The first day of Matenrou Opera's tour, "as if an Orb Tour," was held on December 7 at Shinkiba STUDIO COAST. The "as if an Orb Tour" was a one-man tour with stops in Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya following the release of their newest single, "Orb." In addition to the fact that it was a one-man performance at the largest venue in the band's history, the performance held great meaning for Matenrou Opera. Directly following their performance at Zepp Tokyo in June, drummer Yu took a break from the band in order to address a chronic injury. This show was Yu's comeback performance, his first time appearing onstage with the band in half a year. Their performance at Japan's largest live house was not the last performance of the tour but rather the first, embodying the members' feelings of celebration about their drummer's return.
The crowd waited impatiently for the beginning of the performance in the large venue, packed from the floor the the balcony. Following classical sound effects, they opened the performance with "ANOMIE," a popular song from their indies days. Keyboardist Ayame appeared from the start with a keytar, guitarist Anzi's solo roared, and vocalist Sono's passionate vocals excited the audience, naturally swallowing the crowd in a whirlpool of excitement and enthusiasm. They followed this up with "Psychic Paradise," which included drum fills from Yu, sweeping away any anxiety the fans may have felt about his six months of absence from the stage.
"It's already hot……," said Sono, throwing off his outer garment during the second song. The passionate performance carried undertones of symphonic metal champion Matenrou Opera's majestic worldview and highlighted their palpable aggression. Next, the audience created a magnificent atmosphere with their voices and raised fists during the song "Otoshiana no Soko wa Konna Sekai." Matenrou Opera continued to raise the temperature of the venue with songs like "Mermaid," which unleashes simultaneous jumping in the crowd. They then played the metal song, "SWORD," which features Yu's rumbling double-bass drum. Anzi's guitar and Ayame's keyboard melded in the aftermath of Yo's bass solo, dazzling the audience with their exquisite technical skill and passion.
During the middle of the performance, the four instrumentalists played the instrumental song, "Utopia," which further highlights Matenrou Opera's musical diversity. This song was followed by a solo song from Ayame, during which he fully utilizes both keyboards and computers. A robot voice then asked, "Shinkiba COAST, are you ready?" and sang, coloring the venue in a digital feeling. When Sono returned to the stage, they performed the danceable, all-English song, "DRACULA," a dark and fascinating tune. Their ability to perform high-quality songs with one, two, and four members is undoubtedly a great advantage for Matenrou Opera. The bluesy rock feeling of their next number, "Merry Drinker," was irresistible.
"This is the first day. We've still got plenty of energy, so we'll show you a good time!"
In order to make Sono's spirited words a reality, during the second half of the performance they played a succession of songs that can be called "a whirlpool of wild enthusiasm." During "Adult Children," the high-speed drum solo and duet-chorus with the audience can be called one "wave." And their newest ballad, "Orb," had a power and zeal that did not lose out to the aggressive songs.
"I was glad to be able to write these sorts of lyrics with the theme of familial love. I've begun to think that the vision of just refining things is uninteresting. Continually making new things is more fun, so I want to break Matenrou Opera to pieces. Please listen to our new step forward." --Sono
With that introduction, listeners felt no urge to sway their bodies to "Orb" even though it has an up-tempo energy. It begins beautifully with just piano and vocals and slowly gains power, exploding as the rest of the instruments enter into the song. The song features a guitar solo reminiscent of crying, answering to the lyrics that are overflowing with love. The dynamism born between that and the modulated, rich vocalizations is the very thing that makes Matenrou Opera who they are. The illuminated orbs from the disco ball rained down upon the guest seating, and during a long break after the song, time seemed to stop and it appeared as though snow was falling down on the stage. In the whimsical lighting, everyone had a chance to catch their breath. As everyone listened closely, the opening guitar riff of "GLORIA" pierced through the air, and the floor became a sea of headbanging. At the back of the stage, Yu wielded his drumsticks with all his might as he mouthed the chorus to himself. As the song progressed through Yo's, then Ayame and Anzi's solos, the volume of the drums increased in a way that created goosebumps. It was possible to sense everyone's love for the band and their overflowing delight at Yu's return to the stage, the singing of the audience and the neon lights coupling together to call forth magnificent passion. In the song with a title that means "glory," Matenrou Opera gave it their all, understanding the true value of Yu being with the band again.
Having put forth all their strength in the end of the main set, the encore began with a drum solo from Yu. It may seem preposterous, but it actually raised the tension inside the venue. Yu riled up the audience by saying, "Your voices are too quiet! You can speak more from your abdomen, right?" With his technical, aggressive, and dynamic drum play, Yu instinctively reassured the fans of his complete comeback.
"At Zepp Tokyo, I said, 'There are a lot of things I want to do,' and I took a break. I'm full of feelings of happiness that I was able to return to the stage like this. Now that I've come back, one by one I'm going to fulfill my dreams…follow me!"
With those words, Yu brought great joy to the fans, and one by one the other members spoke.
"It's sunk in for me that Yu has been able to make a comeback. He made us all wait for six months, so now he has to pay us back twofold." --Yo
"You Operers who waited half a year, you're really good fans, and you're so cute that it's difficult to live!" --Ayame
"Today, I learned that Shinkiba is the best. Matenrou Opera is going to take over the world." --Anzi
In the encore, they included songs such as the Matenrou Opera cover of hide's famous song, "DICE," which was arranged like a stylish Matenrou Opera song with heavy bass and keyboard included. Saying, "Recently, we don't do many double encores, but today is special," they performed "Kassai to Gekijou no Gloria" as their last song. The song is a metal tune suffused with light that can be called an evolution of the song "GLORIA." The whole audience raised their fists and a chorus of singing broke out in the crowd. Sono raised both hands as if to capture the feeling, changing the energy he absorbed into his powerful singing voice. He brought the song to a close with vibrato-tingled a cappella vocals. Their overflowing vitality, along with the flooding lights, dazzlingly illuminated their future.
Matenrou Opera also performed on December 17 and 18 at Umeda CLUB QUATTRO and Nagoya CLUB QUATTRO, ending their year playing to a full house. They will begin 2014 with male-only and female-only performances in February. Then in March, they will hold a nine-city tour entitled "journey to HEAVEN Tour." How will Matenrou Opera make the journey to heaven following this tour, which brought forth the warmth they shared with their fans in rejoicing at Yu's return? The one thing that is clear is that by overcoming this hardship, they have received the power to freely create music once more.
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