KAMIJO Sang Project -Act V- “The Sangs-2018” at Mynavi BLITZ Akasaka

KAMIJO held a special live show, titled KAMIJO Sang Project -Act V- “The Sangs-2018” on December 20th at Tokyo’s Mynavi BLITZ Akasaka. The show was intended for the celebration of his live release, Sang Live at Zepp Diver City Tokyo, which went on sale on December 19th. The year 2018 has indeed become a milestone in his musical career, due to the successful establishment of a new style of live show which integrates music, stories, and movies.

The show consisted of two parts: the first part a live performance of the director’s cut version of Sang Live at Zepp Diver City Tokyo, which included some unreleased scenes. The second part being a performance of songs from throughout his extensive career, which involves solo works, Versailles, NEW SODMY, and LAREINE, along with special guests.

The sound of a bell escorted fans into the story of Louis XVII, who was rescued from captivity in the temple tower, and was eventually turned into a vampire by Ludwig van Beethoven, from the period of the French Revolution to the present day. The actual portrait of Louis XVII’s mother Marie-Antoinette emerged on the stage screen, and a narration of her voice introduced the history of the French Revolution with her indication of the rumor that Louis XVII escaped the temple tower and lived on.

The live presentation of the dramatic musical film started with the song Theme of Sang, and KAMIJO, in his rich and aesthetic voice, sung the opening. Backed by the grand melody of a string orchestra and the heavy band sounds of drummer YUKI, bassist MASASHI, and guitarists Anzi and Meku, KAMIJO encouraged fans to fist pump and shout during the song. KAMIJO’s performance continued to intoxicate fans during Nosferatu by embodying Louis XVII’s passion for beauty and his vision of an ideal society beyond conventional morality. The song, with its dynamic collaboration of classical music and rock, had a superb guitar solo section by Anzi and Meku. KAMIJO had fans wave their hands from left and right with him to the beautiful melody of unison guitars.

Later, the narration introduced the joint invention of the “Emigre System” by Louis XVII, and the alchemist Count Saint-Germain. This system uses the blood of resurrected corpses to produce clean energy resources for future generations. Those who are contracted to the “Emigre System” are allowed to meet their loved ones for a final time before their eternal death. The narration was followed by a performance of Emigre wherein KAMIJO sang of the master plan of two original authors of the system.

After the song, a short movie of an actual TV commentator speaking about the controversial and tempting nature of the system was played on the screen. “That is if the vampire actually exists,” he commented at the end. “The Vampire is here!” KAMIJO shouted at the start of Vampire Rock Star. Having achieved a sense of reality, KAMIJO set the fans on fire with his frenzied vocals. “Follow me!” KAMIJO urged fans to sing along with him in the next song, Bastille. The band members blasted fans with shredding guitar riffs and pounding drum beats, and had fans shouting and jumping to the song.

Following that, the show continued into a clip of Napoléon Bonaparte and Count Saint-Germain. The movie started with the scene of Count Saint-Germain answering questions from a newscaster about how he guided Napoléon during the Egyptian Campaign. Time flashed back to the final battle before Napoléon’s enthronement and the following installment of the “French Civil Code”. A heroic speech by Napoléon was followed by KAMIJO’s soul-stirring performance of Yamiyo no Lion. With the portrait of Napoléon projected on the screen behind him, KAMIJO raised his fist skyward and had fans fist-pump as if he was the commander himself.

Narration by Napoléon mentioned that Count Saint-Germain showed Louis XVII in a state of hibernation inside the Egyptian pyramid. KAMIJO, began to sing as Count Saint-Germain revealed his master plan of using Napoléon as one of the sacrifices to actualize his ideal society. A magnificent melody of the song combined with the thrilling progress of the story filled fans with excitement.

Once again, the portrait of Napoléon appeared on the screen in the midst of a precise and aggressive band ensemble as the show continued into Sang I. Consecutively playing a different character on the stage, KAMIJO then sang of Napoléon’s hidden weakness and tragic fate. KAMIJO dynamically moved his arms to the strings orchestra during the succession to Sang II, like a conductor. KAMIJO next sung of Louis XVII’s growing distrust towards Count Saint-Germain. The song had a narration interlude between Napoléon and Count Saint-Germain which revealed that Louis XVII’s parents were used as “the lesson for the right future”. The band’s sound intensified even more after the interlude, and KAMIJO sang out Louis XVII’s distress. “I am grateful to be able to communicate Louis XVII’s emotions to you tonight. Thank you!” KAMIJO said after the song.

