Idol Renaissance Surge Forward to the Future! Zepp Diver City Live Report

| Idol | Posted by Kai Okudara on Nov.15.2016

Photo by MITCH IKEDA

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Idol Renaissance brought their “Mei-kyoku Renaissance” (Renaissance of famous songs) to their biggest stage yet for “Odaiba de Hotobashi-Renaissance!!” at Zepp Diver City on November 6, 2016.

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After a blistering 4-song set by AIS (All Idol Songs) which included Whiteberry, BON-BON BLANCO, Canaria Club, and Watarirouka Hashiritai, it was time for Idol Renaissance. The members jogged out on to the stage in their new long-sleeved outfits and got the fans jumping to “Ano Ko Boku ga Long Shoot wo Kimetara Donna Kao wo Surundarou”, their voices sounding larger than life as they reverberated off the walls of Zepp Diver City.

Greeting the audience, Idol Renaissance was bursting with enthusiasm for the live, Nanako Higa running in place as she spoke and Maina Minamibata confessing that she had been too excited to sleep the night before. Momo’oka Koyoi called out to the attendees in the back and in the balcony as words rattled from her lips at a rapid pace. Marin Miyamoto, recovered from her leg injury assured the crowd that she was ready to give her all. New members Yumeka Nomoto and Suzuka Harada shared their nervousness while Riko Ishino proudly announced that it was her first performance since turning 16 on October 29th.

Stirring the air dyed purple by the stage lights, Idol Renaissance harmonized their voices in thanks as the live started back up again with “Besten Dank”. Spinning with their long skirts swishing behind them and bouncing through “YOU”, the members continued on with “Lucky”, their figures casting long shadows in front of the dazzling stage lights. Noa Arai introduced the next song as an extra special version as Nanako cradled a ukulele in her arms. Even though she admitted to only starting to play a few weeks prior, her strumming was steady as she began the intro for the tropical “Taiyou to Shinzo”. Placing it gently at the middle of the stage, she joined the others as they threw their hands forward like waves crashing on a beach. Switching drastically to the spacey electropop of “REGIKOSTAR ~Rejiko Star no Shigeki~”, Idol Renaissance turned switches on their imaginary consoles and popped their bodies before laying down for a quick nap.

With the ringing of an alarm clock, the members awoke and began their day anew with “Kinyoubi no Ohayo”, the orange and yellow stage lights mimicking the rising morning sun. The energy continued to build with “Good day Sunshine” and the members called out for the audience to get even more excited as they danced robotically to the synth melodies of “PTA ~Hikari no Network”. Brandishing their finger guns, Idol Renaissance lead the fans in a singalong of “Sore ga Kotae da” before going offstage.

There was a short break as the band consisting of Owarikara joined by Tomohiro Sumikama (keyboards) and Rihito Sonoki (guitar) tuned up their instruments and began playing an extended intro for “Odoru Rorschach” until Idol Renaissance returned. The stage was enveloped in hot red light as the members turned up the heat once again, cutting loose with their cool rock vocal stylings and throwing their hands high above their heads.

The temperature seemed to rise as Idol Renaissance pumped their fists and bounced across the stage for “Yoake no BEAT”, the fans shouting out their names and dancing along with them. Hyouri Takahashi and Sonoki moved to the front of the stage as they traded guitar solos, the members playing air guitar along with them. Arms sweeping through the air and shoulders shimmying to the jazzy “Futari no Akaboshi”, Idol Renaissance put an exclamation point on the first part of their live band set.

Calling out their first special guest of the evening, Hisashi the kid, formerly of JERRY LEE PHANTOM, Idol Renaissance swayed to the churning rhythms, Riko and Hisashi taking firm command of lead vocal duties. Commenting that he was honored to have shared the stage with the group, Hisashi took a bow before throwing his pick into the crowd and leaving to a wave of applause.

