Due to the COVID19 pandemic, many artists in Japan have started to adapt to the the new way of performing concerts while keeping social distancing, and the visual kei rock band Angelo is one of the first bands to approach this in a very creative manner.
Angelo announced a small tour of 3 dates titled “Neophase III -the quatum method- which will happen in 3 major Japan cities with limited attendees and a streaming option through the new platform they have been using recently, Zaiko. The first date was set in Tokyo, yesterday July 18th in the EX THEATER ROPPONGI with a limited amount of attendees of 400 people. The next two dates are Osaka in July 27 and Nagoya on August 2nd with 70 maximum attendees, the remaining dates will also be broadcast through Zaiko, for more information on tickets purchase, you can visit Angelo’s page in Zaiko.
The tickets for physical attendees were more expensive than usual at 18,000 yen, the price includes a facemask and gloves featuring the name of the tour, and the usual free drink.
Below the setlist for the Tokyo 7.18.2020 performance:
1. ACTIVATE RESONATE
2. 薄紅の欠片 (Usubeni no Kakera)
3. Speak to deep colors
4. PRAY
5. EVE
6. ロザリオ (Rozario)
7. 事象の地平線 (Jishou no chiheisen)
8. 光の記憶 (Hikari no Kioku)
9. 螺旋 (Rasen)
10. Voice of the cradle
11. SORROW TOMORROW
12. A new story
13. Crave to you
14. SEE YOU AGAIN
15. CRUELWORLD
I was very impressed by the beauty of the performances, although it’s an acoustic concert, I was able to feel the emotion transmitted by the lead singer Kirito, and the members, the stage was organized in a beautiful manner where the members all have the recommended distancing, I also noticed they all have a plastic cover in the front, I guess this is to contain any fluid from the singing, I thought this was very nice and safe. On one side, it’s a pity we won’t see them interacting close together anytime soon, but as a fan, I’m still very happy to see them together in the stage, in whatever way possible.
During the concert, Kirito talks a little bit to the audience about how happy he is about being there, that no matter what happens they will always find ways to come back to stage to transmit their music, and he ask the people to please continue to come see them, since they will never give up regardless of the changes that these times bring; this is a very reassuring message to the fans, actually he says most of this before performing “Crave to you”.
About the setlist, I was very surprised to see some songs that haven’t been performed in a long time, ロザリオ (Rozario), this is a song that it’s not in any of the DVDs that have been released until now, and I’ve never seen it in any previous streaming concert, so I was very happy to see this song, since it’s beautiful and mysterious, and I hope they perform it more frequently, maybe Kirito forgot about its existence (lol).
Another surprise was SEE YOU AGAIN, this is such an old song, so it’s great to bring it back for the good memories, it’s also a great ballad from the era before Karyu and Giru, actually from the entire list of 15 songs, there were 8 songs that are from before 2011 when Karyu and Giru joined, so it’s great to see Kirito bringing these songs and have them perform it in acoustic arrangement, which really brings out the best of these songs and makes them shine a lot more.
A new story was very emotional, and almost made me cry, and we could see Karyu looking very emotional while performing this song as well, it is expected taking into consideration the lyrics of the song, which fit perfectly into the reality we are living today, and Angelo will never make us feel lonely ^^.
And it was great to listen to ACTIVATE RESONATE in acoustic arrangement, this is such a strong song which has a lot of personality and great patterns, so it is refreshing to listen to an acoustic version with different tempo.
The ballad that almost tore my heart due to the way that Kirito sings it was 事象の地平線 from RETINA, although Karyu had guitar troubles at the beginning of the song, he was able to fix it quickly and we were able to see one of the most powerful performances ever from this song, in acoustic setting it’s just mesmerizing.
Please continue to support Angelo and watch their upcoming concerts through ZAIKO! now it’s available to watch worldwide with a big range of payment methods, making it easy for any overseas fan to enjoy their concerts! take into consideration that after the broadcasts are over, the concert is usually available to watch for many days after, so it’s not necessary to watch it live if you are in a different timezone which could make it hard for some fans in America to watch it.
JAPAN MUSIC SEKAI ~ Jrock & Jpop talk ~ 