NANO & MADKID live in San Francisco: Rock and pop collide on joint US tour

On January 27th, fans lined up outside the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco to catch NANO and MADKID on the third stop of their joint North American tour. NANO, known for her fierce rock energy, brought her ‘DO OR DIE!! Rock Your Heart Out’ tour. 5-piece boyband MADKID, embarking on their first ever North American trek, brought their ‘Rising Live’ tour. Fans packed the venue for what promised to be a night of lively performances and heartfelt moments.

The evening began with MADKID, whose charismatic stage presence won the crowd early on. From the first beat of their set, fans were hooked. The group powered through some of their top songs like ‘Faith’ and ‘Sin’, performing in sync choreography to go along. You-ta, Shin, and Kazuki delivered strong vocals while Lin and Yuki showcased their rap skills.

Between songs, the group interacted with the audience, amplifying the excitement with call-and-response moments. “If you’re having fun, I wanna hear it!” they shouted. Kazuki led the audience through a fun little Q&A session, asking various trivia about the band. They expressed their gratitude, with bandleader You-ta thanking the attendees for coming out to their first-ever U.S. tour. 

“The time has come, and it has passed by so quickly. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for coming. We’re still going to grow and come back here”, he said. “Last question, did everyone enjoy today?” he asked, prompting loud applause from the audience. They closed their set with ‘Rise’, pointing the mic to the fans to sing the “Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh” part before exiting with a wave and a warm thank you.

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The atmosphere shifted as the lights dimmed for NANO’s highly anticipated set. The instrumental of ‘Bull’s Eye’ echoed through the venue. NANO emerged to deafening cheers, instantly commanding the audience with her stage presence. After performing ‘Bull’s Eye’, she greeted the crowd, mentioning how thrilled she was to perform in San Francisco for the first time. “Some of you know me from before, some of you don’t—but we’re all here, and that’s so beautiful”, she said.

What stood out most during NANO’s set was the range and power of her voice. From the intense rock vocals on tracks like ‘No Pain, No Game’, and ‘FIGHT SONG’ to the melodic piano rendition of ‘Nevereverland’, NANO’s versatility was on full display. Her ability to seamlessly switch between vocal styles and languages made her live performance stand out as one-of-a-kind. Between songs, NANO kept the crowd engaged, pausing to chat with them. When asked where fans knew her from, they shouted out the names of various anime series she’s contributed to. “Did any of you stumble upon me today because of MADKID?”. Some fans raised their hands, and NANO responded with genuine excitement, saying how happy she was to meet them.

“Ready to make some noise on the next one?” NANO asked as she transitioned into ‘Savior of Song’, the opening theme for the anime Arpeggio of Blue Steel. Fans waved their light sticks in sync with the music, shouting back the lyrics as NANO pointed the mic at them for the chorus. NANO’s crowd control kept things lively. She led them with chants of “Woo”—starting high pitched, then dropping to a deep tone—eliciting laughs. “You guys are so much fun!” she beamed.

As the set continued, NANO thanked the crowd for their support, speaking candidly about the nature of the tour. “This is our third show; the schedule is pretty insane, but every show we do, we get so much power from you guys”, she said, to loud cheers. Before her final track, NANO led the crowd through the clapping portion in ‘Do or Die’, guiding everyone through the rhythm. The instrumental came in and smoke billowed from the stage as NANO delivered a powerful performance, bringing the venue together for one final moment.

The crowd wasn’t ready for the night to end, and encore chants began to ring out. Eventually, MADKID returned to the stage to perform ‘Rise’ once more, before asking the crowd, “Did you guys enjoy that? Do you wanna see NANO again?”. Sure enough, NANO came back out to join them for a final encore.

Both acts took a moment to promote their merch. NANO shared her love for collecting magnets wherever she goes and mentioned she created one as part of the tour merchandise. They encouraged fans to grab some tour merch as a memento, including exclusive wristbands, magnets, shirts, and more.

“I think we did enough promoting, now let’s get back to business!” NANO joked. NANO and MADKID then performed ‘GO!!!’—a cover of the FLOW classic that had everyone singing along in unison. The night ended with a group photo and a final bow, as both artists thanked the attendees and waved goodbye, leaving the stage with a promise to return.

This joint tour by NANO and MADKID is a testament to the passion both acts have for what they do. For MADKID, this tour marked a significant milestone as their first-ever North American run, allowing them to connect with their international audience like never before. For NANO, it was another chapter in her journey of global performances. Through their dynamic stage presence and heartfelt interactions, both acts made it clear that this night was about the shared joy of the experience and the promise that they would continue to rock on until next time.

Photos by Ammar Chishty

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