Day II: BORN Special Two-Day Oneman at Shinjuku LOFT

DAY TWO: PSYCHO:MURDER [SAD]ISM

Day II of Born’s LOFT serial started in the same fashion as Day I with effusive clapping and rolling fists welcoming the band. The concept for the show was clear through the title “[SAD]ISM” and the crowd seemed ready to open with some bone cracking headbanging… yet, BORN were not that predictable. The band surprised their fans by kicking off the show with the ballad “COBRA,” mercifully heavy with its piecing guitar solos and fast drums.

Warm up over, the string trio took the forefront as they fired up the crowd for the anticipated headbanging with “RADICAL HYSTERIA.” Arms up and hands on the ceiling, Ryoga dangerously swayed his hips towards the crowd. The sea of arms that surrounded the vocalist to his waist was reminiscent of a river of souls reaching up for salvation.. Growling, surrounded by blood red lights, Ryoga had a stunning demoniac aura. A wicked solo brought K to the front and he swayed, mimicking the crowd and blowing kisses before returning to his post.

Distorted yells guided the transition to “[beauty;beast].” The crowd continued running right and left, slowing to dip back and forth to the drums. It was one of those fun, heavy numbers that got everyone moving, jumping in time with the vocalist’s yells. “Are you ready for more?” Ryoga asked with a grin, adding, “Let’s dance!” Claps and shouts of “Oi!” opened “RED DESIRE” which saw the crowd diving to the ground in unison, only to stand again to clap playfully right and then left while the band exemplified. Ryoga’s dancing and TOMO’s drums were worth special praise, adding to the hot number and with the hall having a blast, Ryoga welcomed the crowd with a loud, “Welcome to SADISM! We are BORN!”

“Are you having fun? Yesterday was M but it felt more like S!” he confessed in reference to the heavy set and explosive show. “DEMONS” kicked off with growling and wicked guitars. Red lights shone on flying hair adding a devilish tone to the song. The drumming was impossibly fast, accelerating for rapid headbanging to round off a very well accomplished song that mixed heavy and slower parts with mastery.

If for the previous song, Ryoga dangerously dangled from the ceiling, held up by the crowd, for “DIRTY STACKER” he became more daring, diving into the sea of arms that carried him around the room. Not even a near fall prevented the vocalist from singing and the faithful crowd showed their zeal as they brought him back to the stage. In the funky “Mosaic,” the guitarist did an amazing job twirling to the beat and moving continuously, showing unflagging energy. The headbanging continued, the string trio yelling KIFUMI and Ryoga delivered some warmly welcomed fanservice. After a sensuous dance that saw the vocalist slowly rubbing the front of his pants to the beat, K took the lead with a feisty solo for “Spiral Lie.”

The tempo slowed and built in just such a spiral for “FACE,” in the same fashion as the previous night making the transition to the heavy-lulling “Touketsu” very well accomplished. The distorted guitars at the end of the piece added a demonic feeling to the performance and prepared the hall for “DAMMED.” Ray seemed completely lost in the songs, while K moved from the electric guitar to an acoustic one for the slower parts, swaying to the beat. Ryoga accompanied the guitars’ cries, maneuvering his voice with ease, pleas turning to growls to add drama to the number.

“Today we will see who is S and who is M! You all look really cute but I don’t want to see cute faces, I want things to get ugly! Give me all you’ve got!” A growl under red lights opened “SAW” and guitars took the hall. The vocalist yelled out, “Black Dead Music!” Fast rolling fists accompanied “[B.D.M]” the drum and guitar work standing out with TOMO thrashing violently with the crowd. The mirror ball twirled for “Grave Dancer Punnish” and its amusing choreography and with LOFT on fire, the red thunderous opening of “Jaggy” set hair free again.

