Awesome review, Spacecadet! You might not be able to remember, but I'm really curious on Rina's double pedalling. Did she use a lot of it? And if so, in what songs?

Ahh, Metronome must've been really great live~!

Thanks for the great review! A few things :

- For the songs that "fell flat", could it because there are not used playing them yet? Like maybe they are more difficult to play so for the moment they play them slower or something?

- How was METRONOME? And also what did you think about STANDARD? Is it really great live with a lot of energy, a song perfect for the lives? I don't know why but I picture it as an amazing live song with the fans singing and screaming with them =P

- The megaphone is maybe there only for the show but I still think it's awesome, after all it's for entertainment Also like to hear that it's a special song and she does her own thing, hope to see that one live one day for sure!

- For the "wild things" they did i'm happy, the moment you describe with HARUNA looks great and is what they should do =P I have nothing at all against "normal play" like playing a song, then stop, then next song, but what you described sounds better and great

- RINA in front... I think it's a case where you win something and lose another thing. Obviously you can't have the same interaction with 1 row and MAMI feels isolated. Or so I thought because you talk about TIMO more here. Maybe that night HARU was more attracted to RINAxMAMI than usual because I have never felt she leaves TIMO alone. Anyways, I hope they keep doing both (normal positions and row position) so we can have both and have the best out of these two different worlds =P

Looks like you had a great time, nice  I hope you post the photos on your blog =P

great review spacecadet !!

It was very pleasant to read.
Your fact with the small girl reminds me when I used to go to WWE events. I'm tall so, people behind me had to deal with that haha.

spacecadet wrote:"Koe" was another highlight - people went NUTS when they played that. Haruna said later that they've been doing a Scandal Mania poll of their most popular songs and "Koe" is actually #2 (#3 is "Shunkan Sentimental", and #1 is "Scandal Baby", which are more expected). Anyway there were a few points in the show where despite how loud the band was - and they were LOUD - you could hear the crowd cheering *over* the band, and one of those was during "Koe".

I am surprised about this. "Koe" is as popular as Scandal baby and shunkan (atleast for Scandal Mania members - or maybe even to Japanese fans). I'm happy to hear that.. I love "Koe" too  .. I wish they can perform it in a bigger concert like in Osaka Jo Hall or Budokan so I can watch it..

Thanks for the review.. I am intrigue about the "Koi No Gestalt Hokai" performance! I hope I can see a video too of that in the future..

ichiruki! wrote:You might not be able to remember, but I'm really curious on Rina's double pedalling. Did she use a lot of it?

I actually didn't notice - sorry! I think I was too busy concentrating on the two girls in front of me (Haruna and Tomomi).

HaRuRiNaMaMiToMo wrote:For the songs that "fell flat", could it because there are not used playing them yet?

Maybe, but they seemed just a bit bored with those songs. Haruna sometimes kind of stares at the ceiling just above the top row of the audience while she's playing, as if she's on autopilot. I know from playing in bands that not every song is equally fun to play, so I think it was just that.

How was METRONOME? And also what did you think about STANDARD?

STANDARD was *awesome*. They are like a pack of wolves just let out of their cages with that song live. And it doesn't feel forced, it feels completely authentic. It's their song, so they are really feeling it. Like someone else said, they also launched into it without warning. One moment it's calm, then suddenly all hell breaks loose.

I confess I also thought it was Mami doing the spoken word on the album, so it was a surprise to me to see Haruna speaking English!

METRONOME was good but not quite as good as the best songs they played. Haru introduced it by saying "now let's play some hard stuff". Mami and Haruna were both a little sloppy on guitar, but there was a lot of energy and Haruna hit all the high vocal notes perfectly and without straining. She held the high note going into the guitar solo an extra second or two and the crowd gave her a BIG roar that you could hear over the music.

For the "wild things" they did i'm happy, the moment you describe with HARUNA looks great and is what they should do =P

They did other things too - a lot of extended intros, outros and bridges between songs, but they've never just done like 2 minutes of outright noise that I know of. This is part of what I love about them, that they look like pop idols standing up there and they do choreography and all that (which is great) but then they're cranking up the distortion and delay and playing NOISE for 2 minutes. I know of no other band like this, that combines these things. They're a constant surprise.