Later, the scene of Louis XVII’s parents being executed followed. After the emotional farewell of Marie-Antoinette to Louis XVII, Louis ~Enketsu no La Vie en Rose~ started to play. During the song, a narration interlude of the main characters speaking to Louis XVII was inserted, while KAMIJO kneeled down on the floor. Joint voices calling for Louis XVII to awaken his royal blood took the fans’ breath away, and fans waved their blue rose penlights left and right to KAMIJO’s whole-hearted vocals.

Lastly, the four band members waved their blue rose penlights as the show moved into the closing song, Sang〜Kimini Okuru Namae〜. The requiem, with its benevolence and hope for future, made for an unforgettable closure. “I dedicate this song to Louis XVII, and all the boys and girls who fell during the French Revolution,” KAMIJO said at the end. Finally, the last clip of Marie-Antoinette accepting her role in history made a lasting impression on the fans, and their ovation rose when they saw “Scenario by KAMIJO” during the ending credit roll.

The second part of the show covered songs from KAMIJO’s career, including some special guests. The first guest featured was DAISHI (amaterase), who played guitar in KAMIJO’s solo debut single with MASASHI, who was also on stage. Audrey from the NEW SODMY era started to play, wherein DAISHI’s guitar solo celebrated their fateful encounters. After DAISHI left the stage, next guest Shigure (RHEDORIC), who played bass on the Sang tour, joined the stage. “Every member’s face after the encore really showed we had the best show together,” Shigure shared his most memorable moment during the tour finale. Versailles’ Rosen Schwert had fans head-banging to the aggressive and aesthetic melody of the song with Shigure’s thrilling bass line.

Later, fans cheered to the appearance of guitarist MAYU (LAREINE). “MAYU is my longest partner, and he was the main composer of LAREINE. The melody of LAREINE was meant to be haunting. He had always been my rival as a melody maker, and the good rivalry I had with him helped me to become who I am today,” said KAMIJO. With the haunting guitar melody of MAYU and vocals of KAMIJO, LAREINE’s song Suna no Shiro de Nemuru Koibito had fans spellbound. “Let’s perform together again in future,” KAMIJO said to MAYU, and the good rivals high-fived each other.

Finally, the unexpected appearance of the last guest, Utahiroba Jun (Golden Bomber) took fans by surprise. The member from the “air band”, in which members do not actually play a musical instrument, showed his respect to LAREINE by cosplaying the band’s bassist EMIRU. During LAREINE’s Fuyu Tokyo, Utahiroba and KAMIJO performed the famous choreography of Golden Bomber’s hit song Memeshikute under the sparkling mirror ball lights. After the song, KAMIJO spoke of his dream to one day sing while horseback riding on the stage. The show closed with Barawa Utsukushiku Chiru, which Utahiroba described as the song that changed his life. During this song, Utahiroba suddenly changed to a horse costume, got down on all fours on the floor, and had KAMIJO ride on his back. KAMIJO’s dream to sing on the stage while horseback riding had humorously become reality.

During the encore, all the guests returned to the stage for Royal Blood, to join their voices together for a sing-a-long. “Have a merry Christmas!” KAMIJO shouted after the song concluded, and threw roses into the audience along with all the band members. Finally, everyone jumped up together with shouts of “Vive le roi!!”

Set List

Section I
01. Theme of Sang
02. Nosferatu
03. Emigre
04. Bloodcast –Interlude-
05. Vampire Rock Star
05. Bastille
06. Symphony of The Vampire No.5 “Sonata”
07. Yamiyo no Lion
08. Delta–Interlude-
09. Castrato
10. Ambition–Interlude-
11. Sang I
12. Sang II
13. Dead Set World
14. Vive le Roi
15. Louis ~Enketsu no La Vie en Rose~
16. Sang〜Kimini Okuru Namae〜

Section II
01. Romantic Season (NEW SODMY/2001)
02. Audrey (NEW SODMY/2002)
03. The Umbrella of Glass (Versailles/2009)
04. mademoiselle (KAMIJO/2017)
05. Rosen Schwert (Versailles/2010)
06. PRINCE (Versailles/2008)
07. TOKYO BASTILLE (KAMIJO/2018)
08. Hakumei〜Chiriyuku Yuri wo Mitsumenagara〜 (LAREINE/2000)
09. Suna no Shiro de Nemuru Koibito (LAREINE/2000)
10. Fuyu Tokyo (LAREINE/1999)
11. Barawa Utsukushiku Chiru (LAREINE/2000)

Encore

01. Mystery (KAMIJO/2018)
02. Moulin Rouge (KAMIJO/2014)
03. Royal Blood (KAMIJO/2015)