“Ranshido ºC” saw towels flying as wrists twirled wildly. KIFUMI and Ray moved, teasing each other in a warm and casual display and the fans moved in unison to the beat and well known choreographies. The crowd control was impeccable and the band kept a casual yet earnest attitude that continued for the last song. “Are you ready? Last!” It is worth saying that the crowd didn’t have time to gasp when the ultra-fast drums announced “GASP CODE.” It was a contagious piece that saw band and fans in their prime giving it all as Ryoga’s voice echoed dangerously as he yelled “We are BORN!” for the dramatic finale.

After the first encore call, TOMO, KIFUMI, Ray and K returned to introduce the event’s merchandise as before. Ray was first, the guitarist cutely evading TOMO’s questions referring to what was written on the red and black towel (the words “Suck my dick” in big letters). “What is written there again?” The crowd joined in yelling out the guitarists name and asking him to read it out loud. “Shut up!” he spat out before regaining his cool and controlled character and whispering “No, no. I love you! The fans don’t need to become S, only the band!” he said defensively.

“You are an English native, aren’t you?” TOMO mused. “So, the last is the t-shirt,” TOMO stated, pointing at the black t-shirt with the picture of a fierce Hanya in a threatening attacking position. “It looks like Hanya but it’s actually Ryoga!” Laughter washed the venue and assuming a dramatic stance, the drummer got ready to take the lead, “The four of us will go on with the oneman tour…” The crowd booed and with a wide grin the four summoned Ryoga, KIFUMI yelling out his name on his knees, arms up fangirl-style.

The sweet ballad “SAKURA” was welcomed by a loud cheer, pink lights taking the venue by surprise and materializing the cherry blossoms in the title. Ryoga’s voice was very pure and carried deep emotion, the deep bass, fast drums and dramatic guitars combining to create one of the events warmest moments. “IN CREATURE,” with its ghetto-rock and rap was followed by “more Deep.” Fast guitars and strong drums continued as the human wave of the crowd thrashed right and left in dangerous whirlpools. K demanded more from the fans as he took the center for a feisty solo that opened “GAGA SPARKING.” Both guitarists pumping, all hell broke loose.

BORN thanked the crowd for their unconditional support with the self-explanatory “Deep Affection” before a yell announced the last song. No surprises when the first notes of “Chemical romance” invaded the venue and the crowd gave their last bits of energy to the band. It was a very impressive moment and a perfect way to end the night.

The only problem was that the fans were not ready to leave and continued asking for an encore even after the announcement of the end of the show. BORN didn’t let their fans down and returned for an explosive finale. “We hadn’t done “SAKURA” in a while and were so happy to do it that I wanna do it again!” the vocalist explained. The crowd was more than happy with the choice and if the first time had been touching, the second managed to be even more emotive. “Shrive” closed in insanity with Ryoga being carried in arms by the crowd while from the opposite side girls in miniskirts came rolling. The crowd surfing was unusual mainly because most involved were female, until Ryoga decided to take the bass from KIFUMI and send him for a swim. The bassist dove fiercely, drawing laughter from the crowd, as he stood his legs up vertically while the crowd carried him. K was the next to jump to the crowd’s delight. The back of the venue jumped in circles while the front moshed wildly, girls jumping over other girls’ shoulders and being clumsy carried around the room. Ryoga tried to convince Ray to dive but one look from the guitarist made him give up and Ray continued keeping it cool, playing and headbanging.

BORN boldly showcased their wild and daring nature. It would be difficult to appoint one day as M and other as S as both were definitely heavy and sweetly casual, yet the band kept true to themselves and rocked LOFT with songs of old and new with the promise of an explosive first oneman tour on the horizon.

Set List

1. COBRA
2. RADICAL HYSTERIA
3. [beauty;beast]
4. RED DESIRE
5. DEMONS
6. DIRTY STACKER
7. Mosaic
8. Spiral Lie
9. FACE
10. Touketsu
11. DAMMED
12. SAW
13. [B.D.M]
14. Grave Dancer Punnish
15. Jaggy
16. Ranshido ºC
17. GASP CODE

Encore 1

1. -SAKURA-
2. IN CREATURE
3. more Deep
4. GAGA SPARKING
5. Deep Affection
6. Chemical romance

Encore 2

1. -SAKURA-
2. Shrive