LIVE REPORT ~ An Cafe: January 9 2008
C.C. Lemon Hall, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
An Café waste no time in building up a live. As soon as the house lights went down, a myriad of sparkling, multi-colored electrolights welcomed An Café to the stage one by one. The applause grew as each member was introduced, Takuya on guitar, Kanon on bass, Teruki on drums, Yuki on keyboards, and finally (the moment when the applause was so loud it could have split through the roof) An Café’s lively and charismatic vocalist, Miku.
The live erupted with one of their latest singles, Ryuusei Rocket, an uplifting song that, much like the title, has the effect of a rocket lifting off with incredible speed and mind-staggering power. It’s a fantastic choice for an opener because all the members’ talents shine as each of their individual strengths can be heard during the course of the song. Ryuusei Rocket also really captures and showcases An Café’s signature brand of poppy, catchy rock, but it also hints at a slightly different style with the addition of new members Takuya and Yuki.
The set moved at an unpredictable pace, with a satisfying mix of new and older songs. Thankfully they not only rehashed their old songs in addition to showcasing the new ones, but also pulled out some songs that never made it as singles. It was refreshing to hear tunes such as Ichi Hatsu Gyakuten Renai Game and LOCK ON the NEW Sekai, songs that never got the airplay or the attention of Snow Scene or Tekesuta Kousen, but are just as hypnotically fun and engaging.
Anyone caught being still at an An Café concert, I have to wonder how they manage to suppress themselves from moving. The fluid and excitable movements of vocalist Miku have an overpowering tendency to evoke the same kind of energy from those watching. Miku is a daring performer, and he’s certainly got the voice, the looks (I’m loving the pink shorts), and the seemingly never ending supply of endurance to pull it off. He embodies exactly what a charming and charismatic performer should be, and the other members lend their talents effectively to aid the all-encompassing An Café quest, that is, to make people smile. And with An Café that’s pretty much a guarantee.
Yes, smiling, laughing, dancing – all of the above goody-goody side effects are infectious at an An Café live. They’ve worked up more than music to present for their live. On the plate, with a main course of pop, shock, and rock n’ roll there are sides of bunny suits and Donald Duck. At one point, all of An Café was dressed in their best bunny suits, or as best a bunny suit can be. Essentially lots of teasing slash jokes and Yuki getting turned down by a girl. My heart went out to him, but Miku and the rest of An Café assured Yuki it’s not the end of the world. He still has them. Spoken like a true soap opera. Excuse me while I go scrape the cheese out of my mouth now. It was very entertaining to watch, and they conveyed it perfectly!
As for Donald Duck, An Café has a song called Duck no Magical Adventure which features Donald Duck (aka Miku’s SPOT-ON Donald Duck impersonation!). It’s a really goofy, catchy, all-around fun (and almost painfully addicting) song. Miku does an underwear check on all the members during this song. So in case you were wondering, bothered all day and unable to sleep at night without knowing what type of underwear An Café wears, go to an An Café live and pray to God they play Duck no Magical Adventure. All your worries will then cascade away.
After performing Snow Scene – during which the ceiling popped open and filtered dozens upon dozens of silver streamers over the audience - the band left rather abruptly. But it was obvious an encore was coming, and oh was that encore worth the five or ten minutes of chanting and total blackness. It consisted of the upcoming single, Cherry Saku Yuuki, in addition to three of An Café’s biggest hits: Maple Gunman, Bonds ~Kizuna~, and Smile Ichiban ii Onna. It's impressive the length some artists go to convey their songs and An Cafe really surprised everyone with Cherry Saku Yuuki. Cherry blossom season wasn't quite here yet... Still three months to go, but An Cafe gave us an early treat. From both sides of the stage came an explosion of cherry blossom petals! Seeing hundreds of cherry blossom petals flittering throughout the concert hall pierced a warm spot in me, and now I will always have that image engrained in my mind when I hear this song. The last song really brought the house down, everyone pumping their fists into the air simultaneously as the song pumped out the last layers of volume. All the members remained on stage waving followed by each member individually expressing their thanks.
I’m used to bands just throwing picks with an acknowledging wave or two but this usually doesn’t last very long. Within a few seconds they’ve all left the stage, and some members just up and leave immediately after the last song is over. It kills some satisfaction I’m sure, but An Café stayed on stage for nearly five minutes just waving and smiling and giving all their attention to the audience. It made an impression upon me that this was a band that genuinely wanted to show, physically show, the audience how much it meant to them that they came.
An Café certainly know how to implement themselves in a live. They’re a band that is growing up quickly among the VK scene, but their music still showcases strongly their youth and passion for living youthfully. This was a live that allows people to forget how old they are and just get lost in the wacky, fun atmosphere An Café has created for them. As soon as the guitar riffs of the first song started up, we all knew we were in for an electriciciously rowdy night. If this is what all An Café lives are like, I’d suggest it as good therapy for the joy-deprived who need a certain kick of oshare flavored color to brighten up their dull, black and white lives.
set list
Ryuusei Rocket
Ichi hatsu gyakuten renai game
-MC-
Kakusei heroism
Respect Mommy
Tekesuta kousen
-MC-
Koi no Dependence
Orange Dream
Etosetora FEVER?
Super Rabbit
NYAPPY in the world 2
-MC-
Duck no magical adventure
LOCK ON the NEW sekai
Gangu
Snow Scene
-ENCORE-
Cherry saku yuuki!!
Maple Gunman
Bonds~Kizuna~
Smile ichiban ii onna
Report by Sarah
links
An Cafe Official Website
An Cafe Official MySpace
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