YOASOBI is hot off their first weekend of performances at Coachella. The festival has become a mainstay of California music for quite a while, and they've been bringing more and more Japanese acts.

Now, personally, I prefer solo shows over festivals. At a festival you're given anywhere between 30 minutes, maybe 60 at max, and that'd be a long set. It can feel a bit rushed and you're limited to how many songs you can do. I will admit festivals do allow you to see a bunch of acts in one weekend, and maybe discover new ones you hadn't seen before. A solo show, on the other hand, allows you to do what you want, set up as you want, and gives you a lot more flexibility and creative control. You can really go over the top.

YOASOBI at the Shrine Auditorium was exactly that. They pulled out the stops.

The Shrine Auditorium is a storied venue first built in the 1920s. It is composed of two main sections, the seated Auditorium itself, and the Expo Hall. We find ourselves in the Expo Hall which is one long, linear room that lends itself better to a standing concert. The show was sold out and nominally holds 5000 people which puts it at a large hall/half Budokan size venue in Japanese terms.

This is only my second concert this year in America (the first being Ado), and strangely enough, it's also a Japanese concert. I've already been to a dozen lives in Japan this year. I'll be heading back to Japan later this week for yet another concert.

Upon entering, it was impossible to not notice the very, very large LED screen dominating the stage. There was a fog machine at my feet. Laser projectors on stage. And cameras, God there were a lot of cameras. A camera on a tracked dolly in front of the stage. Cameras up in the second level, high above the crowd. Gimble and Steadicam-bearing operators waiting in the wings. Before the show, NHK was outside interviewing fans.

All signs pointed to this being one heck of a show. At Coachella, they played nine songs. What could they do with a whole show?

It's a very, very packed house

Not too long before the show began, the pit had two new additions. They were giggling up a storm and seemed a little out of place compared to the many been-there-done-that types also in the pit. One had just a cell phone, and the other a basic camera. One exclaimed, "Yabai, yabai!" (rough translation: "Oh my God!"). But, they had the right credentials, so they belonged here as much as the rest of us did. My pure speculation is that they are part of the fanclub and won some sort of contest.

Over in America, I'm in the pit a lot. Being five feet away from a band is commonplace. But for those in Japan, being this close to a big-name act is nigh impossible, so this is an extraordinary experience for these fans and I hope they had an amazing time. The biggest venues in Japan tend to be assigned seating only, and it's total random luck. Dome shows mean you can be in the far-flung edges of the venue if you're not lucky (cough, me). For some of the smaller venues, sometimes there's a random entry order for the general attendee tickets and you're subject to that. You're not able to just show up hours early and wait in line to get up close to a big name. Reportedly for tonight's show, people had formed a line as early as 5AM. Doors weren't until 8PM, so that's a solid 15 hours in line, just to get inside. They've spent the entire day just for this concert.

Some fan interaction with our newfound pit friends.  Note the finger heart in the bottom right and Hikaru Yamamoto's heart

Now, before we get too far, let's introduce YOASOBI. The primary members are producer and composer Ayase, and vocalist Ikura. The duo came to be in 2019 under Sony Music's banner. They "make novels into music," and by that I mean all of their music is based on a story of some sort. That was the original intention of the YOASOBI project. Their name being attached to multiple highly successful anime series just happens to be a side effect.

They've gone as far as to be invited to the White House for dinner with the United States' President Biden and the Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida.

In other words, they're kind of a big thing.

Soon enough, the lights went down, and it was time to begin.

The leading three songs were "Seventeen," "The Blessing," and "Halzion." Of the three, only "The Blessing" had been played at Coachella, so for people who may have only seen them there, they were entering uncharted territory. This was followed by "Suki Da" and "Ano Yume wo Nazotte" (which had a big crowd reaction as the group played its opening bars). The final song of the first act of the concert was "Tabun," which we also saw at Coachella. So far, we've had a mix of old and new songs. We're not leaning heavily onto the anime side of things like at Coachella.

Mysteriously, not too far before the actual concert, a post on Twitter mentioned 3D glasses, and how they'd be key to the concert. No further info was given until now when the instructions to put on the glasses was broadcast on screen.

The following five songs would use 3D pop-out footage, and while it might not have been the best at the extreme side angle I was now at, was reportedly pretty damn cool from the center, according to my friends.

Each song had a different graphical theme to it. "Biri-Biri," which was created in conjunction with Pokemon, featured a blocky, 8-bit-esque world that would be right at home with the games. "Mister," which is about an android, stuck with the electronics theme and had the innards of a computer complete with fans, a motherboard, and liquid cooling pipes. "Moshimo Inochi ga Egaketara" had flames and Japanese kana. "Yasashii Suisei" had stars to go with its name ("suisei" is "comet"). The last song of the 3D segment, "Tsubame," fittingly enough, had a large bird of the same name. All in all, a break from the ordinary to have as part of your show.

Ayase is all smiles

It was time for some MC. Ayase started off with having us repeat after him: "Konbanwa" "Hajimemashite" "Aishiteru." For those of you who don't speak Japanese, they are "good evening," "good to meet you," and "I love you," respectively. For a lot of us here in America, it is indeed our first time seeing them in person.

