ReivieR 3rd Oneman Unbreakable

The first grinding of guitars came shuddering out from behind the curtains five minutes before ReivieЯ hit the stage, then as the lights dimmed and the background music hit a crescendo, the curtains pulled back to reveal the oncoming band: Drummer Hiro, bassist Hayato, guitarists Makoto and Kou, and lead singer Jey. ReivieЯ’s heavy opener, “Shiroyume, kuroshiro no kioku,” shook the foundations and Jey’s vocals ranged from deathly growling to impressive screaming.  As soon as “Coarse affection” began, the crowd was writhing over barriers and other fans.

Screaming right back at the fans shouting his name between songs, Jey then did a quick 180. He very demurely reminded the fans to “respect each other,” a statement rather at odds with his own abrasive attitude. He then redeemed himself with a coy suggestion of “Let’s tear this place down!” to kick-start “Kohaku no yume.” The vocals altering between sensual and demonically abrasive, Makoto’s knees hit the ground as the intense number played on before he and Koh set the pace of the next bout of head-banging.  Hayato cutely held a pic between his lips, his hands evidently busy until a scream brought the number to a close.

The ballad tones of “Todokanu kimi he no saigo no kotoba” featured Jey under a spotlight. The guitars were a touch too loud to allow for a true ballad atmosphere, resulting in a diminished sense of “pleasant” rather than “enjoyable.” The vocal line seemed to be all that connected the instrumentalists who all grooved away in their own little worlds and only that thread of lyrics held them together on the same stage. As the number progressed, Jey gradually broke into more aggressive tones, amending the imbalance until he and Hayato executed a rare vocal/bass duet. Then “…for ideal” broke straight into a bright melody, Jey encouraging the crowd to raise their voices, creating a tribute to the awesome guitar line woven into the verse. “Hey Tokyo, let’s hear those voices!” Jey cried. “Wipe out a DEAD WORLD”, Band silhouetted, the crowd bounced vibrantly to the guitar even as Hayato’s bass took point throughout the piece and Jey flipped off the fans. A show of camaraderie had Kou playfully pushing Hayato’s forehead and a creepy laugh from Jey brought the eventful song to a close. During “Zetsubou no sora” Kou took centre stage for a solo, and in a show of surprising affection for the fans, he spared a yell for a girl in the second row, who proved her affection by loyally jumping her adoring little heart out. Behind him, the band broke it down, diving over instruments and mic while the crowd followed suit.

In the final song, “Words,” Jey’s loose vocals smoothly transitioned into hot, heavy roars while the guitarists backed him up, growling. Completing the scene, the fans raised their fists in that classic rock gesture, Jey posed in the foreground and the instrumentalists gathered about the drum kit for the final spurt of chords, riffs and rolls, all beating a simultaneous punch to finish.

Shouts for an encore were greeted with humor as Makoto played his way onstage and Kou posed narcissistically in his corner. Jey entered. Waited. “Yep. Thanks for the encore,” he drawled. He then went off on a tangent, explaining that his onstage personality allowed him to display a side of himself unacceptable in Japan’s dogmatic view. However, this serious admission was undermined by Makoto’s unsympathetic onstage tuning which enticed a nervous giggle from Jey. “With those happy feelings in mind, I want to bring you our new song, “Dears”.” Starting out as a deep ballad, the chorus pulled Jey right up to the top of his range. The encore got heavier and heavier until all too soon Jey yelled, “Last! “Disaster”!” The vocalist played it up, biting his thumb and wiggling his fingers like worms on a hook to embody the frantic, disturbing timbre of the song. “Thank you!” the openly vocalist enthused, flashing a rock-hand at the crowd. Hayato reach out, bumping fists with the front row who then joined hands while the band gathered about Hiro, all jumping on the final beat.

But it wasn’t over yet. Demanding a second encore, the fans got more than they bargained for as Hayato stormed back onstage with a yell. “Sorry, I just wanted to try being vocal-like for a change,” he said, then explained the meaning of the title, Unbreakable: that the bonds between the band and their fans could never be broken. “Make this oneman your place to thrash out all that real-life stuff,” he encouraged. Forced to speak after his own entrance, Hiro nervously exclaimed, “We’re glad to have your support. I want to go overseas!” Makoto was also challenged into rasing his voice. “I’ll speak for the first time with ReivieЯ,” he agreed. “When I was eighteen, I did a live here at Takadanobaba AREA and that was when I decided not to speak because I’m a guitarist and just want to play.” While Hayato and Makoto went on to comment on the ‘secret’ of how they could be siblings, Kou appeared and said, “Thanks everyone! It was fun! It’s not over, but it was fun!” He then talked dutifully about the goods for sale and ReivieЯ’s up-coming lives.

“Shinshoku” kicked off at last as Jey stumbled out and thanked the band for letting him rest backstage. “I want to ask something for the first time in a while,” he addressed the crowd. “Are you idiots!?” he cried three times, thrice receiving the affirmative in response. Sweet riffs had the crowd moshing across the floor, inspired to go all out by the dark, sexy music. Neither they nor the band held anything back, breaking it down metal-style until Jey screamed “Last!” for the last time.

The final spectacle of “Voice” had the crowd yelling back at Jey in complete ecstasy. After a final jump complete with an intense growl, the vocalist took off. The musicians lingered much longer until only Makoto was left. He excited the crowd with one final, contradictory, “I won’t let you go home tonight,” before taking his leave of the sweaty, exhausted but doubtlessly satisfied gathering.

Set List

1. Shiroi yume, shirokuro no kioku
2. Coarse Affection
3. Kohaku no yume
4. Tsukiyo no uta
5. DUALITY
6. DEEP INSIDE
7. Todokanu kimi he no saigo no kotoba
8. …for ideal
9. Wipe out a DEAD WORLD
10. Zetsubou no sora
11. -Dope-
12. [words]

Encore 1:

1. Dears (New Song)
2. Scarlet
3. Disaster

Encore 2:

1. Shinshoku
2. Voice