VAMPS – O2 ACADEMY ISLINGTON – LONDON – 07/10/2013 – REVIEW
In 2012, hyde, Japan’s current day answer to Bowie, dazzled London for the first time at the sold out IndigO2 along with band mates tetsuya, ken and yukihiro under the name L’Arc~en~Ciel. They left a mark on the Japanese music scene in the UK that can still be felt to this day, topping any performance the last two years had to offer in our books. Now HYDE is back once again, but this time accompanied by his right-hand man, Oblivion Dust guitarist K.A.Z and the rest of the crew as VAMPS. Serving as a somewhat alter-ego of hyde’s, encompassing the ‘darker’ side of his personality and taking on more of a hard rock vibe with song titles such as ‘DEVIL SIDE’ and ‘SEX BLOOD ROCK N’ ROLL’. Now before we get into the bulk of the article, we should probably mention that depending on the band, each member takes on a different stylisation of their names. So in this case, hyde refers to the shy, smooth talking lead of L’Arc~en~Ciel, and HYDE is the sexy, sly blood sucker of VAMPS. Understood? Good, now let’s get on with it!
On October 7th, VAMPS took to London for the final night of the band’s four date European tour, playing to yet another sold out crowd, this time at the O2 Academy Islington. Known for not doing things by halves, management pulled out all the stops, with camera men strategically dotted around the venue capturing the band’s every move, from the biggest jumps to the smallest hair flicks, for a live stream of the show available to viewers across Japan.
The night kicked off as anticipated as ‘VAMPIRE DEPRESSION’, from the band’s 2009 debut album, seeped through the speakers followed by the sound of hundreds of eardrum piercing screams from every inch of the room. Seamlessly the band went from hit to hit, playing some of their best work from the last five years, and even some newly recorded tracks deriving from their latest chart topping album, some of which they sang in English. In the mix were also some positively British covers including a catchy rendition of girl duo Shampoo’s 90’s classic ‘Trouble’, and helping enforce my earlier comparison with a rock filled cover of David Bowie’s smash ‘Life on Mars?’. Taking in every moment as if it was their last, the crowd gave it their all, not stopping until the mental curtains were drawn. Custom signs also appeared from time to time, my favourite of the lot being a spin on the Blighty classic saying “HYDE and chips”.
Though the music was certainly different and the line-up was unfamiliar in comparison to the first time hyde took to a London stage, he himself was still very much his trademark self, knowing exactly what to say to make the fans weak at the knees, and exuding sex appeal in every which direction. As always, this proved effective, evident by the copious amount of women’s underwear that littered the stage by the end of the night.
Of course, HYDE was not the only one in the spotlight that night, with every member having their time to bask in the glory of a sold out venue full of admiring fans. But out of the five members, the one that stood out the most, bar HYDE, was bassist and backing vocalist Ju-ken. Having worked with an array of big name artists from Tomoyasu Hotei to Anna Tsuchiya, he is currently one of the most in-demand bassists in Japan, and when you see him perform, it’s easy to tell why. From the word go, Ju-ken drove the crowd until the very end, toying with the audience and coming off as the mischievous one of the group, even going as far as to do the honours of wearing the signed Union Jack flag pulled from the crowd during the final farewells.
Drawing the show to a close, VAMPS ended the night with adagio track ‘SWEET DREAMS’, lowering the tempo of an otherwise non-stop adrenalin pumping set and prompting an almost instant lighter/smart phone swaying session, only to get the blood flowing for the final time with heart racers ‘LOVE ADDICT’ and ‘SEX BLOOD ROCK N’ ROLL’, wrapping up the band’s first UK show nicely with a slew of happy faces exiting through the venue doors.
Earlier in the year VAMPS performed an impressive set at Tokyo’s Zepp DiverCity, which streamed to cinemas across the globe. Having attended the London viewing to help prepare for what lay ahead, I couldn’t help but think that I’d unintentionally spoiled the proceedings for myself. Though the setlist sported a different order and a few welcomed additions, it felt like reading the script to a long awaited blockbuster before seeing the film itself. This did not by any means ruin the show unveiling before me, but I did find myself missing the multiple perspectives and padded seats of the cinema viewing.
It was obvious straight from the day it was announced that this show was going to be one for the books. No half measures were taken when it came to making the night a success, with ads in newspapers, features in magazines, and stories all over the web about VAMPS’ first UK performance. The amount of time and effort that went into the show reflected well in the execution on stage as well as behind the scenes with the crew putting their all into showing England what Japanese rock is all about. Despite the line-up change, HYDE has provided us once again with one of the best shows of the year, proving for the second time why he’s the head honcho around these parts no matter who’s backing him. Much like L’Arc~en~Ciel’s ground breaking show last year, the memory of the night that VAMPS took over London will be sticking with us for years to come. Was it our number one show of the year? You’ll find out in December…!
Words by Charles Shepherd
