LIVE TOUR 2012-STRONG POP

These are two videos of LM.C concert at Akasaka Blitz. They are continuing the STRONG POP tour in Japan, which will end in late September.

LM.C’s Strong Pop Rocks the UK

LM.C’s London appearance at the Relentless Garage on 23 May was greeted by a crowd of pink in brightly colored t-shirts, jewellery, and neon shocks of neatly fixed hair; it was a show of color to rival a band known for their twisted, candy pop world.

The evening opened with vibrancy as the skull-headed video jockey, Denki-Man danced on to a pulsating beat and roused a jubilant crowd before Aiji and Maya took to the stage. Opening on “Be STRONG, Be POP,” they set the tone for the evening: frenetic, heavy pop-rock with unstoppable energy. Maya knew how to work his audience, gesturing to them throughout with arms wide open. It was a playfulness that echoed the music as the bass-heavy fun beat of “Bell the Cat” got the vocalist sauntering about and blowing kisses at the fans. The audience responded with great enthusiasm, urged to sing along by the band early on, and jumped ceaselessly despite the heat . The first of these was to “Goak-On-SOUL,” a song with a circus melody for which, given the bright colors and dazzling glitter backdrop, the skull-headed Denki-Man was ever so apt. The piece varied from heavy rock to creepier waltz notes in a bridge that roared through a flash of lights to a crashing end. It was the perfect time for a break and a round of introductions.

It’s hot! It’s hot!” Maya shouted before adding, “Thank you, London.” In a sudden change of subject, Maya chose to introduce the next song with a playful question: “Where’s my Juliet?” A host of hands shot up to accompany the screams. “Nobody?” Maya teased “Where’s my Juliet? Juliet!! Would you be my Juliet?” The cheers grew louder as the band began to play the anthemic “Oh My Juliet” and a flurry of headbanging broke out, both on and offstage as the bassist joined in emphatically. After a short chant song, the gig grew heavier in character with the blistering drums and electronics of “COMBATmode” and the metal, “Metally.” It felt decidedly retro as Maya’s rapping remained very early ’90s while the shouts in the chorus recalled the 1980s. Denki-Man led the room in punching the air, his strong, violent movements punctuating in time with the drums.

“Are you enjoying it? Let’s dance,” Maya called out before “FUNNY PHANTOM.” The unusual synth sound became a firmer rock song, suited to large arenas. The fact that small Relentless Garage had no fancy gadgets did not stop LM.C, as Denki-Man produced two green laser guns which he used to create a dazzling light show of laser cages around Maya as he danced. Denki-Man did not falter once, leading the crowd in a call and response of ‘woooo’ before Aiji’s talents then came to the fore with a noisy guitar solo during “SUPER DUPER GALAXY” with the distortion ramped up to the max.

“Is it fun?” Maya asked teasingly again during his next short emcee. He decided he would ask the fans to guess at the next song and as ever, the fans didn’t disappoint with a girl in the front row shouting “88!” into Maya’s mic. Cheers rippled through the crowd and a few Japanese fans who had come prepared joined Denki-Man in waving bright blue glow-sticks along to the beat.

After so much energy, the introduction of the ballad “Nanimo Hajimaranakatta Ichinichi no Owari ni” was something of a relief. The piece opened with a stark wail from Aiji’s guitar that soared with a j-pop meets Celt feel. The vocals at times were a little disingenuous for the ballad sound, not that the fans paid any mind as they swayed along to the music.

“Are you ok? We’re not ok,” Maya said sadly after it finished. “It’s too hot. But,” he began more brightly, “the next song will bring you love. Ai, yeah. Aishiteiru.” Despite the title, “LOVE SONG” was a thumping piece of dance-rock from the open with a repeated refrain of ‘Love Love’ that got the whole room chanting along. It kicked off a series of final headbangers, songs full of attitude and swagger that gave the set a party atmosphere. Some fans began a bit of a mosh in “LET ME CRAZY!!” before the evening closed with a chorus to the tune of “We Will Rock You!” opening “Hoshi no Arika.” Crowd and band jumped in time with each other, creating a real sense of unity within the livehouse.

The band returned shortly. Maya marvelled at the audience’s endless strength as he retook the mic. “It’s hot! How are you guys so strong? We are dead!” There was much amusement and cheering at this and despite Maya’s assertions otherwise, the band certainly did not appear very dead as they delivered an explosive encore of much loved songs. Again, Maya asked the audience to guess the song and again the fans were spot on with “Punky Heart.” The interaction and games added to the spirit of the energetic pop-rock. Being the encore, the band began to let loose. The bassist and Aiji swapped sides while Denki-Man danced about wearing giant Mickey Mouse gloves. It was hard to hear the singalong above the beautiful tone of Aiji’s guitar but it was difficult to fault the enthusiasm.

