On the eve of the Tanabata festival, bands and fans gathered at Shinjuku Blaze to celebrate the birthday of WING WORKS' RYO:SUKE. The lineup for the night included (in order) Gigamous, Dezert, LIPHLICH, Megamasso, Blu-Billion and WING WORKS.
Anyone familiar with WING WORKS music and PV's would know that even within the Visual Kei scene, WING WORKS has a very unique aesthetic. Dubbed by RYO:SUKE as "THE HYBRID SHOCK MUSIC," it combines rock, metal and EDM inspired beats along with controversial imagery. Flanked by his support band (WING-MEN) which consists of experienced musicians in the Visual Kei scene, it's needless to say that expectations were high for the upcoming show.
Upon entering the venue, I was given a glow-stick and was told that it was for RYO:SUKE's birthday surprise. There were fans everywhere buying merchandise for the various bands and chatting excitedly as the venue filled up. Throughout the show, all of the bands that performed wished RYO:SUKE a happy birthday and thanked him for allowing them to be part of his celebration.
When it was finally time for WING WORKS to perform, the WING-MEN came out first, each member wearing Guy Fawkes masks, taking their positions on the stage under the flashing lights that only added to the already creepy and chilling atmosphere. RYO:SUKE later emerged, also wearing a mask; however, this one only covered half of his face, resembling that of The Phantom of the Opera.The band launched into the first song "ILLUMINA✡LUMINALION". The song's heavy guitar guitar riffs caused the venue to immediately explode with energy. All throughout the crowd, fists were pumping excitedly while the lights from their glowing rings brightened the club. The band took off their masks and immediately transitioned into the second song VAD†MAN without faltering in their energy and the crowd kept up without missing a beat.
When the song was over, and the music faded out, the crowd immediately started cheering and screaming encouragement for RYO:SUKE and the band. Only when RYO:SUKE began to speak did the cheering die down.
During the MC, RYO:SUKE asked for the lights to be turned up so he could see the crowd clearly. He sincerely thanked everyone for being there to celebrate with him as well as the other bands. At one point he also jokingly asked the crowd "What day is it today?!!"
After the MC, they performed "FENNIX" and the audience went wild with head-banging. When the song was over, as if exhausted from overexertion, the room went completely silent. Then there was a single scream which was immediately followed by even louder screaming from the rest of the crowd.
One of the highlights of the show was during "Moving Light Kiss." When the song began, the entire audience was respectfully silent and the venue was dark. Then, slowly at first, the glow sticks that we all received when we came in began to light up the venue one by one. Pretty soon, the entire venue was filled with colourful light. Everyone held their hands up and were waving during the chorus. You could see smiles on everyone's faces, including the WING-MEN, who were obviously in on the surprise.
It was easy to tell that RYO:SUKE was not expecting this, but encouraged by the smiles from the crowd and the rest of the band, he put even more energy into the song making it a memorable performance.
When the song was over, RYO:SUKE, who was
completely out of breath, couldn't keep the shock off his face. He was extremely touched and happy and kept thanking everyone for the amazing display. When he announced that the next song was the last, the entire audience let out a disappointed "Ehhhhhh???"
He performed "Silver" with the crowd keeping their energy high until the end and then the band made their way off stage one by one. Once the stage was clear, the crowd started immediately chanting for an encore. Everyone seemed a bit confused when, instead of RYO:SUKE, staff members came out and laid out a blue tarp on the stage. Were they packing up? No encore?
Despite the small confusion, the chants for an encore grew louder in volume, continuing non-stop until RYO:SUKE finally reemerged. He encouraged the audience to cheer even louder, causing them to become fired up even more than before. Then Darth Vader's theme song started playing and the WING-MEN came out.
Intetsu (ex-Ayabie, WING-MEN bassist) took over the MC and ask RYO:SUKE if he wanted a cake. RYO:SUKE got really excited at this and then everyone began to sing 'Happy Birthday'. One of the staff members brought out an amazing custom cake complete with wings! RYO:SUKE was so happy and impressed by the cake that he called a photographer over to take a picture of him with the band members and the cake. Then there was another surprise. RYO:SUKE would get to have 2 cakes but they had prepared the second one for a special reason.
Intetsu took the cake and walked backstage. RYO:SUKE stood on the blue tarp and spread his arms out, taunting Intetsu, who after a moment, took a running start, jumped into the air and smashed the cake into RYO:SUKE's face! Cake flew everywhere and the fans were shrieking and laughing in surprise. We finally understood what the tarp was for.RYO:SUKE announced that the cake on his face was delicious.
After thanking everyone over and over for giving him such a memorable birthday, the final song, "Metoroa" was performed by a smiling RYO:SUKE with a face full of whipped cream and cake.
1. ILLUMINA✡LUMINALION
2. VAD†MAN
-MC-
3. -FENNIX-
4. ADAM
5. Moving Light Kiss
-Short MC-
6. Mr.FANTASIX
7. Silver
EN. Metoroa
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