Maybe that night HARU was more attracted to RINAxMAMI than usual because I have never felt she leaves TIMO alone.

I was also wondering a bit if Haru had some kind of problem with Tomomi last night, for reasons that are probably a little more detail about one specific show than belong in this thread. But I also still think the drums being in front mess up the band dynamic.

Looks like you had a great time, nice

It's impossible to prepare for how good they can be. I knew what to expect but they still practically blew me out of my seat as soon as they launched into STANDARD.

SCANDAL is awesome  

STANDARD was *awesome*. They are like a pack of wolves just let out of their cages with that song live. And it doesn't feel forced, it feels completely authentic. It's their song, so they are really feeling it. Like someone else said, they also launched into it without warning. One moment it's calm, then suddenly all hell breaks loose.

I confess I also thought it was Mami doing the spoken word on the album, so it was a surprise to me to see Haruna speaking English!

METRONOME was good but not quite as good as the best songs they played. Haru introduced it by saying "now let's play some hard stuff". Mami and Haruna were both a little sloppy on guitar, but there was a lot of energy and Haruna hit all the high vocal notes perfectly and without straining. She held the high note going into the guitar solo an extra second or two and the crowd gave her a BIG roar that you could hear over the music.

So it's as awesome as I am expecting it to be! I want to see them play it live so bad... :D Thanks a lot for your review.

They did other things too - a lot of extended intros, outros and bridges between songs, but they've never just done like 2 minutes of outright noise that I know of. This is part of what I love about them, that they look like pop idols standing up there and they do choreography and all that (which is great) but then they're cranking up the distortion and delay and playing NOISE for 2 minutes. I know of no other band like this, that combines these things. They're a constant surprise.

A great description indeed, they are unique and even if some fans think they go too much towards pop our 4 lovely girls can still rock hard and be wild performers  When you see them being cute and all in interviews you can't really imagine them playing like that and that makes them awesome.

I was also wondering a bit if Haru had some kind of problem with Tomomi last night, for reasons that are probably a little more detail about one specific show than belong in this thread. But I also still think the drums being in front mess up the band dynamic.

Ah maybe, happens to everyone and in a group of friends it's the same, hard to ALWAYS be perfectly happy with others =P Maybe TIMO steal some food from her earlier .bleh. 

It's impossible to prepare for how good they can be. I knew what to expect but they still practically blew me out of my seat as soon as they launched into STANDARD.

wow reading that makes me want to see this show on DVD even more and one day see them in a real live... You know them perfectly and are an old fan and they blew you away... Damn I would probably go .nosebleed. during the first song and wake up at the end of the show lol

goshhh... really big thanks for you spacecadet!, i was drown into my own imagination, wondering my self that have sat on your seat and watching their live, just how lucky you are for those who can watch them live there ! ^^

SophieLam wrote:I recall the first time I see them live back in 2010 they just blew me away immediately!
I'd been to the concerts of some metal acts and world famous bands. But Scandal make me think that is what a band is all about.

Same here - I've been to probably 200 different shows in my lifetime including bands big and small, and metal, hard rock and more. In fact this Scandal show was my second of three shows within 2 weeks! And while some bands may do certain specific things better than they do, I've never had a better time overall than at the two Scandal concerts I've been to. And I haven't been able to stop thinking about those two shows.

HaRuRiNaMaMiToMo wrote:wow reading that makes me want to see this show on DVD even more and one day see them in a real live... You know them perfectly and are an old fan and they blew you away... Damn I would probably go .nosebleed. during the first song and wake up at the end of the show lol

I wish all of their fans could see them live. Some bands are studio bands, some bands are live bands. Scandal are a live band. Their albums are great but you really get a different sense of their music and of the girls themselves when you see and hear them playing it for real. And that's who they really are, I think. The live DVD's are good to watch and you can get a sense of it, but it's just different really being there. They have a way of making it feel like it's all a big party and they're the hosts. That's a special skill and not many people have it.

I wish I could get a DVD of the show on the 7th, but I can say pretty definitively that if there is a DVD from this tour, it will not be from that show. There was clearly no filming going on, and no video equipment anywhere. I'd think that if there was major filming happening at another show, we'd probably have heard about it by now (because it's usually pretty obvious). Hopefully there's at least some basic footage being filmed somewhere and we'll see some of it sometime, but a DVD seems unlikely to me at this point.

