WING WORKS ended the chapter of 2015 with a fun, energetic live at Shinjuku ReNY on December 20th.
Just before the start of the live, the excited audience was greeted with a disembodied robotic voice that proclaimed, “Attention please, [may] I have your attention. You are about to enter another dimension.” All eyes turned to the stage as lively music began to pump through the speakers and the curtains rose. The Wing-Men entered the stage all at once and took their places around a metallic-looking partition at the center of the stage. The partition lit up then slid open to reveal RYO:SUKE standing in the spotlight.
The first song, “Burn your soul”, kicked off the live with its fast-paced energy, enhanced by angrily flashing red lights. The crowd all put their hands into the air waving to the beat. At the melodic interlude, the lighting changed and you could hear the strong bassline thumping through the speakers. the song ended with RYO:SUKE screaming into the mic.
Next up was “Time:machine”. The song’s hip hop undertones added to the punchy energy as the band jumped along with the crowd who had their hands in the air. You could feel the floor vibrate from the crowd's jumps and at one point, RYO:SUKE made a show of lowering his hands and the fans all crouched to the ground. Remaining on the ground, the crowd clapped along waiting for the rise in the music when everyone simultaneously jumped in the air. As the song ended and the music faded out, the fans immediately began to scream their appreciation.
WING WORKS ramped up the pace even more with FENNIX. The song’s complex arrangement of melodies from different genres kept the crowd excited and in motion. During the instrumental break which featured traditional Japanese instrumental sounds, RYO:SUKE produced a samurai sword which he waved around the stage in a flourish. Foxtails guitarist Narukaze ended the song with a guitar solo.
RYO:SUKE screamed to the crowd “I really wanted to see you Shinjuku!!”. The stage went dark, but the crowd continued to scream and cheer for the band. The lights from the rings worn by the fans twinkled in the darkness like stars. In the darkness the words “Welcome to Futuristic Field” echoed through the room. Then silence. Then the beginning of “ADAM”. The enthusiasm stayed high and the Wing-men all jumped and danced.
During “Megido (メギド)”, RYO:SUKE and the crowd made their fingers in the shape of a box, holding it up to their faces before dissolving into headbanging. The crowd chanted as the lights flashed wildly around them. RYO:SUKE dropped to the floor and gestured dramatically with his hands, using his body to enhance the lyrics. When the song ended, the audience all stretched their arms towards the stage in a gesture of support and affection.
WING WORKS performed their newest song which was accompanied by red and yellow strobe lights. The upbeat melody had the crowd dancing and waving their hands. There was an instrumental break where the bass dropped and dubstep beats thumped through the speakers. They executed a genre switch from rock to hip-hop in a way only WING WORKS could do as RYO:SUKE displayed his rapping skills. The song ended suddenly and the lights faded to black.
The Wing-Men slowed down the pace with intro of “Mad Square Garden” as blue and white spotlights swept over the crowd. RYO:SUKE grabbed his mic stand and the crowd grew still. The song alternated between frantic narration and bursts of song layered over the instrumentals. RYO:SUKE contorted himself around the mic then flung out his head and arms wildly. The crowd remained attentive as he threw himself into the theatrics of the performance.
“Cryonics (クライオニクス)” began and ended with the ragged sound of RYO:SUKE breathing through a respirator, thrust into shadows by the dim lighting. The melodic, ballad-esque song kept the audience subdued as they contented themselves with listening in silence.
When the song was over, RYO:SUKE abruptly left the stage and there was complete silence. The crash of cymbals and drums suddenly punched through the stillness as drummer Sho quickly stole the crowd’s attention.
The audience began to cheer enthusiastically as Sho hammered through a rapidfire riff then was joined by bassist Sato. Soon after, guitarists Narukaze and Hirosue Kei jumped in, followed last but not least by MURANCO who transformed the hard-rock melody into a techno infused piece. The crowd was jamming to the tune which would fit perfectly in an urban sci-fi soundtrack and each member of the Wing-Men got a turn in the spotlight.
The tune eventually morphed into that of “ILLUMINA LUMINALION” and RYO:SUKE reentered the stage wearing an all black, holographic outfit that caught the flashing lights and shimmered on the stage. The pulsing beat of the song coupled with the harsh screams of the band had the crowd fired up, jumping and waving towels. The Wing-Men had fun marching up and down the stage leading the audience back and forth.
