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Luv PARADE and H.U.G keep presenting us with amazing concerts which attract your interest apparently without much effort! After their events with other bands, they organised a 2-man show this time that showed us yet another side of these two bands!
Since Karyu (Angelo/ex D’ESPAIRSRAY), ZERO (THE MICRO HEAD 4N’S/OFIAM), and TSUKASA (THE MICRO HEAD 4N’S) – all former members of D’ESPAIRSRAY – announced that they would resume the activities of their session band Luv PARADE earlier this year, they have successfully hosted two event lives at Spotify O-EAST in Shibuya. This month, however, it was time for them to explore new waters and challenge themselves to a two-man live show. The band to join them: H.U.G., a band that originated from Karyu’s session band that performed at Luv PARADE’s Devil’s Party event lives.
On December 17th, 2022, Akabane ReNY alpha in Tokyo was filled with fans from the front to the back awaiting the start of an epic two-man. After the lights went out, big applause followed immediately, proving that the crowd was clearly motivated for today and couldn’t wait any longer. One by one, members of H.U.G. entered the stage: Drummer TAKEO (PIERROT/Angelo), manipulator Yokoyama Kazutoshi, bassist NAOKI (FANTASISTA), guitarist Karyu (Angelo/ex D’ESPAIRSRAY), and finally, vocalist ryo (HOLLOWGRAM/TAG/DALLE), who didn’t waste a second and immediately showed off his growling skills as the first beats of the song DON’T DOUBT resounded through the hall. Heavy and dark like the opening of a slow burning thriller, H.U.G. surely left a striking impression on everyone attending with their first song. Fans began to jump and clap as the band moved on to the second song “DROP”, a wilder piece in their repertoire. The band continued with 熾 -OKI-, a song memorable for its strong bass line, Marry of the blood, a D’ESPAIRSRAY song that had fans headbanging in synchronization, and Flash dancers, a song from TAG as lively as the title suggests, that once again made fans jump.
The incredibly powerful show of H.U.G. had heated the hall up like fire. “Akabane!! Thank you!!”, ryo yelled as loud as he possibly could to convey his excitement. Gaining applause from the audience, he continued by properly introducing today’s members, asking them to say a few words to the crowd as well. Bassist NAOKI revealed that he and Karyu, guitarist and main composer of the band, have been partners in crime for quite a while, whereas manipulator Kazutoshi used the opportunity to address the present fans: “It’s been so long! I want to hear your voices!”. Finally, drummer TAKEO introduced himself: “I’m having a really good time playing music today. I might not look as lively and excited as NAOKI, but on the inside I’m burning! Please catch and accept my flames as well as my sound!”. Next up in line was Karyu. He was, however, stopped by Yokoyama, who declared that they had to move on as time was sparse today and they had an important announcement to make: “We will do another live show. On March 24th, next year H.U.G. will do a one-man show. We’ve just started out so it’s going to be a trial. First and foremost, our goal is to create new songs, because we need a lot of them to hold a one-man show. On that note, we’ll start by showing you one right now. It’s a song about war. Society drives so many people into a corner. That’s why we all should carry some love in our hearts.”
Captivated by the footage of war soldiers playing on the back screen, the audience was listening to the band’s brand new song LOVE THAT NEVER ENDS, while ryo performed the emotional lyrics by reaching his hand out to the fans and the ceiling. During the refrain, fans showed their solidarity by slowly waving their hands up in the air. Even after just having delivered a touching performance, the members of H.U.G. didn’t waste a single breath and continued with the next song HUG straight on. The fast paced song had fans swinging their fists, while NAOKI and Karyu had fun by switching places on stage to interact with the fans standing on their opposite side. “May this song reach your heart…”, ryo introduced H.U.G.‘s last song for the evening, HEART, “I know screaming isn’t allowed today, but the more fun you have with us, the better the memories of today are going to be!”. The sentimental, yet uplifting refrain of said song lifted the mood even more and made H.U.G. successfully complete their mission of creating good memories with their fans.
