LIVE REPORT ~ LM.C: July 5, 2008
Los Angeles, CA
The anticipation for LM.C's second US live had been set in motion since their first live two days prior at Anime Expo. Those who had gone didn't receive the full course of LM.C. It was more like being handed an early Halloween treat. This live promised more songs and a taste at the full LM.C experience. The stage had already been taken over by them, complete with a lollipop tree and spouts of colorful decor. The crowd began chanting "Rock! Rock! The LM.C!" It wasn't long before LM.C obliged them right back, and "rocked! rocked!" the hell out of everyone.
NO.9 welcomed to the stage Denkiman, the infamous mohawked masked man who master-mindedly steered the crowd into an early repertoire of shouts and chants. The support musicians Hiro (bass), JayJay (MP), Kaede (Drums) made their way to the stage, signaling that next appearance would be guitarist Aiji and vocalist maya. As soon as they made their way on stage the crowd pushed to the front to get a closer glimpse and the cheering soared from high pitched screams to frantic shouts.
As soon as the guitar reved up and maya sounded off with a loud "Yeah!" Loud_Mucker_Complex. ignited the band's focal point - it's high-end, outstanding energy. With catch-driven beats and maya's on target vocalizing, this track assured that no one in the audience would dare consider leaving.
All such notions were pushed away immediately when the guitar riffs of the next track wired the audience into a frenzy of delighted screams. Songs used in anime tend to be instantly more recognizable as proved with OH MY JULIET., an ending theme to the anime Red Garden. It was immediately accepted into the audience's eager hands and looking around I saw that most had made the attempt to sing along to the catchy chorus.
During an MC break maya expressed his thanks to everyone who made it to the show, obliging that he was very happy to see them. I'm assuming the first show at Anime Expo made somewhat of an impression about how clamoring some fans can be to get to the front of the stage. In this case LM.C were clearly concerned and politely made the request that the fans back up a bit. "Everyone's here to have fun right?"
*BOOST+BUSTERz* signaled the call to action following the MC break. *BOOST+BUSTERz*, while still upbeat and dance-worthy, sounds quite different from the previously played songs. The song relies more on rapping, and maya raps so concisely live that it's easy to get swallowed into the dance drift melody even if your flavor is hard rock.
This unintentionally launched the set into a series of songs the crowed to the dance-a-holics in the audience (myself among them). Bell the CAT sent the audience into a swirl of synchronized hand claps. It has the edge of a 1920's flapper ditty, but still rocks solidly hardcore.
Undertaking more of the hip hop vibe previously displayed in *BOOST+BUSTERz*, mR.century continued the string of groove-ridden tracks but slightly more up-tempo on the rapping. The audience seemed enraptured with maya's skill in flipping between rap and singing. DENKIMAN in the background was really into this one and I couldn't help but notice his throwback rollin' moves.
Haunted House make a Secret was a song I did not expect to hear at tonight's live. Its appearance was a pleasant surprise. As it was released as the second song on OH MY JULIET.'s single, it stands out as being a sort of hidden genius of a song. Not as well known but as catchy as the song it accompanied on the single, its whimsical notes and creepy melody piqued the immediate interest of everyone in the room until every head was bobbing along in sync.
marble-s followed en suite to the unpredictable turn the live had taken. It seemed necessary to have at least one softer, ballad-structured song in the pool of energy-busting limb breakers. The venue became surprisingly hush hush. Generally, at lives, the screams still go strong even during songs that call attention to simply listening. In this case, the LM.C fans listened and breathed with the melody silently, taking in the genuine earnesty of maya's message as he sung.
A break followed where maya requested the audience to repeat what he said, and oblige the audience did. When maya yelled "WHOO!" the audience yelled "WHOO!" When maya yelled "YAY!" the audience yelled "YAY!" And when maya introduced the members and commanded the audience yell out their names repeatedly, the support members couldn't have appeared more impressed with the audience's energy. It became Aiji's turn eventually and Aiji had a look on his face that simply said "..." But Aiji really is showman for what he does, and he gave in quickly and joined in on the audience yelling his name. It was a fun breather and everyone's attitudes seemed to be on the same route. MCs are always great because it spells break time from the pushing and shoving and general crushing that perpetually plagues every Jrock concert I've been to. However it's even more pleasant when LM.C drops hints on what’s to come. "Our Japanese fans know how to head bang. But you guys can head bang too right? When I say go, you head bang like crazy!" maya, anything you say.