There was a pause at the end for a quick MC, then they moved on to “VAD†MAN”. The crowd pumped their fists in the air before becoming a mass of hair, flying every which way. Guitarists Narukaze and Hirosue Kei managed to keep their balance whilst spinning without abandon on the stage.
Immediately transitioning to “Mr. FANTASIX”, the catchiness had the crowd clapping along. Bassist Sato danced his way over to RYO:SUKE before dropping to his knees and planting a playful kiss on RYO:SUKE’s stomach, sending the fangirls squealing.
The playful air became infectious as the band gathered together and began goofing off on stage. MURANCO was pulled from his comfort zone behind the synth pad to the center of the stage and everyone jumped along to the beat. At the end RYO:SUKE asked the crowd’s opinion of the Wing-Men session and they responded with cheers of approval.
In a moment of seriousness, RYO:SUKE explained that there’s still so much that he wants to convey to the fans and he hopes to continue doing that as WING WORKS. With his message in the fans’ minds, RYO:SUKE said the words “Let’s become light” and the rapidfire opening riffs of “Silver (シルヴァー)” blasted through the venue. During the chorus, RYO:SUKE pointed the mic towards the crowd and they all sang with fervor.
Soon it was the dreaded last song of the night. Instead of going all out, this time WING WORKS chose to perform “IKAROS” and a stillness fell over the room. During the introduction, RYO:SUKE implored the fans telling them that he was sure that there were times when they felt like they wanted to die. But that way of thinking was wrong, and he hoped that they could be strong and inspired by his words and his music. Throwing his all into his vocal performance, RYO:SUKE spoke to the fans through his lyrics and they stood quietly soaking it in.
With the music slowly fading out, RYO:SUKE bowed deeply as the curtain fell.
The crowd applauded in appreciation and immediately began chanting for an encore.
The curtain rose once again and everyone was on stage looking comfortable in t-shirts. They got the crowd moshing and headbanging again with “Metroa (メトロア)”. Everyone let loose going as wild as they wanted, jumping and shouting both on stage and in the audience. The song ended with RYO:SUKE splayed out on the platform panting from exertion.
He thanked the crowd for calling for an encore and since he had already said much of what he wanted to tell the fans before, he let the Wing-Men get the chance to talk. For most of the night a huge chunk of the crowd was devoted to cheering for drummer Sho. RYO:SUKE teasingly requested that the crowd call him “Ryo” from now on too. He then gave up the spotlight to Sho who thanked everyone for their cheers and support.
Following Sho was MURANCO, who kept his silent persona intact by “speaking” using effects on the synth pad, much to everyone’s amusement. Sato used his turn on the mic to excitedly tell the crowd that RYO:SUKE was wearing some intense socks. The crowd was confused until RYO:SUKE slipped off his shoe to show off his candy cane striped red and white socks which, according to Sato, went all the way up to his knees. Hirosue Kei jumped in and the two of them had an amusing back and forth about RYO:SUKE’s frequent trips to and love of McDonald’s. Then the mic was handed to Narukaze. Since it had been a year since he played with WING WORKS, he wanted to make sure it was okay.
Finally, RYO:SUKE had center stage once again and he expressed his worries and his goals for his music. Thinking about the kind of message he wanted to convey and the things he wanted to do. So he decided that for 2016 he would make an album that would continue to express his message and his music.
He announced that the next song held his warmest feelings towards his fans. The audience couldn’t help but smile and wave along as they felt the extent of those feelings in “Moving Light Kiss (ムービングライトキス)”. It got even more touching when, during the song, RYO:SUKE gave each Wing-Man a heartfelt hug.
The encore ended with a bang when they kicked up the pace with “RAVVE OF MY TRINITY” followed by the final song, a crowd favorite “FIXXION BOY”.
It goes without saying that we should all look forward to what WING WORKS has in store for 2016!
SETLIST:
- Burn your soul
- Time:machine
- 不死鳥-FENNIX-
- ADAM
- Megido (メギド)
- New song (新曲)
- MAD SQUARE GARDEN
- Cryonics (クライオニクス)
- ~WING-MEN SESSION~
- ILLUMINA LUMINALION
- VAD†MAN
- Mr.FANTASIX
- Silver (シルヴァー)
- IKAROS
ENCORE
- Metroa (メトロア)
- Moving Light Kiss (ムービングライトキス)
- RAVVE OF MY TRINITY
- FIXXTION BOY
Photo credit: WING WORKS official staff
Many thanks to WING WORKS for this opportunity!
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