Couldn't they do it for the last show when they are really used to he songs and all? Or maybe wait for the biggest hall (is it still to come?)? I mean so they could "practice" for all the tour and then the last one they are 100% prepared. It wouldn't be too smart o do it in the first shows anyway, being a new tour and all you have to adjust and you can meet some problems.

I never thought they would film all the shows anyway when I was hoping for a DVD, more like a "film 1 show entirely" thing. I know you guys don't sound positive about a DVD but I will keep dreaming

Nice review from Spacecadet, thanks for that!

It reminds of the time when I watched them in KL (and Singapore the year before that). The noise, the crowd going nuts, how incredibly LOUD the band was (for an allegedly "poppy" band), all those memories coming back thanks to this. I've been to other shows by bands playing harder material that didn't have the same kind of energy, that didn't rock as hard (especially the KL show, that one was totally insane)

I'm with both Spacecadet and SophieLam when they said that there is "something" about this band when they are playing live. Some kind of SCANDAL magic if you will. If they ever come down to my part of the world again, I WILL be there again. And it WILL rock my socks off, guaranteed.

Yeah, we get some people fussing and fretting over how "poppy" the girls can sound, that they are going to "sell out" and forget about playing rock n roll. It's more likely a case of differing expectations and tastes but some days I feel that this is because...

...these people have not seen these girls live yet. As in in your face LIVE, not on YouTube. See them live and learn to never, ever doubt them again. Nanode (Therefore)...

SCANDAL ga chikaku ni aru tokoro he ikeba zehi zehi iku you ni shite ne. Zettai ni koukai shinai yo!

(If SCANDAL comes to a place near you, please make the effort to go. You definitely won't regret it )

Again, thanks for the review and apologies for being longwinded

EDIT: Btw, about the crowd quieting down during new songs, that happened in KL too when they played stuff from the then still new QAT. I think in that instance, it was probably a case of people not being familiar with the songs.

@Spacecadet. Ah, the double pedal thing is fine. As long as you still had a blast at the concert! I really can't wait for their next broadcasted live so that Rina can showcase the pedals. <3 Even a new single with that new drum kit would be aasdfghjkl;! 

Awesome to see that METRONOME kicked ass live and that Haruna's voice is in top condition. Last year, I think she was still on that path to recovery... METRONOME seems like a hard song to sing, after all.

HaRuRiNaMaMiToMo wrote:Couldn't they do it for the last show when they are really used to he songs and all? Or maybe wait for the biggest hall (is it still to come?)?

Yeah I guess in this case that would make sense. The last date is in Tokyo in a hall that seats 5,012 people. That's 5/8 the size of Budokan, and it's Tokyo. They'd better hope they sell it out, though, if they are planning to film it. They're going to Tokyo three times on this tour and they didn't sell out NHK Hall until the last day, and that was just the second Tokyo show in a hall that seats 3,800. It's gonna be tough for them to sell out that last date - they'll need to pull out all the stops.

EDIT: Btw, about the crowd quieting down during new songs, that happened in KL too when they played stuff from the then still new QAT. I think in that instance, it was probably a case of people not being familiar with the songs.

I didn't get too many looks at the rest of the hall, but my area was 100% Scandal Mania. I think I actually had Scandal Mania tickets. What makes me think this is that everybody knew each other! We were like the only people within my line of sight/earshot that weren't friends with everyone else. And they did know the songs, they just got mellow for those few. But they jumped at all the appropriate times in METRONOME...

ichiruki! wrote:Awesome to see that METRONOME kicked ass live and that Haruna's voice is in top condition. Last year, I think she was still on that path to recovery... METRONOME seems like a hard song to sing, after all.

She's better than ever now. She never looked like she was even straining, in any song. The only times she sounded off key were in songs where it seemed like she was having trouble hearing herself on the monitors... and those were usually low notes. Like I remember she was a little off at the end of the chorus to "Uchiagehanabi". But mostly she was right on, and she hit all the high notes.

I also remember her voice just sounding tired at the end of the Budokan show - not off key, just more airy, less sharp - and that wasn't the case at the show on the 7th, even though this show was still 2 1/2 hours long.

