LIVE REPORT ~ Hagakure: December 9, 2007
Studio B ~ Brooklyn, NY
I stood by the rear of the floor area, waiting like everyone else, for Hagakure to make their way to the stage. There was a small crowd that ranged to about 30-50 people, all anxiously bunched up at the foot of the stage. However, that small crowd was what made the night.
The members of Hagakure slowly trickled onto the stage. They were all dressed from head to toe in various traditional Japanese wear. Gajiro, the drummer, walked out in a brightly pattered yukata and a headband with SUSHI running across it; Bausu, the bassist, strode out in stifling samurai war gear that had fans chattering in curiosity; and Koro, the female guitarist, wore a modified blue yukata, visual kei styled.
Into the silence, Koro raised her head and shouted, “Okay!” Simultaneously, a simple repetition of beats came from both the drummer and bassist as the crowd screamed in response. The crowd-band interaction began there.
Immediately, Bausu began shouting, “Hagakure!” waiting every other beat for the crowd to scream the same in response. Finally, Kaya, the vocalist, strode out in a purple flowered traditional kimono, obi and all. Despite his appearance, he pumped his fist into the air, swung the mic to his lips, and shouted, “Jump!
“Hello New York!” he smiled out into the sea of darkened faces, “are you looking forward to coming here? Now we are very happy. We are Hagakure! This is our first time in America. Please enjoy tonight!”
A guitar solo started off their second song of the night, Ichiaku no ishi .
As the song played on, each member lost themselves in the joy of the music. Gajiro shouted at the crowd, urging for more cheers. Koro’s fingers flashed across the frets and strings as she spun around in time to the beat. And Kaya waved to the crowd as he sang to them, leaning towards the hands stretched out towards him.
As the song ended, Kaya took his spot as MC. Without further ado, he began introducing his fellow band members. Smiling mischievously, he pulled out a piece of paper with GAJIRO written on it and pointed at the drummer, “His name is Sushiboy.”
The crowd laughed as “Sushiboy” came out from behind his drum-set. Grabbing the mic from Kaya, he said, “Nice to meet you. My name is Gajiro. Hagakure no drummer. Glad to meet you!” The crowd laughed and clapped as he returned to his drum-set.
Suddenly, an old opening theme song of a Shogun drama filled the studio. Again Kaya pulled out a paper, this time with BAUSU written on it. He pointed at the bassist. “Shogun,” he said simply, and that explained it all. The bassist of Hagakure was decked out in what had to be a horribly hot and cumbersome Shogun outfit.
Taking his spot, the Shogun said, “Hey, we play in New York. I come from Tokyo, Japan. Do you know my name?” Pause, “Please call my name?” The crowd laughed and a few yelled out “Shogun!” in response. “I love New York. Thank you tonight!”
Brandishing his next paper with KORO written over it, Kaya introduced his guitarist. Koro hesitantly took the mic, “Hello New York!” She smiled at the crowd’s enthused screams of her name, throwing a pick out to a crowd member, “Let’s enjoy!”
Finally, Kaya pulled out a sheet with his own name on it. “Okay thank you! Please enjoy tonight. Okay! Next song!” Taiyou to Tsuki ni Tsuite began and with the crowd’s awareness, Kaya had them all waving their arms side to side along with him. As Peacemaker played, Kaya reached out to the crowd, shouting, “I love you New York,” making the masses scream in frenzy.
Again, Kaya stepped up to MC. “Now we are very happy. Thank you.” Then he said something unexpected: “I teach Japanese.” The fans grinned in response. “In English, I love you.” Everyone smiled knowing what was coming, “In Japanese, aishiteru.” The fans dutifully repeated after him, several screaming out, “Kaya aishiteru!!” (Kaya, I love you!)
Midway through their set, Kaya left the stage as the rest continued their band-audience interaction. When Kaya returned, he was sporting a blue kimono. The audience welcomed him back with open arms.
Spring began as Kaya shouted, “Last song! Last song!!” And as Kaya danced up on stage, the crowd danced with him. Their set was filled with cheers and shouts from the audience members.
Throughout their set, one thing was certain. The theme of “happiness” that Hagakure possessed was clearly translated that night. From the smiles of the band members to the smiles of the fans, it was clear that Hagakure made their way into the hearts of future loyal fans and vice versa.
set list
Link
-MC-
Ichiaku no ishi
-member introduction-
Taiyou to Tsuki ni Tsuite
The Peacemaker
-MC-
Hikanka Made
-member mc-
Spring
report and photos by Sophia
Thank you to GUERILL'ART! and WOW ROCK! for making this possible.
links
Hagakure Official Website
Hagakure Official MySpace
WOW ROCK!
GUERILL'ART! is a brand of STUDIO BATSU
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