HARU NEMURI live in San Francisco: Unleashing riot grrrl fury Stateside

On October 1st, HARU NEMURI tore into San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall with a raw, high-energy performance that had her riot-grrrl spirit on full display.

Having steadily risen in popularity, Haru has earned a dedicated following through her mix of punk, electronic, and “poetry rap”, along with high-profile recognition, including a spot on Pitchfork’s Best Progressive Pop Music of 2022. At this second stop on her ‘Flee from the Sanctuary’ tour, she demonstrated why she’s one of the most exciting new artists to catch live.

The night started with ‘I Refuse’ and ‘Never Let You Go’ immediately energizing the audience. Fans erupted when she introduced her song, ‘narashite’, and Haru took full advantage by jumping into the crowd mid-song to crowd-surf. Afterwards she returned to the stage, pausing to ask, “Is everyone safe?”—balancing her wild energy with genuine concern.

“If you’re a human, life is hard, but it can be beautiful.”

Haru’s setlist spanned a wide range of styles, weaving together elements of rock, pop, electronic, and metal. Her signature “poetry rap” style felt almost like spoken word at times, while other moments saw her leaning into melodic vocals (‘Souzou Suru’) or unleashing full-throated metal screams (‘Never Let You Go’). Combined with her performance-art-like dancing, the diverse sound made the show feel unpredictable, keeping everyone on their toes.

Despite admitting, “It’s hard to speak in English”, Haru made a point to engage with her fans between songs. Her encouragement to “please be yourself as long as you don’t kill anyone” and “if you sing and dance, it’ll make me so happy, but you don’t have to” drew laughs and smiles. Each time she climbed onto the barricade, she joked about how easy it was to get up but “horrible to get down”.

One of the night’s highlights came during ‘Sekai wo Torikaeshite Okure’. Haru playfully introduced the song by saying, “This song is easy! You can sing ‘ah ah ah’, right?” as she made her way around the stage, holding the mic out for the audience to sing along. At one point, she even invited a fan who had crowd-surfed onto the stage to film with his camcorder.

Haru is no stranger to being vocal about her stances. Midway through the set, she took a moment to raise awareness about social issues, speaking passionately about Palestine. She encouraged the audience to take action, reminding them that “as Americans, you have things you can come together and do”. It was a rare and powerful moment, especially coming from an artist not directly connected to the issue.

As the show drew to a close, Haru returned for an encore, raising her arms and signaling the crowd to get louder as she took the stage. With a teasing smile, she said, “I was supposed to do an encore, but I don’t have time—I talked too much”, before launching into ‘MAKE MORE NOISE OF YOU’. Then she transitioned to the final song, ‘Ikiru’ with a heartfelt message: “If you’re a human, life is hard, but it can be beautiful. Thanks to you, I’m here—thank you from the bottom of my heart. Tonight on this stage, I felt how beautiful life is”.

Haru took her performance beyond the stage, hopping over the barricade and making her way through the crowd. As she weaved around, fans surrounded her, sharing in the moment before she climbed onto a bar table to finish the song. “This is my first time finishing a show up here!” she joked before heading back to the stage for a photo with the crowd.

Haru’s performance transcended the typical concert experience — it was a shared experience where everyone in the room was an essential part of the show. From her playful banter to heartfelt messages, her ability to blur the line between performer and audience made it clear that she was there for us as much as we were there for her. Not just there to perform; Haru was there to connect and remind us all that despite its complexity, just “how beautiful life is”.

Photos by Ammar Chishty

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HARU NEMURI ‘Flee from the Sanctuary’ US tour 2024: San Francisco Setlist

1. I Refuse (Watashi wa kyozetsu suru)
2. Never Let You Go (Anata wo hanasanai de)
3. Trust Nothing but Love (Aiyori tashika na mono nante nai)
4. narashite
5. Take Back the World (Sekai wo torikaeshite okure)
6. Bang (Uyama Amane Remix)
7. Souzou Suru
8. Who the fuck is burning the forest? (Moriga moeteiru no wa)
9. zzz pt.i
10. Déconstruction
11. Flee from the Sanctuary (Sanctuary wo tobidashite)
12. Riot
13. Inferno
14. Destruction Sisters
    
    Encore:
15. MAKE MORE NOISE OF YOU
16. Ikiru

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