Stylish wave '08MAX Live Report

On July 12th, the visual kei event Stylish wave '08MAX at Takadanobaba AREA was completely sold out, and the small hall was so full some fans were even waiting in the hallway for the performance of their favorite band.

The event was opened by Bergerac, who came onstage accompanied by the fans' enthusiastic clapping. The band started with the heavier song Genocide stream, with grunting from drummer Iru, and fans in the front rows started headbanging. The song was followed by Butterfly, a song with an interesting drum intro and more grunting. The band started the song in the middle of the stage, towering over the fans, and during the song they encouraged their fans by screaming "motto motto" (more more). The fans reacted enthusiastically with more headbanging, the band joined in, and furitsuke ensued.

After Butterfly, Bergerac announced the release of a new maxi single before starting Lock heart, a song with more pop styled vocals. The band ended their set with insecurity, a heavy, upbeat song. The guitarist on the left played his guitar as if it were a violin, and the song contained a few more headbanging moments. Then the band waved goodbye to their fans and went offstage, to be replaced by D=OUT a little later.

D=OUT opened their set with the song Happy no kazoeuta. The bass intro gave this song a very jazzy feeling and the fans clapped along. The next song, Shangri-la, was lot more upbeat compared to the calm, jazzy Happy no kazoeuta and got the fans very worked up. After this song, Kouki did a short MC and talked a bit about their upcoming album while fans cheered. The MC was followed by Japanese DOGEZA, a louder song with grunting. The fans yelled "hey hey hey" and headbanged while the band interacted a lot with them. Their final song of this very varied set, Tachikaze yokocho, was another song with a somewhat jazzy feeling to it. The band instructed their fans to jump from left to right, and even though the concert hall was small and full, the fans did as they were told. This song was a great ending to their set, and during their outro the band bowed and said goodbye to the fans.

Fans were calling for the next band, and LuLu came onstage as an alarm went off. The band was wearing doctors' outfits. They started with Mrs. Connie no kunou, which immediately showed a contrast to the previous bands. The song was loud, and the vocalist and guitarists were grunting a lot during the song. The next song, Kashokushou, opened with a drum and guitar intro and was more upbeat. During this song, the band introduced themselves and the fans screamed the members' names. As the song continued, the vocalist was dancing and the song ended with some grunting. Kashokushou was followed by Ishidou. The song started with the fans headbanging and it stood out compared to the other songs because of the vocals: a mix of a clear voice and grunting. Afterward, in an MC, the band promoted their double single and upcoming album. They finished with the loudest song of their set, Kinbaku catheter, with grunting from the guitarists. The way the vocalist used his voice stood out especially during this song. As they ended their set, the fans screamed for the members while the band went off stage.

Suddenly, a lot of the fans took out colored feathered fans, and soon it would be clear that this was for the next band, Himeichigo. As the intro started, the audience waved their feathery fans around. The first song, R/T, included some "oh oh ohs" and the song had a standard visual kei feeling to it and was a bit repetitive. The fans screamed along and the fans in front were headbanging. The next song, she[R]lock, continued in the same manner. The audience was jumping up and down and was very enthusiastic. The bass solo in this song was interesting, and the band made a little show of the song by twirling around on stage. After this song, the band introduced themselves in a song and the audience once again responded enthusiastically. The band finished with Kobi strip, a bouncy song. The song was backed up with flashing lights and the vocalist asked the fans for a moshpit. While he screamed "motto motto motto" (more more more), the audience created a 'Japanese style' moshpit, not quite comparable to the moshpits in the west, with fans jumping up and down and around each other. Then the band thanked their fans and went offstage.

The next band stood out in appearance from the other bands. Sugar’s looks had a gothic feeling to it. The band members were wearing black, the vocalist was wearing a black feather boa and the microphone stand was a mannequin. They opened with afterglow, a song that felt dark compared to the previous bands. The guitarist was giving the audience the impression he had lost his mind. The next song was swim like a butterfly, a song with a bass opening and a cool, dark feeling to it. The song was quite calm and gave a mysterious feeling. The next song, biyaku, broke through this feeling by being more upbeat. The last, berry, gave a jazzy feeling and had a heavy bass line. Halfway through the song, the audience enjoyed an interesting bass and drum solo. At the end of the song, the vocalist blew the audience a kiss and went off stage, while the band kept on playing a little longer before also leaving the stage. This band definitely stood out from the other bands with their dark image and more creative, lyrical songs. Probably due to the nature of the songs, they did not seem to get a very enthusiastic response from the audience like the other bands did, although they were very refreshing amongst the other bands.

