Back in 2010′s AFA I Love Anisong concert, Japanese pop rock group SCANDAL thrilled fans with their own brand of music that saw 2 albums, 11 singles and multiple tie ins with movies, anime series, commercials and even an online game. Now with a 3rd album out, these four girls who have matured into fine young ladies, are back once again to perform as part of their BABY ACTION Asia Tour at the LASALLE College of the Arts, The Singapore Airlines Theatre.
Excitement and anticipation were high as Cat 1 tickets were sold out soon after they opened for sale. A second day was added to the Singapore leg of the tour for more fans to get a chance to be closer to the stage. And to get the best seats as it was free siting, fans even camped as early as 630am on concert day to ensure they were first in the queue.
The band opened with GLAMOROUS YOU & SONO TOKI, SEKAI WA KIMI DARAKE NO REIN both off their new BABY ACTION album to kick things off. Fans moved almost in unison with their sea of light sticks which can either make a nice scene from the front or a nightmare to the videographers & photographers shooting from their seats at the back. A short MC session was next with Haruna on the mic telling everyone it is the 2nd day of the concert and how fortunate everyone here was to have 2 concert days in a row as compared to Hong Kong and Taiwan. The short MC session ended with her telling the audience “Let’s have more fun now!” which was exactly what the concert in general was all about.
SCANDAL upped the tempo next with crowd favorites Shoujo S, Hi-Hi-Hi and Doll which got all four members showing off their moves. From moving to the edge of the stage to delight of fans nearby to a little towel spin and twist session let by Tomomi with Rina providing the drum beats, it looked like the four of them are aiming to own the stage left, right and center.
The band introduction was next as each member had a short few lines to the fans who showed their appreciation with loud cheers. Rina commented that the light sticks were beautiful, Mami thought that tonight was like a party with the swinging towels, Tomomi said hello in English and Haruna told fans what they did during their free time which included shopping and lots of eating.
Haruna: [In Japanese]Everyone is having so much fun now ne! It’s good to see you all have fun with us! [In English]Did you hear BABY ACTION? Did you like it? [In Japanese]Everyone likes it ne! Since everyone likes it so much, and with such feelings, I think everyone of you knows this song! LOVE SURVIVE!
And from then on, it definitely looked like the band was not only owning the stage but aiming to bring the house down.Fueled on by the fans singing along, SCANDAL performed LOVE SURVIVE, TOKYO SKYSCRAPER, BURN, HARUKA & PRIDE with stage showmanship that would stay in the memories of the fans for a long time. Plus the four of them looked like they had fun too on stage with the headbanging, synchronized actions and even Tomomi getting down on her knees to play her bass guitar.
Haruna: [In Japanese]Because we were able to have this live here in Asia, in Singapore, let’s make a pact to be able to see you all again ne! Asia Tour, in Hong Kong, in Taiwan and lastly in Singapore, we were able to fulfill this dream of able to tour around. I’m really happy that this came true and with this live, I hope you guys will enjoy. We hope to come again, and have a happy time. This made us very confident on coming back again. The tour in japan in October made us feel that we can interact with Japanese fans, but with this Asia tour, we are able to interact with you all. With this tour it made me feel that we are a family, no matter where we are, internationally or in Japan. [In English]We will come to Singapore again! With all this tension, let’s play!
SCANDAL finished off the main set list with VERY SPECIAL, SPACE RANGER and SCANDAL BABY where you could feel the emotions of the band reach out to you through their song. Indeed, there is nothing like listening to SCANDAL play live as they played their hearts out.
Of course, there is always that little ENCORE set which everyone heard about from the Hong Kong and Taiwan performance. And just for Saturday, there was a little change in the list swapping out SHUNKAN SENTIMENTAL for SPACE RANGER during the main set. SHUKAN SENTIMENTAL has been a popular song and with its usage as the ending for Full Metal Alchemist and to everyone’s delight, it was not left out but used as the first of the encore set followed by EVERYBODY SAY YEAH.
Overall they say live concerts can be a totally different experience compared to listening on your playback device(CD/PC/iPod) and it can also go both ways if expectations are not managed properly. But looking at the smiles, cheers and happy looks on the faces of the fans after the concert, I guess there is going to be quite a number of PCD or post concert depression cases after that.
SET LIST
DAY 1
GLAMOROUS YOU
SONO TOKI, SEKAI WA KIMI DARAKE NO REIN
SHOUJO S
HI-HI-HI
DOLL
LOVE SURVIVE
TOKYO SKYSCRAPER
BURN
HARUKA
PRIDE
VERY SPECIAL
SHUNKAN SENTIMENTAL
SCANDAL BABY
ENCORE
KAGEROU
EVERYBODY SAY YEAH
DAY 2
GLAMOROUS YOU
SONO TOKI, SEKAI WA KIMI DARAKE NO REIN
SHOUJO S
HI-HI-HI
DOLL
LOVE SURVIVE
TOKYO SKYSCRAPER
BURN
HARUKA [ハルカ]
PRIDE
VERY SPECIAL
SPACE RANGER
SCANDAL BABY
ENCORE
SHUNKAN SENTIMENTAL
EVERYBODY SAY YEAH
Source: Pop Culture
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