LOST ASH BLAZE IN HEART Oneman Live

LOST ASH fans gathered at duo MUSIC EXCHANGE in Shibuya for a night of surprises, crazy choreography and celebration on December 14. The young crowd made their way to the venue to support the band for their third one-man and also to congratulate vocalist Daiki on his birthday.

With Christmas around the corner it was no surprise to spot a few lady Santas next to the usual French maids and lolitas. As girls chatted excitedly, trying to find the best spot to see their favorite member and headbang freely, a few male voices stood out cheering for the band and yelling out the members’ names.

Red lights then flashed wildly to the opening song’s electro beat and one by one, Dye (drums), Sai (bass), Show (guitar) and Daiki (vocals) made their way onstage, greeted by the fans’ cheers and open arms. “The Coming Of A New Age” kicked off the show and got the crowd moving right and left to the fun dance. Suffering some technical problems, utter-perfectionist Dye surprised everyone as he asked the others to stop halfway through the song. Laughing, the band complied, Daiki pointing out to Dye that he can’t just stop songs like that. The drummer’s response was to teasingly ignore him as he explained, “We’ll just leave now and come out again. Just pretend this didn’t happen!” The crowd laughed, amused at the drummer’s fact-of-the-matter attitude. “And now you already know the beat and choreography so there’s no excuse not to do it next time we come out,” added Daiki.

The crowd’s shouts for the band drew the members back out, the small incident lightening the mood and setting everyone at ease. The second time around, “The Coming Of A New Age” continued solidly with its popish beat and electrifying choreography as the crowd sawed the air, arms crossing back and forth to the cool drums.

With a loud, “Let’s go Shibuya!” the band began “CLOSE TO YOU” and some heavy headbanging. The crowd bent in a gigantic human wave before all hell broke loose and bodies hopped and twirled for the mosh. The energy was contagious with the three frontmen moving and interacting with the audience. The response to “innerCORE” was just as positive with the fans jumping and pointing right and left as they mirrored the band.

Thanking the fans for their support, the band engaged in a short emcee. “Thank you for coming to our third one-man today! We have been looking forward to it!” Daiki said with clear emotion. But LOST ASH wasted no time and got right back to business with “SOUL OF LIBERTY.” The jumping continued to steady drums while Daiki and Show distributed smiles and grins. As the guitarist took the front for his solo two French maids climbed up on the metal fence that separate the crowd from the stage and received the solo with open arms. The night was still young and the crowd had energy to spare, shouting “Oi!” over and over with the vocalist. “LIAR” followed with a vigorous jump. Pumping fists flashed up while Show and Sai changed places, the crowd vibrating with the rhythm and singing in unison, Daiki’s clear voice ringing out.

The drum beat grew faster and harder for “FLARE” – the fun furi replaced by some heavier headbanging. The human wave was back and Daiki’s growls were impressive, adding a strong edge to the song as he jumped around, lost in the beat. Also worth praising were the guitarist and drummer, both giving 100%. As the song ended, the crowd started yelling the band’s names like a mantra: “I can’t hear you!” Dye yelled with a smirk, submerging the hall in female voices. The drums then took over, fans joining in and clapping with the rhythm. “Are you having fun?” Daiki asked before “overHORIZON.” As the vocalist danced to the hot guitar solo, the crowd jumped with hands in the air.

The lights went down for “starlight,” one of the night’s highlights, both visually and musically as hundreds of twinkling lights popping into the air from glow sticks among the audience. The reduced electronic effects in the final allowed full enjoyment of the bass and guitar work as well as Daiki’s strong vocals. As the song ended, Dye was left alone for a surprising and quite original solo. Although the “drummer-playing-the-piano” might be a little cliché when it comes to VK, Dye managed to come up with a humorous and very accomplished piece during which he mixed in fast classical piano, video-game tunes and Christmas carols to top it off. The “Dye solo” electro-rock version of Christmas classic “Jingle Bells” was particularly entertaining.

With a loud “Merry Christmas!” the drummer ended his solo, signaling for the others to come out the musicians to strike up a short, instrumental session. After the warm up, “The GAME” set everyone moshing zealously to Daiki’s ferocious growls. Eager for more headbanging, the fans cheered and with a growl the vocalist complied saying “Let’s get heavier!” Daiki opened “brave” with the words “Be brave! Brave heart!” The rhythm section stood out with Sai’s work on display while the orange and red lights symbolized the heat on stage.

The set shifted from heavy to slow with “MY FAITH,” Daiki emphasizing the lyrics with his every gesture, keeping a solemn attitude throughout the song. He lived up to the ballad, controlling his voice nicely and putting everything into the performance. “Three more songs to go! Are you ready for more?” he asked, a loud roar rising in response from the crowd. A succession of three heavy songs took them on a rollercoaster ride to the end of the set. Red lights accompanied “ID,” the fans flashed hearts at their favorite members between some crowd-surfing attempts while  spinning towels and Daiki’s hip-shaking dance got the place moving for “ACCELERATE.” Then Sai shone with some hot bass lines during “Bright,” once again enhanced in a visual sense by the audience’s glow sticks. With the traditional LOST ASH shout of Daiki’s “LOST!” returned with “ASH!” by the crowd, the band bid their farewells.

When the crowd cried for an encore, Dye, ducked out to correct them. “With LOST ASH it’s not ‘encore,’ it’s ‘ONE MORE SONG!’” With tipsy English, the crowd complied and the band reappeared in good time. One by one, the members addressed the crowd, emotionally thanking the fans for their support. Daiki looked honestly surprised by the crowd’s enthusiasm for another song, as the other three members stopped playing and a cake materialized in Show’s hands. Embarrassed and surprised, Daiki tried to continue the song and ignore the cake, saying “Hey! We are in the middle of a song here! Let’s get back to work!” He sang by himself a few lines–but to no avail. Gifts were brought out, and Daiki struggled to open them: the first a set of two books with pictures and comments from the fans and the second was an electric kettle from the band to the vocalist. “I always heat water the old fashioned way so it takes a long time!” Daiki explained. Clearly touched, the vocalist addressed the crowd one more time, Dye teasing him with a depressing song on the piano to contribute to the solemn atmosphere before Daiki cutting him off, saying “This isn’t that sort of occasion!”

An explosion of shiny silver strips fell from the eaves for the revitalized “REALIZE.” A nice piano-techno beat opened “everlast,” Daiki’s voice mingling perfect with Sai’s bass. As thousands of stars twirled around the room via the whirling mirror ball, the beautiful ballad built up to a powerful guitar solo.

One more time, the band bid farewell to the audience, who reassumed the shouts of “One more song!” LOST ASH returned right away, all wearing white t-shirts with messages from the fans and Dye sporting a Santa hat! “superNOVA” ended the night with the crowd shouting with the vocalist and dancing. Daiki and Show added a bit of spice, the two coming dangerously close and kissing on the lips before running away in embarrassment. With a collective jump and a group photo–with the fans included–the band ended their third oneman with the promise of many more shows to come.

Set List

1. The Coming Of A New Age
2. CLOSE TO YOU
3. innerCORE
4. SOUL OF LIBERTY
5. LIAR
6. FLARE
7. overHORIZON
8. starlight
9. Dye solo/session
10. The GAME
11. brave
12. MY FAITH
13. ID
14. ACCELERATE
15. Bright

Encore

1. REALIZE
2. everlast
3. superNOVA

There are 13 photos in this visual kei exclusive.

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