Having a chance to unwind, a new energy found its way into the audience. We can thank 88 for that. Besides being their latest single it is also the opening to an anime, Reborn!. The showcasing of this song was performed brilliantly, miles ahead of any other song performed that evening. It helps that the sound is rich with self-esteem and easily boosts confidence in those listening.
CRAZY A GO GO sells its title - a minute's worth of excessive punk-paced wackiness, leading the path into @FUNNY PHANTOM@. @FUNNY PHANTOM@ starts off at an unprecedented pace but quickly sells itself with its surprisingly beautiful chorus and the madness that entails throughout the song. A pumped up maya urged the audience to jump up and down with him during the instrumental breaks.
The crown for most hardcore song of the evening rightfully belongs to METALLY. As maya had told us earlier "GO!" means headbang. He sounded off and we head-banged like our necks were meant to be busted.
Not long after we had turned our brains into lopsided jelly from all the head-banging, Boon!! made its appearance. Clearly there was no end in sight to the fast-paced, nonstop action. It was like being in a cartoon, and LM.C were giving up their energy 110% to the audience. Fist pumping, arm waving, in the end, our limbs are just accessories (I reasoned they can get repaired afterwards anyways).
Oftentimes Aiji and maya would cross to opposite ends of the stage, so there was never a moment where the audience would be given the fill of one member and not so much of the other. Aiji would often times gracefully acknowledge the audience, nodding to the "rabu rabu" hearts in the audience and encouraging them to keep chanting.
maya on the other hand has a secret talent, or not so secret I suppose if you're a veteran of LM.C lives, but he loves to spray water on people. I go to a few shows every year where, yeah, a spray of water or two on the audience will occasionally occur, but this was massive. maya doused at least ten bottles of water onto the audience and always could be counted upon to unleash the signature swallow and spit routine. Needless to say, the drenched middle section looked like they walked right out of a whirl pool by the end of the night. So as an added bonus, skip going to Disneyland for Splash Mountain and just attend an LM.C show if you want to get wet.
A few perky notes later and the cute aroma of Sentimental PIGgy Romance settled on stage and ... I kid you not. LM.C has the power to make tight-faced security guards dance in the aisles. I had told them earlier "Just watch, they're awesome." Lo and behold, I look over and there they are, toe-tapping away and getting completely hooked on the melody. Awesome. LM.C's influence knows no bounds.
Yellow Beauty easily transpires its message through its title and more importantly, its soaring melody. Played next, the audience found itself completely fixated on maya's breathtaking vocals and deeply immersed in the honest nature of the song. It ended beautifully and allowed the audicen a chance to wind down once again.
maya talked to the audience again, more personally, and presented us with his hope that no one ever gives up on their dream and continues to pursue it. He expressed how happy he was to be playing in the USA and how certain he was that they would play here again. Everyone's eyes brightened at this and we all felt a bit more thoughtful at the prospect.
No time to be too thoughtful however, as the next song brought forth the loudest cheers of the evening... that song being BOYS&GIRLS. An instant crowd favorite, the ears of everyone had been on the edge waiting to hear the starting notes of this song, as it had been frequently requested throughout the evening. LM.C, aware of the song's popularity, beckoned the audience to join in on the singing. Most of the audience knew the lyrics but even those who didn't could join in on the "Boys and Girls be ambitious, Boys and Girls keep it real" repeat refrain.
The Nintendo-inspired intro that followed next unraveled a wave of excited response. Action-packed with irresistibly catchy lyrics and guitar riffs, JOHN had everyone in the audience moving their arms and fists in motion with maya's and the instrumental breaks allowed for lots of dancing in between. DENKIMAN was particularly energetic during the course of this song, but that could have something to do with the music video where he is pretty much the main star.