Up next was Kouhei Dojima, the original performing artist for “6AM”, a song that Idol Renaissance had first covered during their 2-man live with Negicco at Tsutaya O-West on October 23rd. Dojima shared how happy he was when he had heard that his song had been covered and how surprised he was that it was already the second time that they would be performing it together. In the middle of the song, Dojima read a letter that the members had written to him in thanks before leading the fans in an “aitai dake” (I just want to meet you) call and response as he and the members pointed out into the audience. Switching between “aitai dake” and “airune dake” (only Idol Renaissance), the pattern continued before jumping back into the song. When Riko asked if everyone had fun during the song, Dojima answered with a “tanoshikatta-nyan”, causing Maina to turn red as her signature cat talk had been borrowed by an artist that she respected.

Settling in with the cheerful “Koi Suru Kankaku”, Idol Renaissance had the fans clapping along steadily and calling out loudly. Koyoi ran across the stage, shouting out to the audience to check if they were still excited during the following song “Miracle wo Kimi to Okoshitain Desu”, the fans answering back resoundingly as the entire floor seemed to move in sync with her and the members. The band members were introduced and they each took solos, Owarikara bassist Fumihiko Tsuda electing to perform a headstand instead.

Closing out with “Silhouette”, the feeling of unity within Zepp Diver City between Idol Renaissance and their fans was overpowering as thousands of hands thrust forward and bodies swayed side to side, every voice joining in for the singalong at the end. Closing announcements included the confirmation of an Osaka performance of “Hodobashi-Renaissance!!” on December 11th ad Umeda Club Quattro. Noa asked the band members if they would join them for that date, receiving an immediate positive reply from Owarikara followed by one moments later from Sumikama and Sunoki after they got the thumbs up from their managers offstage. Taking a bow, Idol Renaissance left the stage, the applause transitioning into an encore clap without pause.

With only the shards of light reflecting off of the mirror ball to light their way, Idol Renaissance returned to the stage, wrapping up the audience in their world as they began the encore with “Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari”, their most impressive performance of the song yet. Thanking the fans again and sharing their impressions of the day, Idol Renaissance had one last announcement. In spring of 2017, they would release their first original song, written by Yusuke Koide (Base Ball Bear). Having come to the point of performing at Zepp Diver City with covers, moving into the unknown brought some anxiety but, after reading a letter that Koide had written to them, the members reaffirmed their resolve in taking their next step forward.

With sweat glistening on their foreheads, Idol Renaissance closed out their biggest performance in their history with “Funny Bunny”, one of the turning point songs as it was the first song released after the graduation of Kanna Hashimoto. Perhaps as a precursor of their future ahead, as the house lights came on signaling the end of the performance, The Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun” could be heard over the sound system. If everything Idol Renaissance has done up until now has been a dark winter, expectations are high as to what they will be capable of when they combine their impressive performance skills with songs that they can call their own.

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Photos by MITCH IKEDA

Set List (original performing artists are listed after song titles)

01 Ano Ko Boku ga Long Shoot wo Kimetara Donna Kao wo Surundarou – Yasuyuki Okamura
02 Besten Dank – Hiroshi Takano
03 YOU – Senri Oe
04 Lucky – SUPERCAR
05 Taiyou to Shinzo – Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra
06 REGIKOSTAR ~Rejiko Star no Shigeki~ – KAN
07 Kinyoubi no Ohayo – HoneyWorks
08 Good day Sunshine – SAWA
09 PTA ~Hikari no Network – Unicorn
10 Sore ga Kotae da – Ulfuls
11 Odoru Rorschach – Owarikawa
12 Yoake no BEAT – FUJIFABRIC
13 Futari no Akaboshi – kinmokusei
14 Music Lovers – JERRY LEE PHANTOM
15 6AM – Kohei Dojima
16 Koi Suru Kankaku – Base Ball Bear
17 Miracle wo Kimi to Okoshitain Desu – Sambomaster
18 Silhouette – KANA-BOON