Before the next band appeared on stage, the audience was able to hear the sounds of birds and the sea, which were accompanied by flashing lights. During the intro song, a fairytale like song sung by a woman, the band Billy, all dressed in black, made their interesting entrance by performing a few acrobatic acts. As the members raised their hands, the fans made peace signs at the band. Billy opened their set with The Bluffer. The audience went straight to moshing, moving around from left to right. Billy definitely stood out because of their interaction with the audience, and the audience responded enthusiastically. Next, in the MC, the band announced the release of a new single, followed by the sound of bad weather before they started playing Rockin’ Princess, an upbeat song. Vocalist BAKU played the tambourine, and the fans clapped along. For the next song, Ichigoichie -jokyoku [Rebecca], the opening was acoustic and the song was a calmer, more balladic song. The band ended with Shounen[B]out, another upbeat song, and fans again clapped along. BAKU did some more acrobatic tricks and guitarists Mi-ne and Takuma shouted "olé!" Then, the band waved at the audience and the audience waved back before the band said goodbye.

The final band of the night, Serial⇔NUMBER, opened with the song Futari no paradise, and this set the mood for their set. The song was cheerful and bouncy, and vocalist Sasaki Jin was shaking his hips along with the music. It was apparent that although all the bands had gotten good responses, most fans had come to see this band, and the response they got was enormous. The next song was Aira shisa, another bouncy song, and the fans clapped along. While the vocals were off-tune now and then, this was covered by the band interacting with the audience and Sasaki Jin making cat-like movements with his hands. Guitarists Kazune and Shiyuu sang along with the song. Then, in an MC, the band introduced the members and mentioned drummer Kai’s birthday. Then they announced a new album, before going straight into the next song: TWO-FACE WOMAN. Everyone was jumping and moving from left to right during the song, and the band did complicated looking furitsuke that many in the audience seemed to be able to copy easily. After this song, the band played Mac no onna, another upbeat and cheerful song that sounded very suitable for concerts. A roadie appeared on stage with a paper bag on his head with the letter "M" on it, making him anonymous. He enthusiastically did furitsuke during this song and the audience copied the complicated movements. This gave the song an odd but funny atmosphere and added a little extra to the performance. Mac no onna was followed by GO!YA!NUMBER~Nuchigusui~, the heavier, headbang induring song of their set. The vocals of this song started in a rap style mixed with some singing and shouting from the other members. The last song of their set, and also the last song of the night, was Kimi ni aete. The guitar line of this song sounded happy and oddly familiar. The band was jumping up and down and vocalist Sasaki Jin waved at the audience. He then asked the audience to do the wave, and they did. Then, as the song ended, the band thanked the fans with a "see you later" before leaving and ending a night of music.

Set list

Bergerac
01. Genocide stream
02. Butterfly
03. Lock heart
04. insecurity

D=OUT
01. Happy no kazoeuta
02. Shangri-La
03. Japanese DOGEZA
04. Tachikaze yokocho

LuLu
01. Mrs. Connie no kunou
02. Kashokushou
03. Ishidou
04. Kinbaku catheter

Himeichigo
01. R/T
02. she[R]Lock
03. Member introduction
04. Kobi strip

Sugar
01. afterglow
02. swim like a butafly
03. Biyaku
04. Berry

ビリー
01. The Bluffer
02. Rockin' princess
03. Ichigoichie -jokyoku『Rebecca』-
04. Shounen[B]out

SERIAL⇔NUMBER
01. Futari no paradise
02. Aira shisa
03. TWO-FACE WOMAN
04. Mac no onna
05. GO!YA!NUMBER〜Nuchigusui〜
06. Kimi ni aete