LM.C kicked off the third leg of their 10 year anniversary tour with an explosive live at Shinjuku BLAZE that no-one wanted to end.
Blue and green lights glowed in the dark venue as “~ A Sound Odyssey ~” began playing over the speakers. The support members entered the dark stage followed by Aiji and Maya who were wearing their new outfits.
The live began with the debut of their upcoming single “Rainmaker”. There wasn’t much movement on stage as both Maya and Aiji put their energy into the song’s delivery. It began at mid-tempo, which built up to a fast-paced chorus with the kind of catchy beat that has become an integral part of LM.C’s sound. The crowd all stood in silence, listening intently giving a definite subdued air to the performance. At the end, the audience all cheered and applauded in appreciation, then the venue was jolted back into action with “GHOST † HEART”.
Purple lights flashed and the crowd pumped their fists in the air, chanting in time with the music. Maya danced around the stage and gestured to the fans, encouraging them to let loose.When the music faded away, he welcomed everyone to the live and then they continued with “Space Wannabiez”. The beginning of the song had the room headbanging and the band continued to fuel the crowd’s enthusiasm with a call and response. There was a unanimous squeal of excitement when the first notes of “mosaÏque City” began playing next. For the final guitar solo, Aiji was illuminated in spotlight playing until the room faded back to black.
With the room still dark, pale blue and purple lights cut through the dark for “The Midnight Museum 4”. Maya’s voice rang out clearly through the venue, supported by extra layers of vocals which added to the whimsical atmosphere of the song. Each of the instruments resonated particularly well during this song, especially the drums. Never a band to keep still for too long, they followed with “DAYS”. Maya screamed out “Let me hear your voice!” and the entire room sang the chorus at the top of their lungs.
There was a longer break after this and while the band was catching their breath, the fan continued to scream their names over and over. Finally, Maya grabbed the mic and looked accusingly at the crowd,
“You guys didn’t dance to the new song at all! The new song was the first one. You guys realized right??”
The crowd laughed in surprise and promised him that they had enjoyed the debut of Rainmaker. Even so, Maya decided they would perform it again later.
“If we play it again and you guys are still calm, I definitely won’t forgive you!”
With that, the last remnants of the earlier subdued energy was fully shaken off and the next performance, “MOGURA” was alive with the LM.C’s usual electric energy. The heavy guitars had everyone headbanging and Maya sprayed the crowd with water in the heat of the moment. Both he and Aiji moved closer to the crowd, getting them hyped up. Not letting the energy subside for even a second, they followed with “CRAZY A GO GO”.
Everyone left their usual positions to move around the stage and headbang in time to the frantic music while the fans went wild. “DOUBLE DRAGON” was next and with the excitement still buzzing through the crowd, they performed “Rainmaker” once more. It was good the first time, but this time around it felt like a completely different song. The crowd was dancing and headbanging and their energy transferred to the band who started dancing as well. It was a fun and energetic performance which seemed to suit it much better.
As the beginning of “METALLY” began to play, red and orange lights doused the stage giving off a heavier vibe. More water was thrown over the fired up crowd and when they stopped for another break, Maya belatedly realized that the front of the stage was now soaked with water.“It’s so slippery here. Honestly I can’t tell if it’s water or sweat or what. Oh well. Let’s continue.”
Next up was “pOlyLifE” which Maya admitted that he felt very emotional about. He sang in his usual raw and open way and the fans responded in kind. When it came to the bridge, they all sang to the band while Maya stood with his hands clasped over his heart. “meteorion” continued the softer turn the live had taken. Both Maya’s voice and Aiji’s guitar rang out clearly through the venue and the crowd listened quietly, waving along. Soft, shimmering lights played over the band and the crowd during the performance and when it was over, the room went dark again.
In the dark, the sounds of everyday life could be heard: children playing, people talking, cars going by. Aiji began playing the beginning to “Bokura no Mirai”. Softly at first then gradually getting louder. It was another quiet performance with Aiji adding vocal support to Maya.