“BOYS & GIRLS” followed. “Hey, Boys!” Maya shouted. A few girls responded. He stopped short. “You’re not a boy!” Maya pointed out, “Just a girl.” When he shouted, “Hey Girls!” though, the scream bordered on deafening. Once more, the audience were in a frenzy to the sharp punk-pop, even the surreal dip into Pachabel’s “Canon in D” midway through, rather than detracting from the atmosphere, somehow added to it.

Finally though, Maya had to announce the last song and as expected, his yell of “Rock, ‘Rock the LM.C’” almost brought the roof down with the band’s most famous number. The whole place went crazy, rocking out and showing the LM.C some true London love. In typical Brit-gig style, Maya ended the night draped in a UK flag as LM.C flags waved behind him, a triumphant finale to an exhilarating and colorful night of music.

Set List:

Be STRONG, Be POP.

Ah Hah!

BABY TALK

Bell the Cat

Goak-On-SOUL

GHOST HEART

OH MY JULIET

We are LM.C!! -The Anthem of Strong Pop-

COMBATmode

METALLY

FUNNY PHANTOM

SUPER DUPER GALAXY

GAME of LIFE

88

Nanimo Hajimaranakatta Ichinichi no Owari ni

The LOVE SONG

LET ME CRAZY!!

Hoshi no Arika

Encore

PUNKY HEART

BOYS & GIRLS

☆Rock the LM.C☆

Credits to: rokkyuu.com

LM.C in Santiago

On May 3rd, hundreds of fans gathered at the Teletón Theatre to enjoy the second of LM.C’s shows in Chile. This long-awaited show was part of the LM.C LIVE TOUR 2012 -STRONG POP- world tour that promised to be full of the duo’s greatest hits following the band’s fifth anniversary.


When the clock struck 9pm the lights went out and Be STRONG, Be POP, the same song that starts off the band’s newest album, opened the concert. The cheerful audience shouted with excitement as they moved along to the catchy rhythm of the intro. DENKI-MAN appeared first, followed by bassist mACKAz, drummer SASSYand NomNom on the keyboard. Finally, maya and Aiji appeared on stage jumping, and started the first songAh Hah!.


The fans started jumping as soon as they recognised the opening notes of Ah Hah! and silver balloons were released to indicate the beginning of the great party taking place at the Teletón Theatre. On the red-lit stagemaya sang happily, performing choreography with his arms as he moved from one side of the stage to the other, followed by the loyal audience who sang “Ah Hah! Ah Hah!” again and again. Aiji then started to play BABY TALK, a song with a more synthetic sound that maintained the joyful atmosphere in the venue. LM.C proved they had no problem faithfully playing the renewed sound of their latest album, which is full of synthetic pop. 


After BABY TALK it was time for the first MC of the show, during which maya took the opportunity to greet the audience in Spanish, as he had done three years ago after LM.C’s first appearance in Chile. However, he soon began to clap his hands to indicate the start of the classic Bell the CAT, which filled the fans with joy. The sound of trumpets, combined with the lively jazz rhythm from Aiji’s guitar and mACKAz’s bass, acted as the perfect pretext for DENKI-MAN and maya to go from one side of the stage to the other encouraging the audience to clap along. The song ended with the vocalist sending a silent kiss to the crowd from the centre of the stage.


Soon it was time for another of the band’s hits, SUPER DUPER GALAXY, which once again transformed the concert into a party. DENKI-MAN launched laser rays from his fingers while performing energetic dance moves, surprising the audience who jumped and waved their arms from side to side. Meanwhile, maya’s raps were chanted by the whole venue. Given the popularity of the song and the lively performance from maya, Aiji and co, this was one of the best moments of the concert. The party continued with Goak-On-SOUL, another song from their latest album Strong Pop. The stage was filled with colour and the audience followed maya and DENKI-MAN’s choreography.


After that, it was time for a short break. maya started the second MC of the show but was suddenly interrupted by fans who shouted “Mijito rico” and “La colita” (slang for ‘handsome’ and ‘butt’). With no clue as to what they were saying, he looked around with a puzzled expression while putting together the syllables “ra korita?”. He then turned round and wiggled his butt, delighting the fans. After greeting the audience in English with “Chile, we’ve come back. Thank you!” he introduced the next song, OH MY JULIET. 


There was an explosion of excitement as the fast riffs of OH MY JULIET, one of the band’s most popular songs, sounded. Aiji moved to stand close to maya and together they sang the song with the entire audience from beginning to end. This was followed by a short guitar solo, during which Aiji interrupted the song’s melody with some acoustic flamenco sounds. The audience beat their arms to the rhythm and sang passionately as Latinos do.


