Yurumerumo! Return to Zero With Rock Festival-Sized Performance at Ebisu LIQUIDROOM!

Photo by Soutaro Goto （後藤壮太郎）

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Yurumerumo! made their triumphant return to Ebisu LIQUIDROOM, the site of their first big solo live 2 years ago, for WE ARE A ROCK FESTIVAL TOUR FINAL-RETURN TO ZERO- on October 24, 2016. Finishing up their first tour since becoming a 4-member group following the graduations of Chibo and Mone at Shin-Kiba Studio Coast on July 10th, it was the beginning of a new chapter for Yurumerumo!

As the fans began to file into the venue, the sounds of Nirvana, Guns N’ Roses, Underworld, Oasis, and Green Day filled the air. At 7:31pm, the band made their way on to the stage and picked up their instruments. At 7:33pm the house lights dimmed and the audience cheered as a remixed version of “Yuru Toro” throbbed from the speakers. Dressed in metallic outfits accented by their colors, Chiffon, Ano, Younapi, and Kechon marched out with banners held high over their heads.

Kechas extended toward the stage as Yurumerumo! moved right into “Nigero!!” and the audience writhed as the fans danced along and climbed on top of each other to get the attention of their favorite members. Ramping up the energy with “Hamidashi Paradise”, the members waved their hands and chopped the air. A mass of fans with red penlights rose up to meet Chiffon as she sang her lines and Kazuma Hashida’s fingers flew across the strings as he took a guitar solo.

The thundering beats of “Mendoi Shindoi PUNK Suru ka” crashed through the air, Younapi and Kechon picking up sticks of their own to add their own rhythms to the mix while Ano banged away at her Epiphone SG. Chiffon and Younapi took turns jumping off the bass drum as a cascade of cymbal crashes brought things to a close. With the members picking up penlights and joined by fans banging cowbells, the performance continued its frantic pace with “Yoi Yoi”.

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After a quick greeting and self-introduction, the mood turned summery with the jazzy Caribbean-style “SUN SUN SUN”, the members with shakers in their hands and leading the audience in a singalong. Linking arms shoulder to shoulder, the fans formed rings and danced, adding to the festive atmosphere. The floor shook as the dancing continued right into “Summer Bokan” as the drums beat away aggressively.

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Asking the audience if the performance so far felt like a rock festival, the response came in a roar of voices. The backing band members left the stage as Yurumerumo! declared that they would prove their determination to “surpass idols” and picked up their instruments: Younapi on keytar, Chiffon on bass, Ano on guitar, and Kechon behind the drums. Younapi called for the fans with cowbells to help them out for the next song “Asada”. Ano joked that she was only going to play the cowbell before unleashing a flurry of pick scrapes and a noisy solo as Chiffon thumped away at the bouncy bass line. Running through “Peke Peke”, the tempo ramped up “KAWAII Hardcore Ginga”, the fans pogoing and moshing away.

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The lights dimmed and Yurumerumo! called for the audience to raise up their glow in the dark wristbands for “Night Hiking”, making Ebisu LIQUIDROOM appear like a field buzzing with fireflies on a midsummer evening. Younapi’s fingers flew along the keyboard to play the spiraling melody as Ano’s guitar shimmered and her voice seemed to echo through the night air.

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Ending their 4-song band set, Chiffon marveled at how far they had come after practicing so much, hinting that perhaps they could perform at a multi-band event when they learn at least 30 minutes’ worth of songs. Kechon’s drumming was praised with the members calling her a pro. Kechon responded humbly by saying that it was thanks to the fans that Yurumerumo! was able to return to Ebisu LIQUIDROOM, adding that they had put a lot of thought into the set list. The audience fell silent as Ano spoke of treasuring everything that the group had gone through and commenting how the view had changed in the past 2 years and even though she had no interest in the future, she wanted to treasure every moment of that evening. Chiffon expressed her surprise at how fast tickets had sold out despite the concert being held on a Monday, noted that there were new faces and familiar faces in the audience and how excited she was about Yurumerumo!’s future before vowing to make that night one to remember.

The band returned and the soaring feedback of “Ningen wa Sukoshi Fumajime” burst from the speakers. A song tied to their previous 6-member formation (choreography by former member Mone), there was a palpable sense of those memories rushing back, Ano’s voice seeming to waver slightly while she sang.

Flashing strobe lights and the pulsing synthesizer melodies of “Mottomo Utsukushii mono” hung in the air as the member’s voices intertwined, fading in and out of the audible realm. Picking up their folding fans, Yurumerumo! fluttered through “OO (Love)”, the penlights in the audience following their movements in perfect synchronization. Starting off a steady beat of hand clapping and waving their hands like shooting stars, the members floated through “Yuru Vista!”.

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Starting a singalong before jumping into the aggressive rock of “Giza Giza Freedom”, Yurumerumo! stirred up the audience, who was still going strong. Chiffon asked if anyone knew what the singalong phrase “freedom melody” meant before explaining it and asking them to sing softer and softer and sit down, not an easy task in a sold out venue. Even the band members sat down on the stage. Ano took things a step further by lying down. The volume crept up steadily until everyone jumped back to their feet (some fans surfing across the crowd) and the song roared to a close.