During the next break, a staff member came on stage with a mop, attempting to clean up the small lake that had formed on stage. Everyone watched in mild amusement, then Maya suggested that someone add some background music. Their bassist obliged, playing a cartoonish melody that had the room cracking up.
When the long-suffering staff member left, Maya asked the crowd again what they thought of the new song. The responses were all positive and he argued that statistically speaking, there should be at least one person saying “I don’t like it.”
“Be honest though. We haven’t released it as yet so there’s still time to make changes.”
He continued saying that it was hot but he was trying really hard not to take off his jacket because it was their first time performing in those clothes and the stylists had worked really hard. Aiji on the other hand was perfectly fine. His new jacket had multiple holes as part of its design and with his dry humor, he referred to them as air-conditioning ducts which had the entire room laughing non-stop.
The atmosphere was perfect to continue with the aptly named “Optimisland”, followed by “EDO FUNK”. Maya yelled out, “Let’s dance Tokyo!” and everyone began going through the steps for “EDO FUNK”. To keep the dancing going, the perfect follow up was “MONROEwalk” which had whole room jumping around and shaking their hips with almost unlimited energy.
The catchy opening beat to “SUPER DUPER GALAXY” began next and the band moved around the stage, hyping up the audience. Maya mentioned that he wanted everyone to let loose because it was Friday. Then without warning, he stopped the music.
“Since it’s Friday, let’s do ‘my girl’”.
The fans were more than happy to oblige and they performed an improvised version of “my girl” that was a little jazzier than the usual version and also had a call and response thrown in. At this point, the band were in a definite “anything goes” mood. They returned to “SUPER DUPER GALAXY”, only this time Maya had changed it to “SUPER DUPER WONDERFUL GALAXY”. They tweaked the rhythm on the fly with Aiji improvising flawlessly on the guitar.The crowd participation in the songs were amazing. Both with gestures, dancing and all out singing. “It’s a Wonderful Wonder World” was followed by “The LOVE SONG” and the energy was at 100% in every corner of the room. Next up was “We are LM.C” and the room grabbed their towels, spinning them wildly in the air.
Unfortunately, it soon became obvious that the live was coming to an end and that was a problem. Maya told the audience that there were only 2 songs left.
“Am I the only one that feels like this wasn’t enough?? I can definitely keep going!”
Of course everyone agreed wholeheartedly so Maya asked them what they wanted to hear.
“We have absolutely no plan right now by the way.”
“Since it’s our 10th year, let’s do our first song.”
Two staff members came out with giant pink and black flags, waving them on stage as the room practically crackled with unrestrained energy for “☆Rock the LM.C☆”. They moved on to “Chameleon Dance” and continued to encourage the crowd to use up every last bit of their energy.
“The live is gonna be over soon, so let’s go even crazier!”
As he said this, Maya got down into the crowd and danced with them. Then, as much as they tried to avoid it, it was time for the last song. Maya screamed out, “This is our heart!!” and the room broke down into a wonderful frenzy for “PUNKY♥HEART”. Everyone poured their hearts into singing along and the room was nothing but smiles. When it was over, LM.C and their dedicated support band lingered on stage as long as possible while the fans continued to cheer and scream in appreciation for them.
Setlist:
SE ~ A Sound Oddysey ~
- レインメーカー (Rainmaker)
- GHOST † HEART
- Space Wannabiez
- mosaÏque City
- The Midnight Museum 4
- DAYS
- MOGURA
- CRAZY A GO GO
- DOUBLE DRAGON
- レインメーカー (Rainmaker)
- METALLY
- pOlyLifE
- Meteorion
- 僕らの未来 (Bokura no Mirai)
- Optimisland
- EDO FUNK
- MONROEwalk
- my girl
- SUPER DUPER GALAXY
- It’s a Wonderful Wonder World
- We are LM.C!!
- The LOVE SONG
- ☆Rock the LM.C☆
- Chameleon Dance
- PUNKY♥HEART
Photos provided by LM.C management.
Thank you to LM.C and the staff at Spiral Rainbow Entertainment for this opportunity!
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