Making the most of the climax left by the previous song, the band began to play We Are LM.C!!~The Anthem of Strong Pop~. During this new LM.C anthem, the band encouraged the crowd to sing along while mACKAz and the other musicians moved closer to them and two masked assistants ran around the stage carrying two hugeLM.C flags. At the same time, Aiji’s powerful guitar riffs accompanied the voices of maya and the fans. Then, after several repetitions of these interactions, maya finished the song by expelling some water that he had kept in his mouth.


The next song was COMBAT mode, its quick pace reflected in SASSY’s druming. The fast rhythm ofNomNom’s keyboard created an atmosphere of madness and maya rapped while DENKI MAN encouraged fans to join in, shooting green lasers from his hands. Soon, the trash metal riffs at the beginning of METALLY could be heard. The most rock-orientated song of the show, METALLY extended the mood of COMBAT mode and caused the fans to become even more hyperactive. In the middle of the song, mACKAz and Aiji moved to the centre of the stage to surprise the fans with a bass solo and a guitar solo respectively, which were both met with the screams of fans that continued even after the song had finished.


The electronic sounds of the next song, GAME of LIFE, echoed throughout the entire venue and the catchy synthetic voice of maya made the fans dance. Soon after, the anticipated GHOST†HEART began and fans echoed the lyrics as they moved from side to side. The song finished with a pink-coloured smoke, a perfect start to the next MC in which fans sang “Olé olé olé maya, Olé olé olé Aiji”. maya and Aiji were stunned by this spontaneous display of affection from the audience and, in a strange combination of Spanish and English, mayasaid “Can we sing together? Scream please!”. This was met with an immediate response from the audience who sang along to the beginning of 88, another LM.C classic. Fans mimicked the arm movements of DENKI-MAN, who used two light sticks to show them the choreography and then accompanied Aiji as he brought the song to a close, singing the melody with him. A wave of excitement spread through the venue as the vibrant voices of theLM.C boys and hundreds of fans sang in unison. 


maya soon began to sing Nanimo hajimaranakatta ichinichi no owari ni, creating the most emotional moment of the concert. Romantic fans embraced their companions while others waved their hands along to the song. But the band quickly picked up the mood with the jazzy rhythms of peekaboo, during which the audience accompanied the group with their clapping. After that, maya declared his love for Chilean fans saying “I love you” in Spanish, the perfect start for The LOVE SONG. It was easy to see the band’s excitement as a result of playing in front of such a participatory audience in a country so far from their own. 


When the following songs CRAZY A GO GO and LET ME' CRAZY!! came to an end, the band announced the last song: Hoshi no arika. The brightly shining LM.C logo marked the occasion perfectly. In the middle of the song Aiji moved to the centre of the stage to perform an incredibly fast guitar tapping, while fans released silver balloons into the air. After a huge applause the band left the stage but the fans remained, eagerly awaiting the encore.


The band soon returned as the audience sang ☆Rock the LM.C☆ and the members began preparing forPUNKY♥HEART. However, their plans changed when maya asked the audience what song they wanted to hear, to which fans answered BOYS & GIRLS. One of the highlights of the show was definitely when they started to play the first notes of the song. Everyone sang along with maya, who was absorbed by the enthusiasm of the audience and looked at his band mates in surprise. The voices in the crowd became louder and louder to the point where they became even louder than maya, who at times left the crowd singing alone in a very beautiful scene. 


Finally, it was time for ☆Rock the LM.C☆, another song that was sung by the entire audience as they marched from side to side with their flags. This was accompanied by the lasers that flowed from DENKI-MAN’s hands while Aiji's guitar underlined the song’s rhythm and maya threw water to the attendees.


When the song ended, it was time to say goodbye. DENKI-MAN took a photo with his pink phone to capture the memory forever, while mACKAz, SASSY and NomNom said their goodbyes with a bow. Aiji thanked all of the passionate fans who had accompanied him on that unforgettable night and maya closed the show with a few words in Spanish: "Thank you, we are LM.C, goodbye". He then asked for some silence and put the microphone aside, shouting "I love you!" in Spanish a capella. After clapping hands with each of the members as they left the stage, maya said a final farewell with "Peace, see you soon!" in Spanish. The band left the stage and Ah Hah! SE sounded as the excited fans started to leave the venue.


And with that, LM.C’s concert in Chile ended. Filled with some of the band's greatest hits, this show proved that one time is not enough and that the band are able to come back with an even better spectacle than before, leaving each of the fans with some unforgettable memories.




