MERRY Tear it Up For 10th Anniversary “Freak Show”

MERRY celebrated their 10^th Anniversary year with a sold-out show at Akasaka BLITZ in the company of their devoted fans. MERRY supporters gathered with a common denominator of tour t-shirts among a diverse crowd of styles and ages. In fact, there were an unusually vast amount of male fans in the audience, even a few non-Japanese guys doing their part. Aesthetically, the stage mirrored the audience with an obvious prevalence of red, white, and black. From the gloomy black walls, long wide stripes of white fabric cascaded to the ground, drifting calmly in the soft breeze created by tirelessly blowing huge metal fans.

A square-shaped Persian rug stood alone in the center of the stage and in front of it was a platform… Or was it? On a closer inspection the platform was revealed to be no less than a school desk!  The sound of drums invaded the venue and on cue, the audience started clapping, gasping as the white fabric curtain masking the stage began to lift and then hang in suspension.

Greenish blue and purple lights danced against the white fabric as gashes of smoke were shot from both sides of the stage. The white mist covered the floor before the band made their appearance. From the dimly lit stage, nothing was visible but silhouettes—and that was more than enough for the fans who shouted enthusiastically for their favorite member.

A lonesome red light fell on the central podium as the first song took over the venue. At once, the crowd started pumping their fists to match the powerful drumming and either jumped or shook their heads fervently with the beat. Gara’s performance in “Hameln” was already a highlight for the night, both for his superb voice control and  passion on stage. The song built up like an imprisoned wild cat, Gara moving, bare feet over the wine colored carpet, head banging frantically to make for a visually stunning effect. Yuu took the lead in an outstanding solo for “Yakou.” Like a fierce black wave, the crowd moved back and forth with the song and as it approached the end, Gara took to the desk and he sang the last phrases pointing his mic stand to the skies.

The house went dark for a few seconds and the fans paid no heed to the heat as they yelled loudly for their favorite members. While the other members prepared for the next number, Nero stood defiantly on his drum kit, inciting the crowd to yell louder. Immediately the fans complied and shouts of “Hei! Hei! Hei!” accompanied by rolling fists, filled the floor just in time for “Meisai no Shinshi.” The heat was palpable and as if to announce what was yet to come, Gara got rid of his Jacket, the unzipped black shirt beneath causing shrieks of approval from the crowd for its revealing cut. Meanwhile, Gara acted like a boxer, kicking and jumping restlessly in his own private, carpeted ring.

The vocalist then removed his desk for “Makkana aoi haru.” To match the title, the lights turned blue as a melancholic piano tune echoed through the venue. Colorful lights flashed rapidly and the white cloths hanging from the ceiling were bathed in pink and blue light. Gara’s voice was flawless and Yuu’s solo matched the song perfectly.  Nero marked the beginning of the next number, “Isezakichou Blues,” shouting “1,2,1,2,3” loudly from behind his drum kit. Gara let a silky moan escape his lips and sexy red and naughty pink lights took over the whole stage. As the title suggested, blues-inspired music added sensuality to the performance. The crowd’s hips swung smoothly to the beat.

Feeling the heat, Gara took his time getting rid of his shirt. Now with no restrictions to his movement, it was time for him to steal the show by head banging violently and swirling across the stage with his mic stand in hand during “Seinen Himitsu Kurabu.”  The song reached its climax and the vocalist, exhausted from the fits, threw himself on the ground. On his knees, he cried out the last lyrics of the song as the crowd watched speechless then released a deafening yell in unison.

“Ve-doro” and “Fleeting Prayer” followed and the venue seemed to have been transported to the bottom of the ocean, blue and green lights contributing to the atmosphere. The band did a great job entertaining the fans, moving around constantly and interacting with a crowd that had no trouble following the routines and lyrics. Gara ended “Fleeting Prayer” crashing to his knees and so he remained for “Mado” through which the drums pumped determinedly, unable to muffle Gara’s painful lament. Perhaps due to the emotion he put into the performance, his vocal control faltered but among the fans, the fault went almost unnoticed by merit of the strong performance. The two guitars added intensity to the tune and Nero was impressive, striking away to matching Gara’s cries of despair. As the five men combined their efforts to bring the song to its climax, Gara fell onto his stomach, exhausted by the intensity of the song.