With the energy bubbling up once again, the live continued with the chaotic “Hamidasumo!”, Chiffon jumping into the crowd and surfing all the way to the back of the floor area and coming back to the stage while singing the entire time. Having finished her guitar solo, Ano jumped in after her. Red lights burned intensely as Yurumerumo! simmered through “Sukiyaki”, the fans jumping and lifting each other like steam escaping. Ano returned to the crowd, climbing up on the shoulders of her fans before falling backwards and surfing back to the stage.

Slicing and kicking their way through “Tabi no Shitaku”, the end of the performance drew close with the blood-curdling screams of “Only You”, the audience attempting to match Yurumerumo!’s volume as they called out and pumped their fists in the air. Younapi shouted out “We Are A Rock Festival!” and jumped off the drum kit once again. Just as she had done as Shin-KIba Studio Coast, she climbed to the top of a step ladder as Ano, Chiffon, and Kechon jumped into the crowd. Streamers burst from the ceiling as the final song of the main performance “id Idol” rang out.

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After a few minutes of encore calls, the band returned, followed shortly after by Yurumerumo! with their instruments slung over their shoulders, Kechon joining the others at the front of the stage with a drum and cymbal set up for her. Launching into the trancelike 10-minute long “SWEET ESCAPE”, it developed into a bit of a free-form improv jam, with Chiffon switching out her bass for Kazuma Hashida’s Stratocaster.

Younapi commented that it was the first time that they had performed the song since becoming a 4-member group, which was why they had especially wanted to do it at LIQUIDROOM. While Younapi and Kechon went offstage, Chiffon and Ano remained behind and attempted to entertain the audience. Returning with the limited edition T-shirt made for the evening, Younapi attempted to read the print on the back of Kechon’s shirt, leading to an impromptu game of chase began as she kept turning away. Giving up, Younapi exclaimed that she couldn’t read it anyway because it was “all in English”. Having changed as well, Ano and Chiffon came back, Chiffon chiming in that she had made food that was sold before the performance: curry and loco moco. Ano quipped that the dressing room smelled bad because Chiffon had her pots of food in there and Younapi complained that she had a piece of garlic end up in her hair when she went to meet the fans before the performance. After reminding the fans to go to their December Joypolis event where Yurumerumo! goods would be in the UFO catchers, it was picture time!

Younapi noted that even though it was the tour finale, Yurumerumo! was only beginning to change. Kechon shared that Ebisu LIQUIDROOM is special because it was their first big stage and that their return was the best feeling to be able to repay the support of their fans with their performance. The audience listened in complete silence as Ano thanked them for coming and shared that even though her musical tastes might not be popular (“probably stuff young people don’t like”), she wanted to keep sharing it with them. Chiffon declared that Yurumerumo! was a group very different than others since there was music that they could only do.

Announcing the “last song of the night”, balloons floated out into the audience during “manual of Tokyo girl Gendaishi” and the members bounced along on the stage. Of course, there was one “last last song” which any big Yurumerumo! live would not be complete without, “Natsu on Blue”. Beach balls and inflatable pool toys were brought out, the floor shaking with excitement as Ano and Chiffon boarded a a giant swan and were carried around the room. Younapi ran over to the bar on the left of the stage and Ano returned to the crowd for another trip around LIQUIDROOM on the killer whale.

Taking their final bows and thanking the fans, Yurumerumo! boldly stepped forward into their bright new future.

After a banner year in 2015, the loss of members Chibo (now Chino Chitose of Let’s PocoPoco) and Mone (now Sui Hitohana of Hauptharmonie) in 2016 could have been interpreted as a setback in a year full of them but, based on the explosive performance they gave in front of a sold-out audience at Ebisu LIQUIDROOM on October 24th, Yurumerumo! looks to be primed to continue their ascent through the ranks on their own terms.

Photos by Soutaro Goto（後藤壮太郎）and Shingo Tamai

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Set List

01 Yuru Toro（4mation remix）
02 Nigero!!
03 Hamidashi Paradise
04 Mendoi Shindoi PUNK Suru ka
05 Yoi Yoi
06 SUN SUN SUN
07 Summer Bokan
08 Asada
09 Peke Peke
10 KAWAII Hardcore Ginga
11 Night Hiking
12 Ningen wa Sukoshi Fumajime
13 Mottomo Utsukushii mono
14 OO (Love)
15 Yuru Vista!
16 Giza Giza Freedom
17 Hamidasumo!
18 Sukiyaki
19 Tabi no Shitaku
20 Only You
21 id Idol

E1 SWEET ESCAPE
E2 manual of Tokyo girl Gendaishi
E3 Natsu on Blue

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Band Members

Guitar: Kazuma Hashida (Hakoniwa no Shitsunaigaku)
Guitar: Sho Ueno (Hakoniwa no Shitsunaigaku)
Drums/Percussion: Akio Matsumoto (Hakoniwa no Shitsunaigaku)
Bass: Shin Ishida
Drums: Tomohiro Harigae
Keyboards: Heriko

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Related Links

Yurumerumo! Official site: http://ylmlm.net/

Yurumerumo! Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/ylmlm_staff

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Yurumerumo

Author

Kai Okudara

Writer, researcher, photographer, foodie, KSDD

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