After a short break, it was time for Luv PARADE to take over the stage: Drummer TSUKASA (THE MICRO HEAD 4N’S) entered, followed by bassist ZERO (THE MICRO HEAD 4N’S/OFIAM), guitarist Karyu (Angelo/ex D’ESPAIRSRAY) once again, and finally, guest vocalist TAKA from defspiral. The four of them started their performance by demonstrating their musical talent straight away, turning three hits by Western pop stars Billie Eilish, Britney Spears, and Lady GAGA into gripping rock songs. During their cover of Poker Face, hair was flying in the audience as well as on stage as Karyu joined the headbanging fans. Fans continued to jump as high as they could as the band progressed to an old D’ESPAIRSRAY fan favorite DEVIL’S PARTY. “The hall today makes you all feel really close. That’s exactly what a real live show should be like!”, TAKA addressed the audience. “I’m glad that we get to spend more time with you, BUT it’s not enough yet. That’s why we’ve decided to do a one-man show next time! And not just one – we’re going on tour! First Osaka, then Nagoya and finally, Tokyo. This tour is going to make us even more powerful, isn’t it?”, he addressed Karyu to his right. “Yes! Can you all promise me to come?”, he asked the fans, and formed a small finger heart, showing it to TAKA, who couldn’t believe his eyes: “Wow! That’s the first time I received some love from Karyu!” “The tour’s going to be fun for sure, but before that we need to have some fun together today!”, TAKA declared and the band continued with two more iconic D’ESPAIRSRAY songs, LOVE IS DEAD and MIRROR. Band and fans were clearly having the time of their lives, enjoying these songs together. During BITE THE BULLET, Karyu and ZERO could be seen playing together right next to each other with Karyu leaning his head on ZERO’s shoulder, while TSUKASA could be seen voicing the lyrics while beating his drums energetically.
After the band had left the stage, the crowd kept clapping for an encore. Luv PARADE responded to the crowd’s request and one by one, the members came back on stage – this time wearing shirts of their merchandise with the Luv PARADE logo on them. Before picking up his instrument, ZERO asked fans who would be coming to their one-man show in Osaka to raise their hands, but as fewer fans than he expected raised their hands, he remarked: “This is the kind of situation where you raise your hands, even if it’s a lie. Because even if you won’t actually come, it will make us happy to see your hands up!”. “It’s fine, they’re all gonna come. They promised me before, remember?”, Karyu inserted himself into the interaction of ZERO and the fans, who laughed at what the two of them had just said. ZERO then asked fans about the one-man show in Nagoya and Tokyo, and this time most of the present fans raised their hands. “Great! Well, if that’s the case I might as well make you fill out a form that states you’re coming after today’s show. I’m going to make you write your phone number and address, and I will call each and everyone who won’t come with an unknown number!”, he declared and had fans laughing once again, before Luv PARADE proceeded to the first encore song: a cover of Avril Lavigne’s infamous song sk8er boi, that once again had fans jumping and headbanging.
“I’m so grateful to be able to fight together with my colleagues in this era! Let’s have a session to commemorate today’s two-man show!”, TAKA announced and H.U.G’s vocalist ryo entered the stage together with Yokoyama, who held a birthday cake in their hands to celebrate Karyu, who had just turned one year older on the 7th of December. TAKA asked the fans to sing Happy Birthday with the voice of their heart, and as the fans began to clap to the beat of Happy Birthday, Karyu blew out the candles on top of the cake. “It’s thanks to all of you, the members and fans, that we are still able to continue our activities. That’s another thing we should celebrate, so let’s go crazy one more time!”, he shouted and Luv PARADE began to play the last song of the evening, DEATH POINT by D’ESPAIRSRAY. Before leaving the stage, Karyu thanked the audience once more and asked to see everyone again at one of their upcoming one-man shows.
All in all, the two-man show of session bands H.U.G. and Luv PARADE was a great experience, as both bands delivered an impressive and flawless performance from start to finish – which, together with the energy of the fans, heated up the hall like fire. At the end of the concert, it surely felt a lot hotter inside than at the beginning. I had a blast watching the show, and was impressed by the strong, unique voices and growling skills of both vocalists on stage that day, as well as the professional instrumentals. Personally, I also really loved Luv PARADE’s cover of sk8er boi by Avril Lavigne, because they managed to make the catchy, nostalgic song even cooler by turning it into a song you can headbang to. It was also heartwarming to see all of the members really enjoy themselves on stage – moving, headbanging and smiling as much as they possibly could. The members actions not only proved their genuine love for making music, but also the love for their fans, as they also frequently moved to the very front of the stage and kneeled down to interact with the audience. Both bands have big plans for the future and expressed their worries about challenging themselves to a one-man show, but having seen their incredible performance on stage, I am sure they will do just fine and I definitely can’t wait to see more of them.
Report: Tiffany
English Edit: Kaity
| H.U.G OFFICIAL SITE | Luv PARADE OFFICIALSITE |
| H.U.G. OFFICIAL Twitter | Luv PARADE OFFICIAL Twitter |
| Karyu OFFICIAL |
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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