Awoi’s Children Unleashed Live

Harajuku’s ASTRO HALL drowned in a wave of black fury from the Kansai region as Awoi unleashed their music on December 23. The band entered to ethnic music befitting a cult, none more dramatic than guitarist Shou who posed at centre stage, spurring the crowd to scream like a pit of demons. The cries only increased in volume and intensity as the uncontestable overlord, vocalist Otogi, took the stage.

The set began with a proclamation of Awoi’s dark outlook with the sweet melody contrasted with a forceful death voice for songs “bastard” and “Kotodama,” the latter voiced by rhythm rather than words, with a sultry moment that boiled the atmosphere. “Abelcain” set the audience off, headbanging at high speed from start to finish except when jumping through a chorus fit for a goth club. In the bat of an eye, the crowd was utterly under the influence of the band.

“Cult” pretty much summed it up. The music featured a strongly rhythmic opening with a touch of jazz to the vocal line, giving Otogi a sensual aura, fringe hanging down over his face. His maniacal laugh could have rivaled Marvel’s greatest villains. When the number ended, the first moment of silence stunned the crowd for only a moment before they loosed their voices, screaming for the band.

Beginning with guitar in the foreground over a simple vocal melody, “Heaven” proved rather incongruent. Otogi broke out in a raging death voice before he stalked over to Shou, pretending to molest the guitarist as an inch of empty air kept them apart. Then, into darkness fragmented by the red refractions of a disco ball, Shou began a few deep chords, drums joining. A sick opening riff introduced “Kanashii Uta” which powered on, the instrumentals bringing down the house.

“Tsumetai, tsumetai, ‘Tsumetai te!’” intoned Otogi, inciting a shriek of excitement. Simple and repetitive, the highlight of the number was Saki’s strong bass line and long solo, equally as simple as the vocals but beautiful in its simplicity. Otogi’s yell of “Let’s jump, Tokyo!” wound things up for “RED MUTATION” with its steamy verse and energetic chorus. However, the red glare faded to green and “Shyuuyatou” softened the atmosphere, Otogi’s deep, mellow tone was supported by strong rhythms and gently plucked guitar. The vocalist’s final solo turned hoarse as he half screamed the lyrics, battering the message home.

“An ideal closed up in this reality. Who should I turn it upon and what kind of expression should I make? Imagining, I lose the ability to feel.” Spoken word rambled on, a bass drone in Japanese, and then a nice, deep opening riff transformed Otogi’s lower register into a growl. “Fukaki Taidou” began with that moody transition, although the chorus was prettily melodic, sung in higher tones, and both Shou and Otogi leaned back into the top note of the number. From then on, the song intensified and Otogi threw himself down over the platform, screaming out his original monologue over the music.

For the following line-up of “Melancholy,” “Fell,” “under a skin,” “Monokuro,” and “blind,” the show jacked up into high gear, Otogi jumping down into the pit while the crowd clapped, jumped, and banged heads with wild abandon. “Fell” had Saki slamming the bass as he spun in angry circles. Otogi, however, took to running around the stage with a black sheet over his head, cackling and hooting like a madman throughout “under a skin.”

“Closet in my room” brought a cool change with some metal-fed rock’n’roll. Saki and Sin faced off in front of the drums, the vocalist coming between them, making drastic stabbing motions over the bassist before he passed off to “Shou!” for a cool solo. “Hey Tokyo! Can you still dance? Can you get messy? Who cares if your make-up runs!” Just like that, Otogi brought on a party with “darling,” bright under rainbow lights. The party turned, violent soon enough, Otogi clutching the drum kit as he growled out his tension and jumped back down into the pit. His vocals concluded the number in slow a capella, setting up for the finale of “Suzumushi.” Through the cacophony of screeching cicadas, Otogi whipped out a towel which he flicked tauntingly at the crowd while randomly abandoning lyrics and simply having fun. Standing up on the front bar, he let the fans latch onto the towel, dragging him down to them. Allowing the crowd to sing, he yelled, “We’ll teach you how to live!” driving the number and the set to a messy, ragged end as Shou showboated in gothic fashion and Saki held his bass high.

The band had hardly left the stage when the shouts began, an encore inevitable despite the searing heat. Re-applying their entrance music, Awoi reset the atmosphere, striking up immediately with “Rain.” The beautiful, melodic number gradually dissolved into screams in place of the sung vocals, falling into a tense silence before Shou clawed a final, dissonant chord.

“Harder! Much harder! Can you do that for me, Tokyo?” There was no rest for the wicked, and “Beauty” proved exactly that, wicked to the core. Full of powerful death voice, the number sent four animals in pitch black raiment rampaging across the stage while drummer Ryo aggravated the scene.

When it was over, Otogi made a rare address to the crowd, talking about the tour and thanking them for welcoming Awoi to ASTRO HALL. “I’m always thrilled to see so many people gather like this at a oneman, just for us. This album is full of the wish that everyone can enjoy themselves in their own way and the same goes for this live. Can you handle that?” Otogi then went on to announce a new release coming in March in 2012. However, he wasn’t sure of the exact date. “I headbanged too much. I’ve lost my senses. Wow, I’ve really talked a lot today. Well, we played ‘Rain’ and ‘Beauty,’ and now there’s just one left.” The crowd’s complaints came to an abrupt stop when they recognized the final number.

Once a given, now a rare treasure, “Koe” finished the set on an unbeatable high. Greatly enhanced by the sound of twin guitars and a band much evolved, the crowd’s reaction to the number dragged a grin even from Otogi before he shook his hair down to cover it. When the music stopped abruptly, one brave fan made to sing into the void, but Otogi waved her down with a tolerant smile. “Can you finish it up, Tokyo?” he asked. “I’m expecting big things from you!” Now he allowed them to sing, but they were challenged to rise above the music, and performed splendidly, conducted by Otogi. He egged them on and on before finally joining in, and the song grew potent with sparse, crunching guitar. The lyrics took a downward spiral from “Are you hearing my voice?” to “My voice is no longer able to sing, I can no longer hear my voice,” and the crowd hurled themselves forward to the powerful beat.

Speeding off into the final instrumental, the evening ended with the crowd moshing wildly and when Otogi gasped, “Each and every one of you is incredible!” the statement was more than believable. Sin, holding his guitar up, cried “This is you!” and kissed the instrument. With many a shout of “Merry Christmas!” and “Happy New Year!” the show ended with a sense of seasonal unity, but Shou had the last word. “You guys are making gorgeous faces,” he said. “We were worried about a lot of things and I cried once, wondering what we would do about this tour final. Maybe you just like Awoi, but I’m thrilled to see so many of you here to enjoy Children. We’re sending the next release straight to your hearts!” That final statement was more than enough, but Ryo had one last excitement in store for the crowd, taking a running leap and launching himself at Shou, the two rolling on the floor in a clear exhibition of just how high the show had left both band and crowd.

Powerful music from start to finish and genuine emotion binding it all together, Awoi’s Tokyo tour final was a real eye-opener. At last, this indie band from Osaka have reached a state in which they are ready to take on Tokyo with guns blazing, and, hopefully, the wider world.

Set List

1. bastard
2. Kotodama
3. Abelcain
4. Cult
5. Heaven
6. Kanashii uta
7. Tsumetai te
8. RED MUTATION
9. Shuuyatou
10. Fukaki taidou
11. Melancholy
12. Fell
13. Under a skin
14. Monokuro
15. blind
16. Closet in my room
17. Darling
18. Suzumushi

Encore

1. Rain
2. Beauty
3. Koe