SHERBETS Live in Fukuoka

On December 6th, SHERBETS performed in Fukuoka, as part of their water & oil tour. The tour had started just a few days before, about a month after the release of their newest album MAD DISCO. Quite a crowd had gathered in front of the DRUM LOGOS livehouse, the majority of the fans being male and dressed up in SHERBETS or JUDE T-shirts and other merchandise. Also in front of the livehouse, merchandise was on sale and an extensive catalogue of the band's merchandise - from jackets and pants to jewelery - was present.

Just a little after seven, with the hall full with people, the classic Over The Rainbow by Judy Garland started playing. When the sound faded, so did the lights, leaving the hall in a silent darkness. Loud screams erupted from the crowd as the four band members appeared on the dark stage, taking their positions behind their instruments. It grew silent again, and the crowd remained that way as the band began the show with Sweet Angel, starting with synthesized strings, Asai Kenichi's guitar strumming and Qumico Fucci's eerie vocals singing the lyrics "sweet angel." It gradually got lighter, and the band members became visible.

Vocalist and guitarist Asai Kenichi stood in the middle with bassist Kenichi Nakata on his left side, female keyboardist and backing vocalist Qumico Fucci was on the right side behind her keyboards, and drummer Kimitoshi Sotomura was at the back of the stage. All of them were dressed in black outfits: Asai wore leather pants with a dress shirt Nakata was in a suit. Fucci had a skirt over her pants, her hair gathered messily on top of her head and she wore big, stylish sunglasses; and Sotomura was all in black, topped off with a black cap.

After the calm Sweet Angel, the spicy saxophone provided by Qumico's keyboards signaled the beginning of A GUN. VOODOO DANCE also started with the sound of a horn instrument and fired up the audience, though they needed little encouragement with the groovy, Latin-like rhythm. The song built up more and more, becoming louder and more energetic. The lights flashed rapidly to the fast beat and during the instrumental bridge, the audience got even crazier. They were moving frantically in the small space, seeing as everybody was trying to push closer to the stage and left very little room for each other. During the next song, a SHERBETS classic High School, the audience lost even more control, moshing and thrashing around wildly. Fucci traded her keyboard for a guitar and moved to the front of the stage as she played.

After the upbeat and rather heavy Fire Bird and 50/50, the mood changed as the gentle KODOU began. The stage went dark again and only Qumico's synthesized strings were heard at first. The whole venue was quiet as Asai started strumming his guitar and started to sing the first verse. Even though he maintained his nonchalant posture, his voice sounded beautiful, earnest and sorrowful. Bass and drums joined in halfway through the song, but they kept the sad, gloomy mood as they played the sensitive song on the shady stage.

Under the Bed Blues followed, starting with a piano intro from Qumico. Like the title indicates, the song was very bluesy, and it seemed to get Asai loosened up a little as he moved his leg along to the groovy rhythm.

Pretty much all songs had several instrumental interludes or bridges, in which catchy riffs were rapidly followed by gorgeous solos, creating an orgy of sound to which the audience moshed like crazy. The band, however, wasn't as lively as the audience, and stood mostly silent behind their instruments, not even cheering the fans on once. It wasn't as if they needed it, but some communication with the audience, either by gestures or through an MC, would have been nice, and it would have allowed the audience to feel closer to the band.

More songs from their newest album followed, often with a smooth transition. Hai ni naru made, Hikari and Captain Free were all played, along with one of Asai's solo songs, Hello. The fans moved along to the pounding beat and even Asai started to move around a little, playing a fantastic guitar solo as well.

They continued with Mrs. Shelly Crown and MAD DISCO. The latter started quietly and mysteriously, with humming synth-strings and Asai's vocals. During the quiet moment, fans took the opportunity to call out to the frontman, and even male voices were heard shouting "Benzie," Asai's nickname. The song then built up rapidly, creating a huge wave of tension and as the rhythm was pounding, a stroboscope started flashing and the fans were driven into a frenzy.

A few more older songs followed: James san, Kamisori song and TAXI DRIVER. The audience cheered as they recognized the intro of Kamisori song, and it was during the intro that Asai finally spoke to the audience and briefly introduced the band members. Qumico introduced Asai in the same hurried fashion, and then the first verse started. The audience jumped up and down, and even though he acted like it was nothing, Asai's super fast guitar solo during the bridge was fantastic. At one point, he used a small egg-shaped shaker and he alternated his singing with the little percussion instrument. As soon as he was done with it, he tossed it into the audience.

Surprisingly, the setlist contained another solo song of Asai's, WAY. It seemed that the fast-paced, driving song also put the band members in a good mood; they gradually started to move a little more and a small smile even appeared on Nakata's face as he played his bass.

The last song before the encore was Chiisana Hana. The audience cheered loudly as the first words were sung. It was full of emotions that definitely came out as Asai sang-shouted the lyrics. Then, the band bowed to the audience and left the stage to the fans applause. There were calls for "Benzie" again, and the fans clapped rhythmically as they waited for the band to return to stage. They fortunately didn't have to wait long, and the quartet returned again for three more songs.

During the last three songs, the band seemed more lively, and the audience wasn't exhausted at all, moshing crazily to the harder parts. Unfortunately, after J J D, the show was over and SHERBETS left the stage again after saying goodbye and thanks quickly. They appeared for a moment on the balcony at the back of the hall to throw towels to the audience and then disappeared backstage again.

The show had been simply amazing. The band had shown their incredible energy on stage and the various instrumental jam sessions were great, displaying their instrumental skills excellently. The lack of communication with the audience was a pity, though it did give out the statement that SHERBETS is a no-nonsense rock band with their focus primarily on music.


Set list:

01. Sweet Angel
02. A GUN
03. VOODOO DANCE
04. High school
05. Fire Bird
06. 50/50
07. KODOU
08. Under The Bed Blues
09. Hai ni naru made
10. Hikari
11. Captain Free
12. Hello
13. Mrs. Shelly crown
14. MAD DISCO
15. James san
16. Kamisori song
17. TAXI DRIVER
18. WAY
19. Chiisana hana

-Encore-
01. Jamaican Dream
02. Shake Shake
03. J J D