Similarly, the song that followed also played around with quick-paced instrumental breaks and a catch-driven chorus. LIAR LIAR combines the sweet, thoughtful melody of 88 and the slapstick cartoon atmosphere of JOHN.
little Fat Man boy leveled up the fun factor with the inclusion of some inflatable bouncy balls thrown into the audience and some pretty funny moments occurred (such as one of the balls getting stuck on the ceiling - it eventually fell on its own). The bouncy tone of the song overall and the guest appearance by the inflatable balls made little Fat Man boy a memorable stand-out.
The chant-driven, rap-rock closer, ★Rock the LM.C★, did for the audienc exactly what it was born to do. Fists pumped wildly to the chanting of "Rock! Rock! The LM.C!" and the audience lost themselves in maya's, in this case, addictive rapping. The entire band exhibited all their energy to the audience and as a unit, managed to sound off the final "Rock! Rock! The LM.C!" Nineteen songs later, the cheering was still at the same high level, higher even, as it had been when LM.C first appeared on stage. 88 played in the background while the band praised and thanked the audience for their support and then one by one left the stage.
This was the first time I didn't know if an encore was coming or not. Usually the house lights dim and the good-byes are brief. That's the signal that an encore is coming. The lights remained, but so did the instruments. It seemed an encore was going to happen after all.
Paranoid that it was the end, the audience let out relieved screams of delight as all the members re-emerged, maya cooly slapping the outreached hands as he stepped up to the mic. OH MY JULIET. came first, followed by none other than the crowd-winning song of the evening, BOYS&GIRLS. To hear these songs not once but twice, I asked myself "Can LM.C be anymore generous?" maya motioned for the audience to follow his moves in the extended finale, punching through the air one guitar riff at a time. This occurred three more times and during the final break maya turned his back to the audience and as the last note sounded he threw his head back and spit out a cascade of water over the audience, gloriously adding a rockstar finish to the astounding twenty-one song set.
Feeling satisfied, maya threw out every last water bottle on stage, be it filled or unfilled, and rushed back and forth across the stage to acknowledge all the outstretched hands waving frantically to be touched. Aiji, clearly looking diminished but still standing nevertheless, threw pick after pick for lucky audience members to catch. The bassist Hiko did as well and even stayed by the barrier to shake hands and briefly converse with the fans. Some fans even got hugs. All the while, I stood back and just lingered in the moment, until I was budged to wave at LM.C. Goodness gracious! A band that actually waves back! They accepted a number of presents too - signs, plushies, a giant lollipop which maya swung around like it was his golden scepter. When it comes to being graceful and obliging, I tip my hat to LM.C, who in that respect are further ahead than most Jrock artists.
In a sense it was difficult to see LM.C go. It was the type of event that I'm certain most attendees would love to experience on a regular basis. I also feel certain that whatever place LM.C held on the favorite artists lists of those who came, their place was probably bumped up a notch during the concert. I'm betting that for many of those audience members, LM.C quickly ascended the ropes to the top of their lists. Following into the aftermath I heard many comments along the lines of "best concert ever" and "best experience of my life" and mostly involving the word "best." So you can trust me when I say that LM.C's concert was, by far, one of the best concert experiences I've had the pleasure to attend. When they return, I expect them to "Rock! Rock! The LM.C!" a lot harder, but after this event it will be one miraculous feat to top.
set list
NO.9
Loud_Mucker_Complex.
OH MY JULIET.
-MC-
*BOOST+BUSTERz*
Bell the CAT
mR.century
-SE-
Haunted House make a Secret
marble-s
-MC-
88
CRAZY A GO GO
@FUNNY PHANTOM@
METALLY
Boon!!
Sentimental PIGgy Romance
Yellow Beauty
-MC-
BOYS&GIRLS
JOHN
LIAR LIAR
little Fat Man boy
★Rock the LM.C★
encore
OH MY JULIET.
BOYS&GIRLS
report by Sarah; photos courtesy of Pony Canyon Inc.
links
LM.C Official Website
LM.C Official MySpace
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