Thanks for your review, Spacecadet!! .clap.

can u tell us about Mamitas singing KOE? how is her performance? since she is singing with her feet looks bussy switching and pressing wah pedal, and i'm so curious to death want to watch her Live singing KOE T-T

spacecadet wrote:I didn't get too many looks at the rest of the hall, but my area was 100% Scandal Mania. I think I actually had Scandal Mania tickets. What makes me think this is that everybody knew each other! We were like the only people within my line of sight/earshot that weren't friends with everyone else.

Just because everyone knew each other doesn't necessarily mean they were all MANIA members. Based on what I've seen, many people--MANIA or not--seem to know each other at shows, and I think a lot of them just become friends spontaneously at the show itself. RINA mentions all the time that she wants people to become friends with the people they meet at shows. That was the case at Budokan & Osaka-Jo for my group from the US, where we friended a bunch of Japanese fans we had just met on those days.

I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but MANIA's ticket pre-sales are lotteries, meaning that they'll give you a seat/seats at random anywhere in the entire venue. You can actually get anything from a front row seat to a seat in the very back. If you don't do a group order (ex. maxing out your 4-tickets-per-tour allowance), you have to be really lucky in order to get tickets close by to your friends if they did their own separate order (or you could try to get seats that are close-by on sites like Yahoo! Auctions or ticket resellers).

As with the case for Budokan, my friend entered the MANIA lottery for 4 tickets and we ended up with amazing seats directly in front of the catwalk on TOMO's side. Another friend entered for 4 too and his were in the section to the right of us and about 5+ rows behind ours. And for this STANDARD tour, the same friend who got us the Budokan catwalk seats applied for 3 shows and they ended up giving him decent seats for 1 or 2 shows but a pretty bad one right behind a pillar for another.

EDIT: Btw, about the crowd quieting down during new songs, that happened in KL too when they played stuff from the then still new QAT. I think in that instance, it was probably a case of people not being familiar with the songs.

And they did know the songs, they just got mellow for those few. But they jumped at all the appropriate times in METRONOME...

People were the same way at the QAT tour last year. Building on what HRMT said, they weren't too familiar with the songs in the way that this was their first time experiencing the new songs live. Of course everyone knew to jump and shout "Hey!" during the pre-choruses of "SCANDAL BABY" and to spin their towels during the choruses of "DOLL" because those are well-established things to do, but no one knew yet what they should do for the new songs so they were a bit unsure what to do for them and had quieted down too. And unfortunately, with the album tours, it's probably the first and only times they'll play some album-only songs, so nothing might ever be solidified for those.

--------------------------------------

Set list for the 10th (11/7 @ NHK Hall), 11th (11/9 @ Yokkaichi Cultural Center), and 12th (11/12 @ Nara Centennial Hall) shows, all the same as the previously posted one:

01. STANDARD
02. Brand new wave
03. EVERYBODY SAY YEAH
04. Orange Juice
05. Houkago 1H
06. Uchiagehanabi
07. Hachigatsu
08. Koe
09. Metronome
10. Koi no Gestalt Houkai
11. Kagen no Tsuki
12. Weather report
13. Awanai Tsumori no, Genki de ne
14. Kimi to Mirai to Kanzen Douki
15. OVER DRIVE
16. Taiyou to Kimi ga Egaku STORY
17. Namida yo Hikare~STANDARD

Encore:
18. Space Ranger
19. SCANDAL BABY
20. DOLL

drake79 wrote:can u tell us about Mamitas singing KOE? how is her performance? since she is singing with her feet looks bussy switching and pressing wah pedal, and i'm so curious to death want to watch her Live singing KOE T-T

I thought I had replied to this last night but I guess it didn't go through. Anyway, all I can say is she was awesome. I was seated on the other side of the stage and so was a bit hypnotized by Haruna (I like to see what she does even when not singing), but I did look over at Mami during KOE. She didn't seem to be having any trouble, and her voice sounded pretty much like it did on the album. I did notice she likes to get on top of the mic and sing down to it (Haruna does the opposite, she sings up to the mic), which may be so she can see what she's doing with her feet and hands while she's singing.

