8/23 Kings Vol.3@新木場STUDIO COAST

UPDATE: Check out RO69’s official live report for more details and some great pictures from the event. Added live footage of PILLS EMPIRE.

Doors opened at 4:00pm with Taira Daisuke (FREE THROW) providing the soundtrack as excited fans filed in to 新木場STUDIO COAST for Kings 3 (the fourth installment of the Kings event series).  He was joined at the DJ booth by Ishige Akira (Vo./Gt., the telephones), Jin Hirofumi (FREE THROW), and several other Kings members including Nobu (Keys, the telephones), who was bouncing around with a borrowed electric guitar and playing to the crowd for much of the set.

PILLS EMPIRE:  PILLS led the charge, Yuto (Dr.) entering first, followed by Kokubu (Gt./Synth.) and Kazuto (Ba./Synth.), their faces masked and wielding spray cans.  Then Naoya (Vo.) appeared, waving a large black flag above his head as he stalked back and forth across the stage.  They opened with Eins, Zwei, Drei and it didn’t take long for him to abandon his microphone stand and plunge headfirst into the crowd.  Tensions reached a boiling point during Suicide Candy and Naoya led the crowd in chants of “WE ARE PILLS EMPIRE! WE ARE KINGS!”.  He returned to the floor during Kubrick Syndicate, wading through the fans to balance himself precariously on the DJ booth, the PA booth, and the center barrier before allowing himself to be carried back to the the front.  When it was all over he climbed atop the speakers, lifting the mirrored flag high above his head, and saluted before tossing it to the ground and making his exit.  Jin took over at the DJ booth as the stage was reset for QUATTRO.

QUATTRO:  They began their set with Magic J, but suffered from technical difficulties with guitarist Ushioda Yuichi’s equipment, which Iwamoto Takeshi (Vo./Gt.) tried unsuccessfully to fix by wiggling his fingers at the stage crew.  The problems persisted through an extended MC, during which Iwamoto wished Kahadio (Dr.) a happy 20th birthday and attempted to stall by pimping out the remaining Kings goods.  Things seemed to be back on track as they continued their set, including two new songs (Flamingo and the band’s first Japanese song) and a preview of Oh, Susanna, off of their upcoming 7-inch single, which they used as the lead-in to Question#7.  They ended on a high note with Hey!, just as fans have come to expect.

THE BAWDIES:  There were a lot of BAWDIES fans in the crowd and they went wild when the band appeared kicking things off with TOO LATE.  They didn’t spend a lot of time on MCs, but their stage presence was impressive as always and they kept the hits coming with songs like JUST BE COOL, B.P.B, and HOT DOG.  During the handclap section of KEEP ON ROCKIN’, ROY called out to the audience, telling them that Kings wasn’t just made of the bands but that they were all Kings.  They ended their set with A NEW DAY IS COMIN’ and then Taira was back at the DJ booth, joined by kaoru (miila and the geeks) who, for some reason, was there and dancing around in a bra.

The Brixton Academy:  Naoto (Vo./Gt./Synth.) and Yone (Gt./Synth.) were popping bottles of champagne for the audience as they opened with So Shy, their unique blend of 80’s synth pop transforming STUDIO COAST into a dance hall.  They also debuted their new single, Youth, a cool, new wave ballad off of their upcoming 2nd album Bright As Diamonds.  Afterward the stage was reset for the telephones while Jin had his last set at the DJ booth.

the telephones:  Last up were the telephones, it was great to see them take the final spot after playing 4th at Kings Jr.  Nobu rushed to the front of the stage, posing and teasing the fans by pulling his Kings t-shirt down over his shoulder as the other members entered.  They took their places and launched into Monkey Discooooooo, immediately whipping the excited crowd into a frenzy. They followed up with sick rocks and A.B.C. Disco, everyone waving their hands back and forth and singing along with the chorus.  Then Ishige announced the new song, YEAH YEAH YEAH, off of their appropriately titled new album, Rock Kingdom.  Nobu disappeared for awhile, only to return in a pink mirrorball shirt for Urban Disco and HABANERO, during which they spent every last once of energy leading up to their closing number, I Hate Discooooooo.  They exited the stage, leaving Ishige with his pedals, and as the distortion faded he stood and waved to the crowd, delivering his heartfelt thanks, “この時代に生まれてきて良かったです. ありがとう!”

They returned for a one song encore with Love and Disco, which Kahadio joined them onstage in his underwear to announce.  All of the Kings members came out during the song (Yone and kaoru crowd-surfed in from the back) and afterward they took the time to thank the fans, ask for the return of FREE THROW DJ Tsurusaki Makoto’s shoe, and take a group photo.  There was no announcement regarding Kings 4, but Ishige closed the night by saying that he wanted the next installment to be even bigger.  I, for one, can’t wait to be there.