Space Shower Retsuden 2017
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04 Limited Sazabys_03-1
THE ORAL CIGARETTES_02-1
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Being a large connoisseur of Japanese music and content for a long time, and going to concerts such as One Ok Rock's 35XXXV concert at Fort Canning, SCANDAL's Yellow concert at the Hard Rock Cafe, as well as the multiple years of lineups at Anime Festival Asia, the importance of Space Shower Retsuden 2017 eluded me, right up until I actually went for the concert myself.
Unlike previously mentioned huge acts, where the bands are already largely established and have went on tours across different continents, the bands here could be considered 'indie' rock bands. It astonished me to learn that this was the first time they'd be performing outside of Japan, let alone in Singapore.
Straight off the bat, the opening act, Kyuso Nekokami, astonished the crowd with their bright, lively and hilarious personalities and amazing music. Their set did wonders in setting the mood for the rest of the night, and their incorporation of the Kamehameha and Spirit Bomb – popular attack moves from the popular anime/manga Dragon Ball Z – into their final song, followed by them making their leave in style with a Nimbus Cloud really left a lasting impression on the crowd.
Next on the set list was 04 Limited Sazabys, definitely the most 'punk rock' out of the lineup, and they definitely acted like it, making their grand entrance to '1985' by Bowling For Soup. From their synchronized headbanging to their blood pumping setlist, with the signature sky-high vocals of lead singer and bassist GEN, the crowd was jumping up and down all the way. Because of their appearance in making the opening theme song for Noragami Aragoto, The Oral Cigarettes were definitely the most mainstream-popular band there, and they cashed in on it by starting off with the unmistakable tune of Kyouran Hey Kids!! and had everyone singing along. Last, but not least for the night was indie hit Frederic, who had the crowd re-enacting the odd dances from their music videos and singing all their songs with word-for-word accuracy, even though more than half didn't speak Japanese, and had everyone chanting for an encore (アンコール) in Japanese after the brilliant set came to a close.
For his speech midway through the set, he tried, super endearingly, to speak in English, and some fans told him that: “It was fine, you can just speak Japanese”. He then won all our hearts by talking about how happy he was being able to spread Japanese music culture throughout the world and – even though he denied it – we're all pretty sure he teared up during that speech.It was really only here where I really understood what Japanese music means to the bands, as each of the four bands made it extremely clear how happy having fans overseas made them and how they'd love to come back soon. We're definitely looking forward to more Space Shower Retsuden, and more Japanese music.
Written by: Ameer Ibrahim
Edited by: Robyn Lee