“stupidxcupid” was warmly welcomed and the transition between the two songs was perfect. The angry yet sweet melody embraced from the start and gave the men onstage another chance to charm the audience as they moved about. Gara went from the desperate lover of the previous number to an angry one, the red lights making him seem possessed as he yelled and stomped his feet in this angry lullaby. “[human farm]” followed with more head banging and moshing. The guitars were fierce, playing superbly along with Nero who made faces at the loudly cheering fans. In a creepy display, Gara tried to eat his microphone, disturbing sounds issuing from the tool as he repeatedly bashed it hard against his head, completely drowned in the music.

The frantic performance continued for the last two songs, “unbalance kinema” and “shoudoku.” The crowd was on fire as the band moved around interacting with each other and the fans. Gara demanded more and more from the excited crowd. He also gave a hard time to the staff as he threw microphone stands in the air and even brought out a fire extinguisher, releasing the white smoke upon the crowd and even other members whose clothes and hair were soaked through by the end of the last song to the joy of the fans.

In response to the encore demand, MERRY were back to business without a word, striking up with “The Cry Against…” Green lights flashed like machine guns and soon the fans followed with actions. The power behind the song was such that Nero`s drum stick broke—and he played on with the half sized stick. Then “Sweet Powder” and “Midnight Shangrila” followed with fast guitars, powerful drums and smooth bass lines. As Gara enflamed the fans yelling “Come on Tokyo!” the crowd went even wilder, moshing and yelling “Oi!Oi!Oi!” like a mantra. Before leaving the stage for a second time, Nero jumped over his drum set and threw a couple of sticks, leaving the crowd yelling “En-co-re!” in his wake.

They didn’t have to wait long before the band came back for “Ringo to uso.” The sweet song was warmly welcomed by the now exhausted fans. This time, the vocalist displayed great voice control and the drum and bass work were impressive. The night’s first and only emcee followed on with the drummer thanking all for their presence and support. “We are very grateful to have had the opportunity to visit so many cities during this tour especially when Japan is going through such a tough period after the earthquake.” Between applause and cheers he continued. “It has been an amazing ten years and we’re counting on all of you beautiful freaks from now on as well!” he said in reference to the new album titled Beautiful Freaks.

Hell broke loose for the final two songs, the fans are more than familiar with “T.O.P” and “Violet Harenchi” and all gave their best as the night reached its end. The band were completely lost in the performance, swirling violently while the fans started crowdsurfing as the people in back shook their heads and moshed to the music. Halfway through the last number, white paper started flying up in the air, matching the curtains suspended from the ceiling. Between moshing and more crowdsurfing, some enthusiastic fans jumped to get a hold of the white pieces. Gara lay on his back. Seeming to be having an epileptic fit, the vocalist let the last lines escape his lips and left the stage almost unnoticed, never looking back. The other members followed suit, throwing some souvenirs for the fans before saying their farewells. Nero was the last to leave, thanking everyone before making his exit under a loud ovation.

All in all, it was endlessly amusing to see the vocalist wreaking havoc in his schoolboy outfit, the thought “Dear god, was he like this at school?” lingering in the mind. Both teachers and students would need therapy after dealing with such madness on a daily basis. Of course, from a visual kei perspective, the scene is lucky to be graced with Gara’s refreshing performance. It was a remarkable show and a great way for the band to celebrate 10 years, the end of their tour and the release of their first full album in two years. Who knows what adventures will come with MERRY’s future anniversaries? -but the journey is sure to be a hell of a ride.

Set list

1. Hameln
2. Yakou
3. Monochrome
4. Meisai no Shinshi
5. Dekiai no Suiso
6. Makkana aoi haru
7. Isezakichou Blues
8. Seinen Himitsu Kurabu
9. Ve-doro
10. Fleeting Prayer
11. Mado
12. stupidxcupid
13. [human farm]
14. unbalance kinema
15. shoudoku

Encore One

1. The Cry Against…
2. Sweet Powder
3. Midnight Shangrila

Encore Two

1. Ringo to Uso
2. T.O.P
3. Violet Harenchi