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We had the pleasure to attend the NICOLAS final in SHINJUKU BLAZE and wanted to share our experience with all of you! If you want to read more about the band, check out our interview with them (here)!
The concert had everything you could wish for: intense and wild songs, funny MCs and announcements for future activities! It was 3 hours long, but we summarized it as well as we could.
On the 2nd of October NICOLAS were finally able to hold the final of their KUSOTTARE IS BACK 2021 tour. Actually supposed to take place in July, the show was postponed due to the positive PCR test of drummer RITSU. Fortunately he’s recovered well and was as fit as usual during the concert.
NICOLAS started their activities in July 2019, celebrating their 2nd anniversary this year. Despite the troubles caused by the new COVID virus, they managed to pull through with their tour earlier this year, while duteously executing the regulations recommended by the government.
NICOLAS had quite a long play time of roughly 3 hours with 26 songs in total. Starting off with UMBRA, a song with a slower pace, they then switched to harder songs like INGA OUHOU (困果応報) and DELIGHTED (click here to see our translation of the lyrics). The lighting changed from dark to bright as the song progressed from heavy beats to more melodious ones and highlighted SAKU’s (Vocal) voice.
After INSANITY NIGHTMARE, where fans performed the furis and the members dealt with the screaming parts, they granted their audience a small break and held a short MC. Because the fans aren’t allowed to shout or scream during the live performances, they prepared some squeaky rubber chickens to use for interacting with the band. SAKU used the MC to test out the reflexes of their fans by making them squeak the chicken on his command. After that they continued with WANA (罠), a joyful song, turning the audience into a dancefloor. The cheerful atmosphere with fans and members moving around incessantly prevailed until JUUSEI GA KIETA KONO MACHI DE (銃声が消えたこの街で) came on, a song that is a perfect transmission from harder songs to the middle paced ones. After a short MC they continued with DATSUAI (奪愛) (click here to see our translation of the lyrics). The song not only includes stunning guitar solos for both guitarists AKANE and SATSUKI, but the staging is also worth seeing! While AKANE and SATSUKI stood on the platform to perform a duet after their solos, SAKU and ZERO (Bassist) were right behind them, standing back to back with each other. The following songs, HAIRONPA (廃論破), PARANOIADO PHILOSOPHY (パラノイアドフィロソフィ) and VITAL SIGNS, turned the audience into a wild mass of flying hair and demanded everything from them. But the members weren’t standing still either! They danced, interacted and teased each other and their fans with vulgar poses, dropping to their knees to watch the fans in front of them closely.
The encore was even longer than the main act and it was very easy to notice how much fun the members and the fans were having. The encore was a lot more exuberant than the main act as the members walked around and interacted with everyone as much as they could. They also played a new song: ZANKA (残歌). It started off heavy, having fans break into immediate headbanging. Even though it was a new song, they quickly became familiar with the song and moved to the beat naturally.
The MCs, especially in the encore, were very playful and funny. SAKU asked AKANE in English where he’s from and AKANE returned the question in Japanese: “What are you asking? Are we at the airport? We’re underground in Shinjuku…” Eventually he replied and they moved on to the next topic. Their synergy during the MCs are pretty jokey so even if you don’t understand Japanese, the way they talk, move around and address each other is very interesting and worth the experience! They also used the MC to announce their new tour and album, which will be a self-cover album. They especially stressed just how important the songs are to them and that the intention behind releasing new versions wasn’t to destroy the old ones, or the memories connected to them, but to reprocess them.
On a personal level, I really enjoyed the concert. The set list was a great mix of heavy songs to go wild with and softer ones that drew you into their worldview. After spending all of your energy during the harder songs, the long MCs were a great possibility for a bit of a break. As they were quite funny and interesting, I didn’t really mind the length, though. The announcement of the new tour and album left me really excited about how they will recreate their older songs. NICOLAS definitely is a band we look forward to seeing more of in the future.
Writer: Jenny
Edit: Franzi
It would be great if you could support us with a small donation.
It might not be much for you, but it would help us providing more and better interviews in the future.
With a little bit of your support we might be able to realize even more!
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