PLUNKLOCK and Calmando Qual performed together in Utrecht. A varied evening with diverse styles.
It’s a rather weird combination―the young band PLUNKLOCK with their visual kei style, and the dark Calmando Qual, that have been active for over ten years. The decision to have these bands tour Europe together seems based on availability and budget, rather than on style. One thing is for sure though with such a line-up: on this May evening, the Dutch audience is sure to receive a very varied show at the Spiegelbar in Tivoli, Utrecht.
PLUNKLOCK
The doors of the venue already open at six, and shortly after six-thirty PLUNKLOCK starts with their set. It’s the second time for the band to perform for a Dutch audience. For the newest edition to the band, guitarist Seishou, however, it’s the first time to stand on a Dutch stage. The blond musician only joined the band in March, but already seems to feel comfortable amongst the other three visual rockers.
Tonight’s show is the last one of their tour, but even after a week of non-stop concerts every night, the four band members show no signs of fatigue. On the contrary they seem very energetic, especially singer Halo, who fires up the audience all the time to cheer and scream for the band. The fans respond well to the vocalist, jumping on the beat of their music, throwing their fists in the air and screaming when the singer indicates to do so. Also, the band is wearing their newest costumes: black and white outfits. Drummer Pinky looks extra dorky with his black glasses and high collar, while Halo completed his outfit with a flashy golden t-shirt underneath his jacket.
After a few songs, it seems something is missing in the quartet’s upbeat music. Because the songs have very little to no tension building up, the songs themselves don’t bring a lot of variety, but also all songs start to blend together. Another point that draws attention is that the four musicians master their instruments very well, but the songs are in a very stereotypical visual kei style. It’s as if the band spent a lot of time studying other visual bands and came up with a perfect mix of visual kei music elements. They did a great job on this, but the result is that they are so similar to other bands that they’ve become a superstereotype. The audience however doesn’t seem to mind though, and they continue to cheer the band on, even during the Japanese MC that is only a few people understand.
Despite the lack of their own, original style, it has to be said that in the short two years of their existence, PLUNKLOCK has already achieved a lot. They all master their instruments very well, that’s for sure, and it’s probably only a matter of time until they find their own path and style.
Calmando Qual
After a short break, it’s Calmando Qual’s turn to entertain the approximately hundred visitors. From the very beginning, the contrast with PLUNKLOCK is glaringly huge. Not only does the musical style bring a huge contrast, but also do the stage experience of the band members and the intensity in their songs. Right from the beginning the atmosphere is dark, which fits perfectly to Hibki’s voice. From slow, yet creepy parts they change fluidly to hard rock, sometimes even metal. Tak really gets into his guitar solos, and also Kenka plays his bass smoothly while Maya pounds his drums hard. The one who seems to be getting into it most however, is vocalist Hibiki. From time to time he sends the audience a short, cackling laugh. This laugh, combined with his white contacts and heavy black make-up, gives him the appearance of a psychopath from a horror movie.
The audience doesn’t seem too charmed though. Instead of the uplifting, easy-going music of PLUNKLOCK, they’ll have to make do with a band that doesn’t look nor sound like that at all. The response from the audience is much more silent than that with the previous band; however, everyone does stay and listens.
Halfway into the concert, the venue suddenly starts to smell of smoke. Several people notice, and a technician checks the lights to see if there’s anything wrong. It doesn’t appear to be, but the smell stays. After a few songs, it turns out the source of the smell is Kenka’s bass. The quartet stops playing but when it turns out it’ll take a while to fix, guitarist Tak and Maya begin to jam playfully. Also Hibiki joins in with the distraction strategy with lyrics he makes up on the spot. Fortunately he doesn’t have to sing about his bottle of water or other random subjects for long, because PLUNKLOCK’s bassist Haruka appears and lets Kenka borrow his bass. Apparently the problem hasn’t been totally solved though, because they only play one additional song and stop then. No encore is played either.
After the show a small lottery takes place, although it takes a long time until they have found enough people that are willing to take one of the prizes home―two dummy-bodies with signatures from all the band members. After the lottery, there is a small hand-shake event which turns out to be the most brilliant way to empty the venue as soon as possible: all the band members line up at the door, and after you’ve shook their hands, you automatically end up leaving the room. Soon enough, after ten minutes at most, the venue is empty.
Because the two bands had so little in common, it was hard for the fans to enjoy both bands. Understandably, the audience responded with mixed reactions: some people complained about PLUNKLOCK, while others disliked Calmando Qual. “Varied” was the best word to describe the evening, though for a next time a better combination of bands is definitely desirable.
