The Other East

Megamasso Tandoku Kôen Over The Glitter! #2 ~Buchi One Man Tour Final~ “Minazuki Daikanyama, Chirijiri yori Tsudô Hadairo”

As always, a little bit about the venue first. To get to Daikanyama Unit (http://www.unit-tokyo.com/), which doubles as a late-night electronica venue, find your way to either Daikanyama, Ebisu, or Nakameguro Stations. From Nakameguro, turn right at the exit, then left at the major intersection past Tsutaya. Walk up the incline until you hit Family Mart. “Za House” should be right across the way, and that’s where you’ll find Unit. The live section of the building is a few floors underground, the first basement floor serving as locker space and for selling goods. More steps down and you’ll hit the stage proper, fitting some 200-odd fans. For those who are unable to see the stage, a TV above the bar to the left helps somewhat.

Coming into tonight’s Megamasso live, I had two burning questions. Firstly, why do so many Visual Kei events have such massively long titles? Secondly, what the heck is a “one man live,” anyway? I’ll tell you now that the first question probably doesn’t have an answer to begin with. A one man live, however, is apparently when a single artist books a venue for the entire evening. This lets them play a variety of tracks and styles, as opposed to only a handful of their better-known songs. Tonight, for some two and a half hours, Megamasso did just that.

Formed by ex-Ayabie guitarist Ryôhei, it makes sense for Megamasso, like Ayabie, to flirt with different sounds within the Visual spectrum. Tonight’s set first demonstrated their “heavy” side, highlighting their individual strengths. For the first half hour of the live, this meant Inzargi’s ridiculously high voice balancing with Gou’s powerful bass. During the first six songs, the bass was probably the most prominent element of the band’s performance. This actually made some songs sound markedly different from their studio or PV versions, which if anything made tonight’s show particularly interesting.

Like other Visual bands, fans in the front rows tend to wave their arms during certain parts of the songs (opening, choruses, etc.). Inzargi, on one occasion, took this to a new level, signaling the fans to actually move to different sides of the room. Complemented by a strobe light, this gave the image of Megamasso being in full control of their fans. In a market all but defined by band loyalty and devotion, more than the music itself this may have been one of the most promising moments of the evening.

Songs from the middle part of the set, in particular “White, White” and “Bless,” showed their “softer” side in comparison. It’s through songs like these that Megamasso seems to shine, mixing in what feels like Antic Café or even old Janne Da Arc, yet still sounding contemporary if not fresh outright. Junsui Baiyô, in particular, even appeared in a recent GuitarFreaks upgrade; for a band barely 2 ½ years old, this is certainly an achievement.

The third part of the set seemed to return to the heavier side of things, but no one in the room seemed to mind. There was another interesting mix of sounds here, an almost Chinese-inspired guitar riff standing out among others. Paradisa Halo, the final song of the night before the encores, was particularly surprising. The fans’ loyalty was shown at the start of the song, as after only a few measures’ prompt the fans sang the chorus lyrics several times over – including a few echoes. I don’t remember too many of the 50,000 X JAPAN attendees repeating the echoes of “Endless Rain,” so if anything this only adds to the band’s credibility.

A short wait and a humorous anecdote later, Megamasso went through a five-song encore, with arguably the most musically sound tracks of the evening. Gone was the borderline overbearing bass, instead replaced by a refreshing mix of tracks old and new. The final song, also the first song of their first release (Namida Neko), elicited several happy “kita’s” (“at last!”) from the crowd. The encore, taking up the final half-hour of the show, all but summarized the band’s style, their fans’ devotion, and, as the band members slowly left the stage, greeting as many fans in the front as possible, only furthered the promises of a bright future ahead.

Set List:
-SE-
Minazuki, Missô
Throne Angel
Goshiki Tōru Ten Mazochī
-SMC-
Imomushi no Nushi
Meteo
Viper
-MC-
Bless
A Morning Ray is Cold
White, White
Howling Fragment
-SMC-
Ame Gakkitai
Lips
-SE-
Junsui Baiyô
FM1
Sweet Skin Like A Candy
Kikai Kajin Madison no Tomodachi
Shibô no Katamari
Paradisa Halo
EN.
Hadairo
Sugarless Nocturne
Furarako
Raiden Mushufushu
EN2.
Namida Neko

Tags: concert, japan, megamasso, TOE in Japan