Setlist:


SE. Be STRONG, Be POP
01. Ah Hah!
02. BABY TALK
MC
03. Bell the CAT
04. SUPER DUPER GALAXY
05. Goak-On-SOUL
MC
06. OH MY JULIET.
07. We Are LM.C!!~The Anthem of Strong Pop~
08. COMBAT mode
09. METALLY
MC
10. GAME of LIFE
11. GHOST†HEART
MC
12. 88
13. Nanimo hajimaranakatta ichinichi no owari ni.
14. peekaboo
MC
15. The LOVE SONG
16. CRAZY A GO GO
17. LET ME' CRAZY!!
18. Hoshi no arika.


Encore:
19. BOYS & GIRLS
20. ☆Rock the LM.C☆
SE. Ah Hah! Instrumental ver.






Credits to:Jame-world.com

SHOXX Vol.233 - July

LM.C in Taiwan

VISUALZINE VOL.6

LM.C will be in the cover of Visualzine's new issue for the 2nd time.

Release date will be on: July 15, 2012

Credits to: http://rakumusic.pixnet.net/blog/post/45851951

LM.C LIVE TOUR 2012 -STRONG POP- world tour

With their newest album 'STRONG POP' in tow, in April LM.C commenced their world tour titled '-STRONG POP- world tour'. They performed the final concert on June 3rd in Hong Kong. For their third and longest tour they visited Mexico, Columbia and Poland for the first time. With round-the-world tickets in hand, they left Japan on April 26th.


To kick off their world tour, the band made a guest appearance at an anime convention held in Chicago, US. LM.C began performing in front of the many Japan-loving American youngsters that had flocked to the convention. You could tell that the audience knew quite a lot about LM.C, since not only did they loudly sing the band's anime theme songs but also the band's album tracks as well.


During their Latin American leg of the tour, LM.C visited Mexico and Columbia for the first time, and also performed in Brazil and Chile for the first time in three years. The intensity of the crowds showed that LM.C is wildly popular in places far away from Japan. Although they were planning to visit Venezuela, they couldn't acquire a visa due to political unrest and thus were unable to enter the country. So unfortunately they had to cancel the Venezuelan concert. From this experience the LM.C members learned how every country faces unique problems. Though they heard that several hundred fans were waiting for them in Venezuela, they sadly had no other choice but to cancel the concert and leave South America.

After that they began their European leg of the tour by first performing in Russia and Finland. The set list mainly consisted of tracks form their latest album, so they performed a lot of upbeat party songs. Everywhere the band went, the fans went wild; they danced in rhythm with the melodies and loudly sang in Japanese. At each venue, the fans gave the members handmade national flags featuring the band's logo, and while carrying those flags everyone sang the LM.C anthem 'We are LM.C!!~The Anthem of Strong Pop~'.


At each and every one of the venues, before the concerts began, the fans chanted 'Rock! Rock! the LM.C! Rock! Rock! the LM.C!' as if to show that they couldn't wait for the members to appear. During this tour in which LM.C energetically performed a total of nineteen concerts, the members found that the age-old saying 'music knows no borders' is quite true.


Now the band's tour in their home country Japan will begin with a two day concert at Akasaka BLITZ on July 24th and 25th. The final concert will be held at Shibuya Kokaido (Shibuya Public Hall) on September 30th. For this summer tour they will perform a total of nineteen concerts, and as they tour all around Japan, they are bound to rock the venues with their LM.C anthem.





LM.C LIVE TOUR 2012 -STRONG POP-
July 24th (Tues) Akasaka BLITZ
July 25th (Wed) Akasaka BLITZ
August 4th (Sat) Kumamoto DRUM Be-9 V2
August 5th (Sun) Fukuoka DRUM Be-1 
August 7th (Tues) Okayama IMAGE
August 9th (Thurs) Hiroshima Namiki Junction
August 11th (Sat) Matsuyama Salon Kitty
August 12th (Sun) Takamatsu DIME
August 14th (Tues) KYOTO MUSE
August 16th (Thurs) Kanazawa AZ
August 18th (Sat) Toyama MAIRO
August 19th (Sun) Niigata LOTS
August 24th (Fri) Aomori QUARTER
August 26th (Sun) Sapporo PENNY LANE 24
August 28th (Tues) Morioka Club Change Wave
August 30th (Thurs) Sendai darwin
September 22nd (Sat) Osaka BIG CAT
September 23rd (Sun) Nagoya THE BOTTOM LINE


LM.C LIVE TOUR 2012 -STRONG POP- FINAL
Date: 2012/09/30 (Sun) 
Venue: Shibuya Kokaido
OPEN 16:30 / START 17:00


[Tickets] Tickets go on sale nationwide starting from September 1st [Reserved Seating Only] 5,500 yen (including tax)

Credits to: Music Japan Plus