Music (230)
J-Pop Summit has teamed up with Kyary Pamyu Pamyu to start the 2016 event off with a bang! On Friday, July 22, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu will play at the Regency Ballroom in the heart of San Francisco as part of her 5ive Years Monster Tour which celebrates her illustrious five-year career.
Japanese band Babymetal is a polarizing one for metal fans but they still have a die-hard fanbase. They're a combination metal and Japanese idol act; for those of you not familiar with idols it might be easier to think of the group as female-fronted metal. Whatever the case may be, fans do not have too many opportunities to see them in America. That changed this year with the announcement of a proper tour and a slew of dates to go with it. Most recently Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles were announced.
While Anime Expo is coming up fast music fans in California won't be done just yet. Wagakki Band will be coming soon after for their "DEEP IMPACT" tour. We last saw them on the west coast in 2015 at the previous year's Anime Expo where they played to a sold-out crowd and rocked Club Nokia. Earlier this March they appeared at both SXSW and New York. This will be their first multi-date tour in America.
Anisong World Matsuri makes American Debut at Anime Expo 2016
Written by Brian Lee
J-POP DANCE/VOCAL Group DA-ICE to Make Overseas Debut at Fanime 2016
Written by Ken Dubois
Japanese dance/vocal group Da-iCE will make their American performance debut at FanimeCon later this month at the San Jose Convention Center, May 27-30. The groundbreaking five-member group has scored multiple chart-topping hits in Japan, becoming a pop music sensation for their multi-octave range, modern dance style, handsome looks, and sophisticated fashions. Their concert at FanimeCon will be the first chance for American fans to see the group’s energetic stage show that has sold out concerts across Japan.
Hatsune Miku needs no introduction for most fans of Japanese culture. For those who aren't fans of Japanese culture, or are fans but have somehow been living under a rock for the last half a decade, she's a virtual voice given life by fans. Her teal twin ponytails and futuristic appearance hide within them a surprisingly versatile voice. On April 30, 2016, Hatsune Miku would make her northern California debut at San Francisco's Warfield theater.
Hatsune Miku needs no introduction. She's played a few times in the United States as part of MIKU EXPO and Anime Expo's Mikunopolis and now she's back for her biggest tour yet. I skipped the previous tour in 2014 as it was in Los Angeles. This time San Francisco is included among the ten cities and fifteen shows that consist of the North America leg of MIKU EXPO.
The GazettE’s first US tour to stop by San Francisco
Written by Brian Lee
The GazettE, first founded in 2002, is a visual kei rock band that has toured the globe but for some reason never found their way to the States. 2016 marks the year they fix that with four shows, two of which are in California. Tickets range from $50 to $200 depending on if you want VIP. The tour was hinted at by snippets of shows popping up and quickly disappearing from venue ticket sites before finally made official in the beginning of the year.
A year since the release of “Fallen”, the ending theme for the popular TV anime series, ‘PSYCHO-PASS 2’. EGOIST’s 6th single has been released worldwide with another major anime tie-in! The newly released song has been chosen to be the main theme for the animated trilogy movie ‘Project Itoh’, which is scheduled to be released in 2016, with the cover illustration created specially by redjuice!
Concert Impressions: DIR EN GREY “Never Free From the Awakening” TOUR 15
Written by Brian Lee
Japanese band DIR EN GREY is no stranger to the United States. They've been playing shows across America for a little over a decade and thankfully call San Francisco one of their regular stops. The show tonight is in partnership with Goldenvoice who has presented the band in San Francisco for as long as I can remember. The venue is Slim's, a far different place from The Regency Ballroom a mile away that the band has frequented so often. Smaller, more intimate, and much more prone to selling out. If you don't want to get stuck in the cold or stuck in the back you have to arrive early. The formal name for the tour is "Never Free From the Awakening."
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ONE OK ROCK, hailing from Japan, has returned to California. They've played as part of the Vans Warped Tour in 2014 as well as Slipknot's KnotFest so California isn't exactly unknown to them. The San Francisco Bay Area, however, is. They had a stop in Mountain View but that was it. They still haven't made their way up to San Francisco proper so hopefully next time.
In just under a week Japanese metal band DIR EN GREY will return to America for scant few shows. One of those shows will thankfully be in San Francisco on Wednesday, November 4. It is presented by Goldenvoice.
Special Momoiro Clover Z Event To Be Held @ Anime Expo 2015 on Day 0!
Written by Jason Young
In preparation for their upcoming concert at Anime Expo 2015, there will be a special Momoiro Clover Z event at the JW Marriott/Platinum Ballroom on Day 0, Wednesday July 1 from 7-9PM. It will feature the proper steps and techniques so fans can learn about otagei and follow along with the lovely members of Momoiro Clover Z during their concert. Concert ticket holders will get priority seating. In addition, there appears to be a "special guest" at the screening too!
Yoshiki is best known to the world as the founder of the Japan’s most successful and well known rock band that started the whole visual kei genre that many of today’s artists have followed. What some fans outside of Japan might not know is that he is also a classically trained composer and musician with over thirty million singles and albums sold under his belt. This was reflected in the Classical tour he had just concluded this year, which was what the Otakon Sunday Concert was based on.