A lot of the harder songs sounded noisier and punkier than they do on the albums, and KOE was one of those. It was a lot different than Budokan, where everything sounded very precise and practiced. At this show, they seemed to be going for maximum power and energy, so the guitars were a little messier, but in a good way if you know what I mean. KOE was like being at a Ramones show, as were a few other songs.

spacecadet wrote:

drake79 wrote:can u tell us about Mamitas singing KOE? how is her performance? since she is singing with her feet looks bussy switching and pressing wah pedal, and i'm so curious to death want to watch her Live singing KOE T-T

I thought I had replied to this last night but I guess it didn't go through. Anyway, all I can say is she was awesome. I was seated on the other side of the stage and so was a bit hypnotized by Haruna (I like to see what she does even when not singing), but I did look over at Mami during KOE. She didn't seem to be having any trouble, and her voice sounded pretty much like it did on the album. I did notice she likes to get on top of the mic and sing down to it (Haruna does the opposite, she sings up to the mic), which may be so she can see what she's doing with her feet and hands while she's singing.

A lot of the harder songs sounded noisier and punkier than they do on the albums, and KOE was one of those. It was a lot different than Budokan, where everything sounded very precise and practiced. At this show, they seemed to be going for maximum power and energy, so the guitars were a little messier, but in a good way if you know what I mean. KOE was like being at a Ramones show, as were a few other songs.

good to know mami's voice sounded just like in the album, now how about haru?am i right that she's the second voice during chorus of koe? =) i really like their standard album and your review made it more awrsome! =)

meow-chan wrote:good to know mami's voice sounded just like in the album, now how about haru?am i right that she's the second voice during chorus of koe? =)

You know I confess I am not 100% sure I remember right at this point, but if I listen to the song now it sure sounds like Haruna, and I can picture them singing together in my head. There are a lot of individual things you forget quicker than you wish you would after a show like that, and then there are other things that stick with you. I don't specifically remember watching Haruna singing the harmonies on KOE but I think she did.

Part of the thing with my memories of that song is that it was just nuts, and it was hard to even stand still and look at any of the band. The entire crowd where I was was just jumping through the choruses, and I went along for the ride. I remember seeing Mami singing parts of it, but I don't remember much besides that visually other than being caught up in the crowd. Listening to it on the album now, it is like a different song. Mami's voice sounds pretty much the same but the guitars and the energy level were totally different.

I *do* remember watching Haruna singing the harmonies on Hokago 1h, because it's a much mellower song and I was able to just stand there and watch. And I remember thinking how different she sounded singing harmonies, because she really holds back.

When Mami play Koe, she stay in the middle position (Haruna position)??.hmmm. 


(Sorry if you already answer this question).

thanks for the response spacecadet =) i notice that too when haru singing harmonies she's holding back like their live in kagen no tsuki. anyway 9 more lives to go for them =)

I guess I don't have much to add to what Spacecadet has been saying so maybe I'll just add some opinions? :/

As aforementioned, I didn't really think I wanted to go to the live before I actually heard the album... and then I realised it would probably be my last chance to see them before heading home. So, naturally I bought tickets to the closest available concert that wasn't sold out, in Nara.


My seat was as far from the stage as it gets - that picture on RINA's blog from the stairs, looking down at the other seats? I was there. The energy is totally different at the back - you see the people who don't really know SCANDAL standing around, not sure of what to do because they don't know the songs, you see the guys head banging in the front row, and you see the band as a whole, and not each member. Including the fact I had a cold, I kind of felt a little underwhelmed for a lot of the show, which was a little sad considering the previous livehouse show I had been to, and kind of reaffirmed my belief that livehouse shows are naturally better in terms of intimacy and connection. Just try not to hang out in the girls' section if you really want to rock out and scream, because you will get those looks. ><


That said, I wasn't underwhelmed the whole time. XD The interval music being played while we waited in the theatre was, surprisingly, the soundtrack from Spirited Away - the music swelled in a dramatic crescendo as the lights fell, before the stage lights revealed the set and banners fell from the ceiling to announce the show had been sold out. And something else, I can't remember :/ As soon as SCANDAL appeared on stage, the group of middle school guys next to me started screaming 'okaeri~'/welcome home to RINA, and they weren't alone - the other members commented later that RINA had been rather intense throughout the performance. At a suitable interval, probably after Orange Juice, girls commented on the set being shrine-like, and a little like a 'time slip'. 

