job both execution and performance wise, the catchy riffs and stamina reflecting in the crowd’s response. With -OZONE- vistlip closed their set, biding farewell to the cheering crowd.

Set List:
01. the wonderland from LAB.
02. EVE
03. FIVE BARKIN ANIMALS
04. SINDRA
05. -OZONE-

D

A mass of black clad gothic lolitas moved forward to welcome D. Refreshingly outrageous, D transported fans to their fantasy world with their China-inspired gothic outfits and impetuous performance – all to impetuous guitars, torrid bass lines and vigorous drums! Holding the infamous D-flags, vocalist ASAGI introduced Night-ship “D”, the crowd promptly mimicking him to follow the furitsuke. A sea of black and red flags moved right and left while bassist Tsunehito and guitarist Ruiza made quite an impression with their brilliant execution and unfaltering energy, twirling and trashing heads to the beat.

With ASAGI adopting a dramatic pose for his a capella intro, the band dove into the long-titled-and-unpronounceable-classic — Yamiyori kurai dokoku no a capella to barayori akai jonetsu no aria. Drummer HIROKI set the tempo for the black wave in front of him which rose and slowed down like the song itself. Taking the lead, Ruiza graced the hall with an ardent solo, ASAGI’s voice echoing throughout the venue to silence as the song reached an end.

Congratulating the event’s hosts on their anniversary, the band went back to business this time with a two-song medley — 7th Rose and Yami no kuni no alice. ASAGI seemed to command the crowd with his every movement, lost in character while displaying impeccable vocal control. As if walking on cinders Tsunehito jumped incessantly, fingers flying over the strings while the smooth bass lines roared throughout the venue. The title track for the band’s upcoming mini album Huand di ~Yami ni umareta mukui~ was chosen for last. Guitarist HIDE-ZOU gave it all as he moved to the song before gracing the crowd with a passionate solo. The heavy beat and strong instrumental composition was intoxicating and warmly welcomed by the crowd who head banged and moved to shouts of “Oi!”

Set List:
01. Night-ship “D”
02. Yamiyori kurai dokoku no a capella to barayori akai jonetsu no aria
03. 7th Rose ~Yami no kuni no alice medley
04. Huand di ~Yami ni umareta mukui~

THE KIDDIE

With four bands to go, it was THE KIDDIE’s turn to take the stage. Colorful lights flashing to an electro-beat welcomed the band, while among the crowd colorful light pens popped up in anticipation. The audience clapped excitedly as, one by one, the band members made their entrance. Vocalist Yusa was the last to appear and wasting no time he let out an earsplitting yell of “Let’s go!” Asking the audience to jump, the band dove into Utsukushiki REDRUM, with its amusing furitsuke and impressive drumming by Yudai.

“Are you ready for some fun?” the vocalist asked the crowd, repeating the question a second time, not happy with the response! After talking about the upcoming tour the band asked the fans to bring out the colorful light pens. “If you don’t have one just use your underpants!” he added teasingly. To a laughing crowd the band presented elite STAR+. Visually the song worked out very well, the lights and moving arms creating a unique atmosphere. Guitarists Yusei and Jun were worth mentioning as they did a good job taking full advantage of the stage, interacting with the audience.

Chaos was brought by Awa to cider, with the crowd moshing euphorically and clapping in time with the vocalist. Like a wave, bodies moved back and forth, arms pumping in the air to shouts of “Oi!” Bassist Sorao displayed his skills, taking the center of the stage for a cool solo. The crowd took over So high, singing the chorus as they moved their arms up slowly to emphasize the words “So high!” And with smile. the band bade their farewells, the guitarists and drummer heating up the crowd who moved energetically to the cute choreographies. With claps and bows the five men left the stage, THE KIDDIE’s fans moving to give way to AYABIE supporters.

Set List:
01. Utsukushiki REDRUM
02. elite STAR+
03. Awa to cider
04. So high
05. smile.

AYABIE

Yumehito, Takehito, Intetsu and Kenzo completely won STUDIO COAST over, with even the metal fans giving in to AYABIE’s good mood and joyful performance. A voice off introduced some of the members, causing the fans to giggle as they referred to Kenzo as the band’s "ikemen" and described Intetsu as a tea-loving true-soushoku ("Soushoku" means "grass eater," in reference to shy boys who approach love life in a passive, non-aggressive way). The fans followed the cute furitsuke for SMOKE SMILE KEEPER, the "princesses" — a term used by the band to address their female fans — trashing heads violently between claps and waves.

