stylish wave CIRCUIT'08 Live Report

You never really notice how small a venue is before it's filled up with exciting fans waiting for their favorite band to enter the stage. Kashiwa Zax, which is approximately an hour away from central Tokyo, had an intimate atmosphere with the lights dimmed and fans already filling up all the rows. The walls were covered in black paint but there was graffiti on them, which made them look cozy and less pristine. It gave the feeling of being a little more free and able to do whatever you wanted to. hide's music was playing in the background and half an hour before the start of the event, people were already shouting for the first band to come on stage.

Guy's Family came on stage looking rather majestic, and they started the event with the song RULE. The crowd responded well to the band as they were dancing and making the crowd go wild. Everyone had their fists in the air and it didn't take long before the hall was warmed up with shouts and roars from their fans. Kight's voice was strong as they played their new song Return Walker, which was followed by bingo-hatt. Takumi, who had until been focused solely on his drumming, finally looked over at the audience while he held his drumsticks in the air. The catchy melodies of Guy's Family had the crowd doing a lot of fun furitsuke dancing that never seemed to end as it continued throughout their whole set. They played four songs before they cleared the stage for the next band, v(NEU).

v(NEU) came on stage looking exactly like they did in their Cherry PV. Nono's pink wings matched his pink hair and his pink guitar. Everything seemed to be well planned, and even though they were dressed differently, they truly played together as a united team that might have been around for several years instead of just a few. Their first song was Neverland, which was followed by Splash!, but unfortunately the audience didn't respond as much as they did to Guy's Family. The mood was a little down and there didn't seem to be much movement from the fans. All that changed though, as v(NEU) played their happy up-beat song HONEY Bee★, which included fast synth elements. Before they bowed and left the stage, they played daidai.

Opera music introduced the next band, and as the black curtains covering the stage opened, Billy entered the stage. They all looked very stylish in their black suits, which were trimmed with red roses around the collar. They played Butterfly United before the vocalist Baku had an MC. Those familiar with Billy's music know how diverse their music is; that was especially the case at this event. During one of their songs, they all gathered at one side on the stage and ran as fast as they could to the other side of the stage. Their fans followed and it looked like everyone was having fun. Tsubuku played the bass extremely well, and even though Baku had had a few bad days with his cold and sore throat, his voice was loud and clear and it reached out to every person in the audience. During Brand-new Bird, the two guitarists Mine and Takuma stood together on stage, back to back while they played their new song. It seemed to be a great hit with everyone. The Bluffer was their last song before Billy left the stage, even though the crowd obviously wanted more.

After fifteen minutes or so, lynch. came on the stage loud and proud and opened their set with the catchy song unknown lost a beauty. Hazuki, who enchanted the audience with his powerful voice, screamed his lungs out while the fans screamed even louder. The band seemed to love being so close to their fans and showed it as they started on their second song. I'm sick, b'cuz luv u.. This song, unlike the previous song, slowed the tempo and gave the audience a chance to sing along. After two songs, it was time for an MC. Lizard was the next song in the lineup, and while the other members in the band held their position, Hazuki spent a lot of time getting rather intimate with the microphone. Nonetheless, the song was performed as well as it could be performed and after three songs, the band proudly played their new single Adore, which consists of the songs an illusion and Adore. These two songs were a big hit as well, and for a while the venue was filled with tossing hair: headbanging was certainly not a new phenomenon for the fans of lynch.. Another MC and song later, they played a grateful shit and ended their set with the song pulse_. lynch., who seemed to be everyone's favorite that night, played an amazing set list, and it was hard to imagine that the two upcoming bands could hit the same standard.

SuG came on stage one at a time and started their set with the song 7th Breeze. Despite the fact that they hadn't been around longer than a year, SuG's performance was very professional and the band seemed pleased to be playing in Kashiwa. All the band members were wearing cute outfits, from pink pants to tutu skirts, the outfits from the LOVE SCREAM PARTY PV were flaunted. Their blond vocalist Takeru was wearing a pink, v-neck shirt that said "WAR PIGS DIE!" and he would sometimes pull the shirt down to show off the butterfly tattoo on his chest. Toon Daily Late Show was their second song, and although it seemed like the vocalists voice would sometimes get lost in the melody, the song was well performed. He sang with a lot of joy and during the instrumental parts, he shouted "jump!" The request was so enthusiastically responded to that it looked like the fans were falling over each other. LOVE SCREAM PARTY followed with its catchy melody and rapping, and during the song Takeru joked around with his band members, and they were just as cute as he was. It seemed like the whole band was born with smiles on their faces as they kept smiling and dancing through their whole set. It was very charming to see them interact with each other and their fans. The line "get the party started" was shouted by the fans as the young band played the song LOVE SCREAM PARTY. This truly set a new mood for the whole event. Their two upcoming songs were accompanied by enthusiastic hand movements both from the vocalist and the crowd, and just before leaving the stage, SuG bowed and thanked the audience for coming. Then the stage was cleared for what seemed to be the most awaited band of the night.

Twenty minutes later, the lights went down for the final band that night. It was time for heidi. to play their set. They were welcomed to the stage with cheering and random name shouts from the audience. heidi. took the stage by storm, exceeding the high bar that lynch. had set before, and one could really feel the excitement all over the venue. Remu was the first song, and Yoshihiko sang passionately to the catchy melodies and guitar riffs that were being played by his two talented guitarists. heidi.'s drummer Kiri was pounding the drums as hard as he could and the crowd was jumping up and down to be upbeat tempo of the song. The jazzy song Yuuyake to kodomo was the next song, followed by Fly, which was accompanied by bright flashes of light on the stage and dancing among the fans. The slow tempo didn't last very long as one song and a lot of dancing later, Houmatsu was played to much joy from the audience. Houmatsu, which was probably stuck in everyone's head the rest of the evening, showed off the vocal talents of Yoshihiko well. And even though he already had help from his two guitarists, the fans joined in on the chorus as the band played their last song that night. A few minutes later, heidi. left the stage. The lights came up, signaling the end of a very successful event.

Star Child/Zy connection presented, once again, a great lineup consisting of six very different but very talented and passionate bands. One can only hope the event will last even longer.

Set list

Guys's Family
1: RULE
2: Return Walker
3: bingo-hatt
4: Tameiki fuusen gamu

v (NEU)
1: NevER Land
2: Splash!
3: HONEY Bee★
4: Daidai

Billy
1: Blossom
2: Butterfly United
MC
3: Lagrange Point
4: Brand-new Bird
5: The Bluffer

lynch.
1: unknown lost a beauty
2: I'm sick, b'cuz luv u.
MC
3: lizard
4: an illusion
5: Adore
MC
6: a grateful shit
7: pulse_

SuG
1: 7th Breeze
2: Toon Daily Lateshow
MC
3: LOVE SCREAM PARTY
4: CALL NUMBER
5: CANDY LOW POP

heidi.
1: Remu
2: Yuuyake to kodomo
3: Fly
4: Shinkirou
5: Houmatsu