The MC was about their standard breakfast food - and rice won over bread, this time. 

With regards to Koe, an echo/delay effect changed the tone of the song slightly, making it a bit more rich, and it sounded just a tiny bit slower as opposed to the album version. MAMI stayed in her usual position and did the solo, so prettty much, there was nothing else I could ask for lol. As spacecadet said, everyone got really involved (all the way up to the back row) and it was freaking awesome. 

As for HARU and the megaphone... for me, as a Shiina Ringo/Tokyo Jihen fan, it immediately drew a lot of unfair comparisons in my mind. HARU's not as experienced as Shiina Ringo as a performer and it feels like she's still finding herself as such, so seeing her twirl around on stage was a little awkward, especially since the megaphone was an 'image' thing and not so much for the purposes of voice modification. It's pretty bad, I shouldn't have thought about it but I guess I can only hope for a day when HARU will be able to perform more comfortably on stage without a guitar without feeling so forced.


Another flat moment was the final line of Hachigatsu, which is my favourite part of the song with the harmony ... and I won't go into that, because it was a little sad. But RINA did steal the song a bit for me, which she does whenever things get quiet - it happened with Bitter Chocolate during the SCA wa Mada Honki Dashitenai show.


The set changed with the intro into AwaTsumori, with the 'roof' of the shrine and the lanterns dotted around it retracting into the ceiling to reveal a back panel covered in LED lights (I assume). The rice paper-ish screens remained at the front to turn into city buildings, and we were brought into modern times and high energy songs for the last round. I might attach a hilarious, poorly drawn sketch for your viewing pleasure. Pretty much everything involved could change colour (except for the lanterns, and the lights in the middle) so it was a good design to mix things up and bring the energy back up.





STANDARD is definitely an amazing way to finish a live - they segued effortlessly into the last minute/ bridge of the song, TOMO scream included - seriously, everyone loses it every time she screams like that, it happened about three times during the show (twice for STANDARD and once for another song...). 


During the encore, the girls were endorsing the same shirts as mentioned earlier (I think), MAMI in the green STANDARD shirt, RINA in the navy, HARU in the black geometric top, and TOMO wearing the blue Kagen no Tsuki tie in. 

It seems to be standard now that TOMO tries to bother HARU a little during SCANDAL BABY (I think! My memory's all fogged up now) but I'd say the definite highlight for me this time was MAMI stepping up onto the side of RINA's drumming platform during the song, smiling and watching her for a bit, then hitting the high hat with her hand (at the appropriate moment, during the second verse). If I had been up close, there's a high chance I might have died. ^^;;

In all, the show was a good one; high tension at some points, and they deliberately pulled out a few nostalgic songs that matched the set list, setting a standard for their next couple of performances - I look forward to what's in store for them from now, what with everyone saying it's the start of a new chapter for them.

Thanks for your post TanyaLilac. Looks like you had mixed feelings, some awesome some were you were a bit disappointed. But hey in the end you could see them live =P

About HARU I guess it must feel unnatural for her to not have the guitar and just be a singer walking around. Must be hard and she doesn't have a lot of songs to practice it in live conditions. I guess she will feel more comfortable one day

betinhomtl wrote:When Mami play Koe, she stay in the middle position (Haruna position)??.hmmm. 

No, she stayed over on the right side of the stage. Haruna wasn't actually in the middle - Rina is in front on this tour (as she was on the last one I guess), so the four girls are spread evenly across the stage. Mami is way on the right side; I was on the left in between Tomomi and Haruna. So it was a little hard for me to watch Mami, although I'm tall so I did have an unobstructed full body view of all four of them. I was a lot closer to Haruna, though, and my view of Mami was from the side and sometimes Rina's drums got in the way.

If they were using those headset mics like they've done at the big shows, then maybe Mami could have wandered around a bit during KOE and hit both sides of the stage. But they're using standard mics and stands on this tour, so they need to stay in one spot while singing.

Mami did move around during a couple of songs where she wasn't singing. She and Tomomi switched sides at least once, although I don't remember for which song. None of them ever sang through another girl's mic, though.

Aaaah, i'm understanding.

Thanks for you explanation.