Over the Edge 2011/2012

heidi.

As the crowd clapped in time to the guitar-fed opening music, the band entered, Kiri settling behind the drums and adding some kick-bass between the claps. “Sa, Shibuko. Can you have as much fun as possible?” challenged vocalist Yoshihiko. “Gekkou Showtime” kicked off, Nao leading by example as he bounced around to the tune of his own guitar. Groovy music and some sweet riffs as Kohsuke lunged into the bassline, the number was a great start to the set and things only got better. “Let’s heat this up. JUMP!” Yoshihiko screamed. “Utakata” powered in with the guitars up front to greet the crowd with their sound. The fatalistic tone of the verses held a dark quality enhanced by blue neon lighting under which the band were spotted in doomsday red but the chorus came with full lighting as the crowd clapped and shouted along, vocalist reaching out to everyone including the second floor even as he hopped and spun across the stage, never missing a word. The crowd was sucked in, powering back and forth and using the seat-backs for propulsion.

“Hi, we’re heidi.” began the loose emcee, followed by a breath of relaxation. “Having fun? Having FUN? I can feel it,” Yoshihiko promised, laughing at his own statement. “We hope you’ll have fun with any band today no matter what. It might be a long journey, but…” The vocalist gave up mid-phrase and the crowd was strict, yelling for him to continue. “Shhh,” he said, taking a moment before winding up. “Yeah, sorry. I killed the mood. Anyway, have fun till you go home.” As lax as the short chat was, “Hakuchuumu” made up for it with the exact opposite level of intensity and the balcony shook with the force of bodies bounding into the air. Perhaps caught up in the atmosphere, Yoshihiko lost the lyrics for a second, saving the moment by singing in the Japanese equivalent of “I can hear your voices, too!”

Cool after the heated opening numbers, “Twilight Town” featured powerful rhythm and interesting lyrics tailored to a tight melody the crowd could dance to, hips swinging along with hands. Riding the momentum, Yoshihiko began calmly but escalated into screaming out the repetitive “Motto!”s. He hummed a thrilled “Sank you!” as the number came to an end. One brief sentence to pump the crowd and “Urusai” started a wildfire of headbanging which caught on as first-timers followed the die-hard fans. Kohsuke rocked into the heavy bass, perfectly complemented by drums and guitar on unified rhythms to smashing effect while the vocalist pulled out all the stops, shaking his head and widening his eyes in emphasis. The hot closing riff moved on into the fun, mosh-crazy “Omaesan.” Yoshihiko sang lightly, living up the light-hearted atmosphere as he wiggled his butt. On the other hand, rocking out the deep, rhythmic line of the second verse, Nao held his guitar in the air in rockstar mode. After dancing like a maniac, the vocalist paused and shouts rang out. “Shibuko, it’s been super fun. Thank You! Wow. I got a little too excited. I’m really glad we could appear again this year and am very grateful to you all. So… Happy New Year. Remember these 5 sounds when you go home, OK?” Singing out the final “Omaesan!” Yoshihiko held out the last note which screeched with feedback towards the end, electrifying the atmosphere for the final, rabid mosh and screamed “THANK YOU!”

Set List

1. Gekkou Showtime
2. Utakata
3. Hakuchuumu
4. Twilight Town
5. Urusai
6. Omaesan