He wrote us a letter ahead of time with his thoughts [My notes in brackets]. The group was unsure of whether or not they'd be able to sell tickets. [Overseas shows are always a gamble. In Japan, YOASOBI sells out dome shows (tens of thousands capacity venues), but there is no guarantee that success will translate to other countries. Historically, even big acts in America have taken a lot of effort to sell out mid-size venues (1000-2000 size venues), nevermind the larger ones between 5000-10000 like Peacock Theater or YouTube Theater. It's easier to do so in California, which is part of why you'll see a lot of shows here.]

Ayase was really happy to be in America once more, and happy that they managed to sell all of the tickets. [Solo shows are a different beast compared to a festival like Head in the Clouds or Coachella where you get not only your fans but other people's fans in attendance.] He ended with "Let's sing and dance and make this a perfect night together."

 

Some very familiar drum beats then filled the air.

That means one thing: "Idol." I don't think this song needs any introduction. It's the fastest song in YouTube history to hit 400 million views with a single video, and currently combined with various versions and performances, sits at over 500 million.

I had brought a few Ultra Orange chemlights with me specifically for this song.

For the uninitiated, the so-called UO is meant for the hypest points in a song, or if you want, the entirety of a song special to you. The standard UO lasts for approximately three minutes and burns brighter than a normal chemlight, but has a sharp dropoff. You might crack a few for different parts in a song to renew that brightness, and at roughly a dollar each can add up to quite a bit throughout an entire concert. In Japan, these are fairly common at idol shows and you can see people bring boxes of them to a show. Out in America, there are much fewer opportunities to use them.

And I'll be damned if I wasn't going to use them tonight.

The opening bars, while a bit ominous, gives you some time to get ready for the song. The way this song was composed is incredibly effective in all manners. It's catchy as hell and will stick in your head. Paired with Oshi no Ko, it has become a juggernaut.

Here's what I mean.  Note the bright orange sticks that pop up at a few points in the song:

I have to say, this is right up there with participating in the UO sequence for "Snow Halation" and the Aquorainbow in Los Angeles in terms of Best Concert Moments of My Life.

YOASOBI stuck with anime songs, following up with "Yuusha" (from the wildly popular Frieren), "Kaibutsu" (from BEASTARS), and "Gunjou," based on the manga Blue Period.

Now it was Ikura's turn to give a speech. She said that ever since she was a child, she wanted to be a singer, and always wanted to come to Los Angeles. Being able to have a solo concert in America and spend time with American fans is a dream come true for her. She promised that the group would continue to work on their craft so that they could come back again.

That's all we as fans can really ask for: to see them once more. In reverse to what I said earlier about how it's hard to be close to a big name at a Japanese concert, it is hard for us as Americans to even get to see them in the first place. Japanese acts sometimes only visit the US once or twice, and then never again. Meanwhile, in Japan, they tour constantly. I've had to fly over to see many bands who I have only had one chance to see in America, or never been able to see them before. 

The final song was "HEART BEAT." A little bit about "HEART BEAT:" in Japan, NHK has produced the series "18 Festival" over the last seven years. Each festival features a music artist paired together with approximately a thousand 18-year-olds, singing a song. This is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing for a lot of them. Opportunities are kind of scarce for most 18-year-olds, nevermind performing with names like ONE OK ROCK, RADWIMPS, BUMP OF CHICKEN, and most recently in 2023, YOASOBI. "HEART BEAT" was the theme for their iteration of 18 Festival and Ayase wrote the song based on the thoughts and messages from each of the thousand participants.

The band did their goodbyes and bows, but the house lights didn't turn on. Fans began an "encore" chant and shortly after the group reappeared on stage.

Ikura thanked the crowd for the Encore call and introduced the band. YOASOBI's two permanent members are Ayase and Ikura. They are joined on stage by Tatsuya, drummer from the metalcore band Crossfaith, bassist Hikaru Yamamoto, guitarist AssH, and keyboardist Misohagi Zakuro.

Thus began their one encore song: "Yoru ni Kakeru" (English: "Racing Into the Night"). At Coachella, the band opened with this song (and they open with it quite a lot), but it was noticeably absent from the setlist. I had even overheard someone ask, "Where's 'Yoru ni Kakeru?'" when we got to the end of the main set.

After the lights were raised, people still hung around. Fans took selfies with the screen in the background saying "Thank you, Los Angeles." I even saw a cosplayer or two.

As I write, the group has returned to Indio for the second weekend of Coachella. They will then go north to San Francisco, where they will perform another sold-out show at The Warfield. I'm currently awaiting word on whether or not I'll be there too.

EDIT: I was not at the SF show. I did however take a photo of the marquee outside. 

In Japan, they'll be playing at the Kyocera Dome Osaka in October, and Tokyo Dome in November. I will attempt to attend one of those, but it'll come down to whether or not they do open rounds for lottery or general sale. In Japan, it's a lot harder to get a ticket to a popular show and people in the fanclubs will get first crack at lotteries, and then those who buy Blu-rays, and if there are any tickets remaining, open lotteries, and finally, general sales.

With any luck, they'll be back for a more widespread tour in America. There's a lot more to this country than just California, and I feel a little spoiled that all of YOASOBI's performances have been here.

EDIT: A New York show and a Boston show have just been announced for August.  Stay tuned for more info.