Orochi Rocks Crowd at Holiday Shinjuku
Orochi - Ushiwaka (Vo.)
It’s never easy for the opening act. I’ve seen my fair share of bumbling performances by nervous, fledgling bands, so when Orochi took the stage with complete confidence, charisma, and professionalism, I was stunned. Despite a completely new line-up of members (aside from vocalist Ushiwaka), and despite the fact that this is only their second live together, Orochi owned the show.
The current line-up consists of four members (sans bassist): Ushiwaka on vocals, Yukimura and Ranmaru on guitar, and Genjibotaru on drums. The way these four interacted on stage could have fooled me into thinking they were childhood friends. They were comfortable with getting into each other’s space and seemed to be genuinely enjoying themselves as they moved about the stage, smiling freely at each other and the crowd. Amazingly, there was no stepping on toes, blocking paths, or awkward “what are you doing” moments at any point during the performance.
The set itself consisted of five powerful songs with a traditional Japanese influence. The opening song “Ame” was the perfect introduction to Orochi’s unique style, his haunting vocals, signature wicked drums, and overall swinging beat easing the crowd into sway with the music.
I thought “Kiyo-Hime” had a great dance beat, but it was the booming, venue-shaking bridge in the song that made me want to toss my notebook over my shoulder and dive into the head-banging crowd. This was followed by “Hannya” and “Hyakka-Ryouran,” two more amazing tracks that were punchy as all hell without turning into complete noise. During these two songs, Ushiwaka overcame the crowd’s shyness and got them screaming along, waving fans around to the beat.
The final song, “Sakura,” was my favorite, which stuck in my head for days. The guitar solo completely went off with beautiful staging (that was appropriately smoky pink). For the finale, the band grabbed hands and did a big jump together. Cute. I’ll be remembering their performance for a long time to come.
Orochi - Yukimura (Gt.), Ushiwaka (Vo.), Ranmaru (Gt.)
MySpace does Orochi’s music and their fashion sense no justice—if you ever get the chance, you have to see them for yourself. English information and ticket reservations (for next time you happen to be in Japan) can be found on their MySpace page.
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Heather Ford, opinionated but friendly, studied linguistics for the love of talking to people and enjoys nothing more than a long chat over a glass of wine. For Heather, there's never a moment without music or a day without dancing. She can't get enough of summer festivals and the great outdoors, but needs more hours in the day for internet gossip in bed. Heather writes to entertain and tells it how it is. She loves Japan for the lights in the big cities, the fireflies in the country, the rock concerts and rock gardens, the insane fashion and beautiful traditions, and for all the unforgettable memories.
So Ushiwaka had another band named Orochi with other members? o.O And Mitsuhide came later in the band…? Is Ranmaru still in the band (because he couldn’t go with the others in the Europe tour…)…I have so many questions lol sob
They are really changed now but this style suits them as well! I don’t even know how I like them more! In this live they look so…simple and cute! Not at all less cuter than now >3< I love them so much!!!! Kyaaaa! I want to see them again (and it would be great if they looked like this *.*)