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So far, we have seen Luv PARADE during events and on taiban, but this evening we had the special occasion to see the final of their very first one-man tour!
If you are curious about how they arranged D’ESPAIRSRAY songs with pop songs by Celine Dion and others- check out our report!
Luv PARADE completed their first one-man tour, PANDEMONIUM with an outstanding finale at Shibuya duo MUSIC EXCHANGE. The performance was also available for online streaming in real time. Luv PARADE was revived with former D’ESPAIRSRAY members Karyu (guitar), ZERO (bass) & TSUKASA (drums) in 2022 with an event called DEVIL’S PARTY. Their first one-man tour included Osaka and Nagoya concerts, before the finale in Tokyo. TAKA (defspiral) shared the stage with Luv PARADE members as a guest vocalist once again. We are excited to share this amazing event, which many of you may have watched in real time, from our perspective!
The stage lit up with blue lights as Luv PARADE members started appearing on the stage one by one amongst the enthusiastic claps and screams of the audience: first TSUKASA, followed by ZERO, then Karyu, and finally TAKA. After the members greeted the fans, the first song of the evening started: Toxic from Britney Spears. The band managed to turn this classic pop song into an impressive heavy song to which you could headbang– and the fans were doing exactly that, as well as throwing their fists in the air. The band members joined the fans, and started jumping and headbanging as the song intensified, and blue and green lights painted over the stage. As soon as the song finished, the crowd burst into applause, and started screaming out the members’ names. The performance continued, without showing any signs of slowing down, with Poker Face by Lady Gaga – with Luv PARADE’s unique interpretation of course. The audience, once again, started jumping, throwing their fists, and headbanging to the rhythm. On the calmer parts of the song, TSUKASA was clapping his hands, and the crowd was following his lead, clapping along with him. ZERO approached the camera, showing that he hadn’t forgotten about the fans watching online. In the meantime, Karyu was jumping around while playing his guitar, and TAKA was dazzling the audience with his amazing vocals. Right after this song, TAKA gave the fans a little break to catch their breaths: “Welcome to the tour finale, Shibuya! How are you?” As the crowd screamed and clapped as a response, he asked fans to enjoy themselves until the very last song, and asked them to give their all: their voice, their bodies, their thoughts, and emotions. Then, they immediately moved to the next song amongst the cheers of the fans.
Next was a popular song from D’ESPAIRSRAY: “DEVILS’ PARADE”- a heavy song with an exotic melody. As soon as the first beats echoed, the fans went crazy. TAKA moved his arms to the sides gracefully while singing. Karyu kneeled down on the edge of the stage to be closer to the fans, and played his guitar there while headbanging. Towards the end of the song, ZERO and TAKA walked up to each other, ZERO rested his head on TAKA’s chest while playing his bass, and TAKA put his hands on ZERO’s head, hugging him. It was such an adorable moment that made fans scream in excitement. The next song started without a break: DEATH POINT –another heavy D’ESPAIRSRAY song that demanded everything from both fans and the band members. TAKA was encouraging fans to sing along with him in the “death point” screams of the song while ZERO was asking them to be even louder than they already were, which the fans delivered gladly. Karyu and TAKA turned to each other and sang the song together while smiling at each other.
The main stage continued with My Heart Will Go on– a classic Celine Dion song, with a Luv PARADE twist of course. TAKA was making eye contact with the audience, especially during the lyrics “There is no space between us”, as if trying to convey his true feelings to them through the song. The crowd was watching the performance as if they were put under a spell. After the song ended, the fans were still captivated by the song so much that the venue remained completely silent after the song ended. Karyu let his guitar cry to stir up their fans and they followed him immediately with loud shouts. TAKA talked about how amazing it was to hear the fans’ voices again. He then added that it was great to share this evening with fans that live far away and watch online. Next, he turned to TSUKASA and asked about his feelings, and before he could even reply, TAKA interrupted him, saying “Never mind, we will have more time to talk about it later.”
The main stage ended with an iconic and hardcore D’ESPAIRSRAY song, MIRROR. The whole show was so high energy, and both the fans and the band moved non-stop starting from the very first song. And yet everyone at the venue was still jumping without showing the slightest sign of fatigue. ZERO and Karyu switched places on the stage. Karyu sat on the edge of the stage and played his guitar there, interacting closely with the fans. The fans were more than happy- they were energetically performing furitsuke towards Karyu. TAKA gave ZERO a hug before ZERO and Karyu went back to their original places on the stage. Karyu playfully stuck his tongue out to the audience, arousing more cheers from the fans.
