Memorial Day weekend's Fanime convention would have something very special attached to it: the Joe Hisaishi Symphonic Concert - Music from the Studio Ghibli Films of Hayao Miyazaki. The Symphony Silicon Valley performed five sold-out shows over four days at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts. Mamoru Fujisawa, professionally known as Joe Hisaishi, has been the composer for almost every film written by Hayao Miyazaki with the exception of 1995's Whisper of the Heart. Hisaishi's career spans more than 40 years with almost half of them in service to Miyazaki. This concert serves as a showcase and celebration of his music which has been a staple of Studio Ghibli films.
San Francisco's historic The Fillmore auditorium on the edge of Japantown played host to three bands this past Thursday. The concert series, officially designated "Asia on Tour" and headed by promoter Live Nation, aims to bring a slice of Asia's best bands to both new and old fans overseas. 2017's inaugural series had South Korea's Kiha and The Faces, Thailand's Slot Machine, and Japan's Miyavi tear things up in progressive fashion as the night went on. Each band added their own flair to the night and eventually resulted in a fever pitch when Miyavi took the stage.
Read more: Live Report: Asia on Tour Concert Series featuring Miyavi
Hyuna wrapped up her first North American tour with performances in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Missed it? Don’t worry—Wave-K (a division of The-O Network) has got you covered with photos, videos, and detailed coverage. Following the restructuring of CUBE Entertainment, Hyuna has become the face of the agency, and she did not disappoint on stage. If this tour is any indication of her typical live performances, she deserves more recognition in the industry. With so many K-pop idols and groups coming to North America, it’s easy for some to fly under the radar, but Hyuna made sure she didn’t.
Read more: Hyuna "The Queen's Back" Tour Report (SF & LA) 2017
Silent Siren, also known as "SaiSai" (taken from the first sound of each of the words) stopped by San Francisco earlier this month, one of their two stops in the States on their S World Tour 2016 . This marks Silent Siren's second time in San Francisco. They were in town only a few months earlier in July for J-Pop Summit (check out our interview coverage here). Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to see them back in July, so it's the first time seeing them for me.
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, which 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."
Read more: Concert Impressions: DIR EN GREY “Never Free From the Awakening” TOUR 15
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