“Are you having fun?” Yumehito asked the crowd before starting a human wave. “When you see the old guy with the pink shirt approaching, lift your arms up and jump!” he said with a smile on his face, obviously referring to his outrageously bright pink shirt. Intetsu helped out, jumping every time the vocalist came near him, to the fans' delight. With plenty of fan-service in the middle the band presented Shinkirou and Merry-go-round. Kenzo and Takehito shone with a strong execution while the bassist and vocalist worked the crowd. In a typical visual kei moment the band made the crowd move around for some funny mosh, the three front men mimicking the fans as they crashed into each other! A cool guitar intro welcomed Ryusei, Intetsu and Kenzo’s energy contagious. The interaction between band and crowd continued at its best for the last song – STAR PLAYER. The crowd swayed to the potent drums, trashing heads with the drummer, before strong yellow lights gave way to the morning sun. With bows and claps AYABIE made their exit, allowing the audience to restore energy before the following act.

Set List:
01. SMOKE SMILE KEEPER
02. Shinkirou
03. Merry-go-round
04. Ryusei
05. STAR PLAYER

LM.C

A strident yell roared throughout the venue as the curtains moved once more to reveal LM.C already on stage. With a heated solo guitarist Aiji had the honor of opening the set with METALLY. Pumping fists accompanied the powerful start that never faltered. The guitarist kept it cool during GHOST + HEART, focusing on playing, both him and vocalist maya showing great confidence on stage while the energetic support members incited the audience to move. "Are you having fun?" the vocalist asked during the short MC, adding with a smile, "Let`s get a bit more rock`n`roll and more visual kei!" The crowd yelled excitedly while he went on confessing, "I went to see the GazettE the other day and was very surprised, you know why? Because of the bangya ("bangya" refers to visual kei fan girls) power! Let`s head bang!" A human wave moved back and forth under pink lights and a heavy beat to shouts of “Oi!” that continued through CHEMICAL KING-TWOON and OH MY JULIET..

After all the dancing that took place during SUPER DUPER GALAXY the band decided to let the audience rest a few minutes with a short MC. “Check out our blog!” maya said before casually adding, “If it’s not good you don’t need to check it again!” He also asked the fans to hi-five whoever stood next to them since they were all visual kei fans. And with the audience in a great mood the band moved on to Hoshi no aria. With an interesting hip-hop beat the song continued with heated guitar solos and lots of energy. Two face-covered figures invaded the stage carrying LM.C flags for the grand finale. LET ME' CRAZY!! set the hall on fire, the audience responding to the song with euphoric jumping and clapping.

Set List:
01. METALLY
02. GHOST†HEART
03. CHEMICAL KING-TWOON
04. OH MY JULIET.
05. SUPER DUPER GALAXY
06. Hoshi no aria
07. LET ME' CRAZY!!

NIGHTMARE

NIGHTMARE closed the line up, and the show, with a vigorous performance that kept the hall moving. Wasting no time the band took off with Pandora, guitarists Sakito and Hitsugi delivering some fierce lines that mingled well with Yomi’s voice. swallowtail, despite not being the band's most memorable song, was nicely performed, Sakito moving around constantly and contributing with an interesting solo. Ni~ya opened Mr.trash music with his own bass solo, the crowd thrashing heads and moving hands to the beat. For their MC NIGHTMARE congratulated the show’s hosts and expressed their regards to all the bands playing. After a brief talk about the upcoming album, the band performed the new song RAY OF LIGHT. The fierce ballad was warmly welcomed by the crowd and coupled with strong guitar and bass work, Yomi’s voice stood out pleasantly. Guitarist Hitsugi’s energy was contagious during D senjou no tragedy and Gianism, the crowd moving to the music and following the furitsuke with zeal.

With a loud “Give me all you have!” the band moved on to some heavy songs, drummer Ruka keeping it cool as he marked the beat with vigor for Zero-beyond the G.- and Kyokukou ranshin tengoku. With the vocalist dancing and the other members mimicking the crowd as they thrashed heads, the hall went silent, only to be filled again by hundreds of mainly female voices as the fans sang the chorus in unison. It was a visually stunning scene! With the audience showing no signs of being tired the band announced the last song. VERMILION. got the crowd moving frenetically like a racing heart, the guitarist’s and bassist doing a great job execution wise, as they moved around demanding for more.

But the fans weren’t ready to leave – and amazingly didn’t seem tired – and demanded an encore. Against all expectations the band returned, bringing with them a hilarious surprise! Halfway through Gianism, as the whole hall head banged wildly, over twenty of the night’s guests rushed in, thrashing heads violently in a big circle under the amused stares of the crowd. And with the hall on fire, all hands up for the finale, the band bade their farewells amongst claps and waves.

It was indeed a memorable live and we look forward to little HEARTS. future events with the certainty that they will be unforgettable.

Set List:
01. Pandora
02. swallowtail
03. Mr.trash music
04. RAY OF LIGHT
05. D senjou no tragedy
06. Gianism
07. Zero -beyond the G.-
08. Kyokukou ranshin tengoku
09. VERMILION.
EN. Gianism