As soon as Luv PARADE members left the stage, the crowd started clapping their hands and cheering for an encore. Soon, the band members appeared back on the stage, wearing matching black band t-shirts. They sat on the stools prepared for the acoustic part of the encore, and TAKA opened the encore with the first long MC of the night: “Thank you for the encore! We have been doing our activities as Luv PARADE since our event last June, but our time was limited at that event. Today feels like another step towards the future. Luv is parading again today! Thank you!” Then he turned to ZERO, who talked about how there were also fans that were watching the performance online, and asked the fans at the venue to watch it again when they got home that night. He also added “Watch it every night before you go to sleep. I’ll give you a line to listen for: ‘I will not let you sleep tonight.’” The crowd went crazy after these words, clapping and screaming. Next, TAKA turned to TSUKASA, who thanked the fans for taking time out of their lives to watch the show. He continued his words “I think tours are amazing! Other than the concerts themselves, we get to make many memories on tours. We celebrated my birthday in Nagoya, and I’m thankful for that. When I added PARADE to my name, and made it TSUKASA PARADE in Nagoya, everyone started doing it. So I don’t know if it was a good or a bad thing (laughs). It’s sad that today is the last day of our tour; I want to stay a devil forever. I think everyone has a devil within them. Like when you want to eat sweets, it’s like a devil and an angel are fighting within you—the devil always wins though (laughs). Please bring along your inner devils to Luv PARADE events- let’s PARADE together!” Next was Karyu’s turn: “This is Karyu PARADE! I have been hanging out too much with TSUKASA, and because of that, I’m also getting weirder each day. Can you tell? We will keep working hard from now on, too.” Last but not least, TAKA started: “This is TAKA PARADE! It was in Nagoya that TSUKASA started saying TSUKASA PARADE, right? And I got on that, and asked everyone to change their names on Twitter to ~ PARADE, and ever since all members added PARADE to their names, so I had to follow the trend. Even though my band’s tour will start soon, I’m adding PARADE to my name (laughs). It’s like am I floating?! Yes, I am! Luv PARADE is the best! This was TAKA PARADE. Thank you!”
The acoustic part of the encore started with Hurt by Nine Inch Nails, and Luv PARADE delivered a very captivating and dramatic performance. The crowd was completely silent as they were watching this amazing performance in admiration. During the second song, which was Don’t Look Back in Anger by Oasis, both TAKA and Karyu stood up in the heat of the performance. After the song ended, TSUKASA jokingly added that he also wanted to get up, but he had once been told that the way he stood up was uncool, so he didn’t dare to stand up tonight, making everybody laugh. They also surprised the audience with a happy announcement! “If you are feeling sad thinking we won’t be able to see each other after this finale, we will! We will have a Luv PARADE HOSTED EVENT at SHINJUKU BLAZE on July 9th!!”
After the acoustic part was over, the band did three more energetic songs for the encore, the first of which was Sk8er Boi by Avril Lavigne. It was such an upbeat and fun performance! Everybody was smiling and jumping around. Karyu and TAKA were leaning onto each other while performing, and TSUKASA was energetically playing his drums while smiling at the audience. ZERO was encouraging the crowd to go even crazier. At the end of the song, Karyu playfully blew a kiss to the audience. The encore ended with a heavy D’ESPAIRSRAY song, KAMIKAZE. Everybody at the venue was headbanging and jumping around non-stop while the stage was changing colors with yellow and white lights. It was such an amazing sight! After the song, TAKA introduced the band members for one last time: “On drums TSUKASA! On bass ZERO! On vocal TAKA! On guitar Karyu! Let’s PARADE again together soon!”, and they left the stage amongst the loud applause and screams from the fans.
The concert was a huge success! Everyone at the venue was clearly having the time of their lives, and moving almost non-stop for the whole show. The MCs were also lighthearted and funny, which made the show even more enjoyable! Personally, I really liked the performance and the members’ interactions with one another as well as with the fans. Luv PARADE didn’t forget about the fans that were watching the show online, and made sure to interact with them by approaching the cameras often. The way that they blended the well-known songs from different genres with their unique interpretation was something remarkable! If you don’t know them yet, be sure to check them out. You will not regret it!
Live report: Gamze
English Edit: Kaity
Set list
01. Toxic (Britney Spears)
02. Poker Face (Lady Gaga)
03. Dub-I-Dub (Me & My)
04. BAD GUY (Billie Eilish)
05. DEVILS’ PARADE (D’ESPAIRSRAY)
06. DEATH POINT (D’ESPAIRSRAY)
07. Hyperballad (Björk)
08. My Heart Will Go On (Celine Dion)
09. LOVE IS DEAD (D’ESPAIRSRAY)
10. BITE THE BULLET (the Underneath)
11. MIRROR (D’ESPAIRSRAY)
Encore
01. HURT (Nine Inch Nails)
02. Don’t Look Back in Anger (Oasis)
03. Kogoeru yoru ni saita hana (D’ESPAIRSRAY)
04. Sk8er Boi (Avril Lavigne)
05. Never Ending Story (Limahl)
06. KAMIKAZE (D’ESPAIRSRAY)
NEXT LIVE
Luv PARADE Event
July 9, 2023
Shinjuku BLAZE
Details: coming soon
| Luv PARADE OFFICIAL SITE | Luv PARADE OFFICIAL Twitter |
| Luv PARADE OFFICIAL YouTube | WATCH THE GIG ON ZAIKO |
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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