LIVE REPORT: A9 @ LASALLE College of the Arts [Re:birth -Tensyou- AsiaTour 2015] Day 2

Welcome back to Day 2 of our review on A9's recent Singapore concerts! If you haven't read Day 1 just yet, you might want to check that out first to get up to speed on some of the comparisons I'll be making!

Read Day 1 here!

Their second show kicked off in a similar fashion to their first one (held the day before), with both launching into "PRAY" before Show appearing on stage and playing the band's opening number, "Phoenix." I was lucky enough to be in the photo pit taking snaps and you could really feel the intense energy emanating from the crowd. Also like Day 1, they then smoothly transitioned into "Heart of Gold," with a lot of action on stage by the members already at this point, and followed that it up with "Doukeshi." During the latter, I had the perfect photo op when the four of them got together center stage!

Tora (Gt.) and Show (Vo.)

The crowd was still going wild when the fourth song, "Judan," started. I think that they decided to keep these first few songs on the setlist unchanged from Day 1 because they really do serve as the perfect start to get the crowd rolling! After "Judan," Show greeted the crowd with, "Hi, good to see you again!" and, "Who was here yesterday?" It's amazing how well loved they've become -- every sentence they uttered earned excited cheers from the crowd. No doubt to reward the crowd's enthusiasm, the fifth song, "Blue Planet," was next. Again, we got to see more magic moments from the members themselves with Tora and Show completing the last few verses shoulder to shoulder in a touching display of brotherhood! I had been watching in awe at just how much the crowd went nuts on Day 1, but today was no different -- especially the roaring and headbanging during the next song, "Velvet"!

Tora and Hiroto then treated the crowd to another guitar duel. It was a beautiful sight and the glowing wristbands they had on made it all the more memorable. The best part of this song (for me) was how each of them struck a unique pose at the end. Next up was "Ryuuseigun" and unlike yesterday, the crowd today was more than ready to swing their towels. I have to mention though, that at the end of this song, Show flung his towel backwards and it nearly hit Saga...! Saga gracefully picked it up of course and wrapped it around himself like a scarf. The lights then went out and spotlights slowly came on, shining down on each member. For the next song, "SCARLET," the band chose to perform it under purple lights, which gave it this certain dream-like quality. This was not part of Day 1's show either!

Tora (Gt.), Saga (Ba.) and Show (Vo.)

Following this was "Freesia no Saku Basho," which began with a solo spotlight on Hiroto alone. It felt like a fantasy, with Hiroto kneeling down playing his guitar. The much-anticipated intermission occurred and just like yesterday, Show and Hiroto continued on playing together with the song "WHITE PRAYER." This time however, both of them sat on the center speaker, which was really cool in a romantic sort of way. Of course, with the completion of this song, Show left the stage for a short break, while Hiroto continued on with his solo section. The other members then came back to join Hiroto to play again and a small segment was dedicated to Tora! It gave me the feeling that A9 is just as awesome without the vocals, but with Show, this band is unstoppable.

Show came back soon after and up next was "Spiegel." To me at least, Tora has always had this vibe of being a comedic rocker (especially during this song!) and to see it again here really seemed to liven up the concert in a way only he can do. Show then asked if everyone was still "saikou" and the next segment was handed over to Nao for some merch promotion.

Nao (Dr.) and Show (Vo.)

Nao began by asking, "Hou bo?" ("Are you all feeling good?") and answering the crowd with "I'm very good lah today" like on Day 1. I enjoyed his way of advertising, too! Like with the blue towel, for example, he described it by saying his own heart was blue and to add to that, Hiroto (who was sitting by at the front of stage) started playing some light instrumentals for full effect. At the end of this segment, Nao closed with "Let's have fun!" and without fail, the audience started shouting out with excitement, prompting him to ask cheekily if he was "handsome." This segment was probably one of the best as it was hilarious!

The spotlight was then handed back to Show for him to announce the next song. Someone in the crowd could already guess what it would be and yelled out the song's name just as Show was saying, "The next song... Do you know what song it is? Yes, of course! It's time for "RAINBOWS"!" Although there were some unfortunate but minor technical issues for this number, I'm glad it didn't affect the performance overall! The next song, "Kowloon," provided us with something else that we did not see on Day 1, which was synchronized headbanging by the band! This sent the crowd wild just like it did when they came to Singapore last year, and everyone in the crowd was soon joining them! "Shunkashuuto" was up next and this was another one of those perfect scenes where the four of them stand side by side all dressed in white. What was more interesting though was that halfway through, Tora and Hiroto swapped their guitars, again another show of their great friendship! The "final" song of the set, "TSUBASA," was next and Hiroto treated fans in the front row to a short yet engaging session by going down to the photo pit while playing his guitar!

Saga (Ba.), Nao (Dr.), Show (Vo.) and Hiroto (Gt.)

The members had barely moved backstage after this song when the crowd started chanting for an encore! After a few minutes, Nao and Saga reappeared on the stage and this time, things were even more saucy than yesterday, with both bras and panties this time being thrown onto the stage by fans. Being sure not to digress too much, the two of them proceeded with their instrumental parts like on Day 1. I think that the way they provided this opportunity for both members to showcase some solo skills was really thoughtful. Show and the other members then came back and the first thing Show did was to clear away the lingerie from his mic stand -- probably felt a bit awkward about singing with them on it!

The next song was "Haikara Naru Rinbu Kyoku" with the same crowd interaction bit where we called their names following certain cues. Near the end of the song, there was some fan service too, with Saga kissing Hiroto! Also, Hiroto once again flung one of the bras out into the audience and what was particularly awesome about this song for me at least, was when Hiroto and Tora then started dancing around on the stage! Then, while Nao continued his drum solo, Saga and Show began throwing lingerie at him(!!). They were then handed posters the fans signed for the day, with Show donning one of them as a cape while he sang the very last song for Day 2, "Subete e". This song really came across sincerely as an expression of thanks to their fans for taking the time to come, especially for those who came for both days.

Awesome fans!

Looking back on the day, I think it was a success despite some minor hiccups. A9 is no doubt one of those bands in Japan that has played an influential role in the music scene over the years and so they high standard they showed was expected. With the completion of today's show, A9 has now played a total of four concerts in Singapore. If you still haven't heard their music, do check them out! And of course, I highly recommend seeing them live if you can!

We in Singapore definitely hope to see them back here in future. Once again, we would still like to give our heartfelt thanks to BLACKBALLOON for bringing A9 to Singapore and all the members involved, as well as for this live report opportunity. If you have any feedback regarding the event, too, don't forget to post it in the comments below!

Read Day 1 here!

SETLIST

SE PRAY

1. Phoenix

2. Heart of Gold

3. Doukeshi

4. Judan

S.MC

5. Blue Planet

6. Velvet

7. Ryuuseigun

SE

8. Scarlet

9. Freesia no Saku Basho

SE

10. WHITE PRAYER

11. Hiroto Section

12. Tora Section

13. Spiegel

MC

14. RAINBOWS

15. Kowloon

16. Shunkashuuto

17. TSUBASA

ENCORE

18. Saga x Nao Section

19. Haikara Naru Rinbu Kyoku

S.MC

20. Subete e

Photo Credits: ROCKSIN and BLACKBALLOON

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