As 10 pm rolled around, I was already tuned in to the live stream of the B’z concert in Los Angeles. The live feed came online a little after 9 o’ clock and began showing CMs of their new album along with Pepsi promos tied to recent B’z songs. These CMs weren’t for very long and the feed soon switched to a live cam outside the Staples Center. Another live cam view showed fans lined up and waiting to get inside the Club Nokia Theater, where B’z was holding their one man live. The two switched back and forth, and the show still hadn’t started yet.
The live cam view of the line showed that it was slowly moving. Facebook pictures from B’z staff confirmed security was tight, which caused the 30+ minute delay. After I saw the queue line finally empty, I knew the show was close to starting. As if to confirm my suspicion, the feed soon switched over to a live cam inside the dark theater. The stage was dead center with the B’z American flag logo visible (pictured), and many fans could be seen crowding the floor level. Linkin’ Park music played as the fans chatted amongst themselves. This continued for about 10 minutes, until the fans erupted with cheering and screaming.
One by one, B’z support band members came onto the stage, followed by Tak himself. As the lights came on, I got my first glimpse in real-time of Japan’s bona fide guitar hero, sporting a very stylish look. The band played a brief medley, followed by the intro to a very familiar-sounding B’z song. Koshi walked out last to complete the ensemble, much to the fans’ delight. The concert was finally underway.
The setlist:
1. Samayoeru Aoi Dangan
2. juice
3. FRICTION
4. MY LONELY TOWN
5. ICHIBU TO ZENBU
6. HOME
7. OCEAN
8. Konya Tsuki no Mieru Oka ni
9. Calling
10. love me, I love you
11. Hadashi no Megami
12. SPLASH!
13. Brotherhood
14. Ai no Bakudan
15. Girigiri Chop
16. BANZAI
Encore
1. Sayonara Kizu Darake no Hibi yo
2. ultra soul
B’z kicked off the show with an English rendition of their 1998 hit “Samayoeru Aoi Dangan“. I was really surprised to see him singing in English! His accent wasn’t too shabby, but I still wasn’t able to understand everything coming out of his mouth. The next song “juice” got the same treatment. After the song ended, Koshi greeted fans with the customary “B’z no…B’z no…B’z NO LIVE GYM NI YOUKOSO!” “FRICTION” followed immediately afterwards and sounded notably better in English than the previous two because B’z officially recorded this song that way. What a way to start off a show with these high energy songs!
Their popular 2009 hits “MY LONELY TOWN” and “ICHIBU TO ZENBU” were next on the setlist, followed by “HOME“. Tak and Co. played a very nice bluesy intro to this 1998 classic before Koshi started belting out the English lyrics. Again, since this song was another that was officially recorded in English, Koshi’s pronunciations were spot on.
From here the show segued into some well-known B’z ballads, including the 1997 masterpiece “Calling“. “OCEAN“, one of my all-time favorite B’z power ballads kicked off this segment of the show; Tak’s solo was beautiful and spot on. Their 2000 classic “Konya Tsuki no Mieru Oka ni” was the next ballad and is another favorite of mine. Finally came “Calling”, with its distinct composition and catchy riffs. Tak’s guitar work during this song was one of this best in the entire show. The song also sounded incredible with the audience participating in the chorus. The band totally rocked out at the end of this number.
As if B’z could not get any more vintage than “Calling” during this live, they treated fans to some more classics from their 90s era. First was the 1995 hit song “love me, i love you“, followed by one of my many favorite B’z songs from the early 90s, their 1993 classic hit “Hadashi no Megami“. It was such a pleasure to see these old songs being played live and really showcased B’z’s music from various points of their career.
The show then jumped from the 1990s into 2005 as Tak began playing the easily recognizable riffs of “SPLASH!“. This was another song Koshi sang in English and it was surprisingly fun with the clever lyrics. “California splash!” XD. The fan favorite solidarity song “Brotherhood” finally came next. Once again, Koshi prepared English lyrics, and they were very touching. I could just feel the raw emotion of this 1999 gem, which was perhaps the high point of the show. A brilliant performance and an inspiring guitar solo by Tak.
“Ai no Bakudan” marked the beginning of the last leg of this live. The show was coming to a close, and B’z wanted to go out with a bang. Following the popular 2005 hit came another high energy track, “Girigiri Chop“. The band then concluded the show with “BANZAI“. This was so fun to see performed live and I was wondering whether or not it would be the same as in Japan. It was, and the crowd did the well-known “banzai” chant throughout the song. What a great way to close out this spectacular live.
One by one, the members left the stage, but the audience wanted more. Encore chants soon began to ensue, and after a brief period of darkness, the stage lit up once more. All the members walked out for one final hurrah. B’z started up the live again by playing their recently released “Sayonara Kizu Darake no Hibi yo“, which sounded incredible live. They chose to close out the show for real this time with their iconic 2001 hit “ultra soul“, and appropriately so. Just like with “BANZAI”, this song felt like it was being performed in Japan. The fans responded to every “SOUL” by jumping enthusiastically and Koshi let loose his pipes of fury during this one.
At the end, all the band members lined up at the front of the stage and gave their thanks to the audience for a memorable night. They walked off the stage as lights dimmed. This time, they would not be coming out again.
Overall a thrilling concert from B’z and quite a treat to see in real-time. Despite paling in comparison to the scale of their concerts in Japan, this live was of very high quality. For one thing, I loved the different camera angles and did not expect to see something like that in a live stream. They really went all out, and it felt like I was watching a fully authored DVD . The sound quality was also very good for a stream.
It was a very unique show that I’m sure had fans walking away satisfied and content. For the people who sat at home, such as myself, the same could be said. Tak’s warm guitar sound and his improvised solos in most of the songs kept them sounding fresh. Tak’s partner, despite not being fluent in English, connected just fine with the audience too. Koshi was so funny asking stuff like “Is my English OK?”, and even telling a hilarious story about Tak when he won his Grammy. While Tak was inside, Koshi was in the streets waiting for him to come out XD. I chuckled at this.
The audience consisted mostly of Asians with some whites mixed in. There certainly were a lot of cute Asian girls front row ;). Something that caught my eye was this white dude jumping up and down in the back. I think I saw an Indian guy too (lol). The support band of this live was their usual line-up: Masuda Takanobu on keyboards, Barry Sparks on bass, Shane Gaalaas on drums, and Ohta Shinichiro of doa on guitar.
After 8 long years, B’z finally came back to the United States. Hopefully it will not be another 8 years before they visit again. And when they do, they had better come to New York! I will be waiting.
Head over to B’z’s official Facebook page for pictures of this event and more!
Links:
B’z LIVE-GYM 2011 in North America
B’z LIVE-GYM 2011 tour schedule
B’z new album “C’mon”
C’mon PV
Linkin’ Park & B’z special charity event
B’z fansite OFF THE LOCK
B’z official website
Nippon Gaijin 