[Magazine] KanjamFes report
Heeeeello!
Eito is on tour! Finally!
This time we have a magazine report on KanjamFes a few months ago. They'll be airing some previews on KanjamFes on Kanjam's 5 December 2021 episode!
Thank you Cathy ( @Cathywang98 / cattiger99 on LJ), for the translation!
Opened under Maruyama’s powerful statement “Finally, Kanjam Fes is about to begin!” the event started with star-studded performances and collaborations with Kanjani8. It was a “dream-like” 6-hour live performance. For Kanjani8, it has been about 1 year and 7 months since their last live performance in front of the audience. They left the impression of five people enjoying music to the fullest, not losing to the audience’s loud cheers and feeling the heartfelt applause and excitement from the audience.
The luxurious session continues! Feel the splendor of music~
Since “TV Asahi’s Dream Festival” began in 2011, every year they have gathered many music artists to perform. The first time Kanjani8 appeared at this festival was in 2015. At that time, it was a rare sight for Johnny’s group to appear in such events and perform as a band, so it would not be an exaggeration to say that they have opened a new path. Then in 2019, through a collaboration between Kanjani’s show “Kanjam” (TV Asahi) and the festival, they decided to organize the event as “Kanjam Festival”, but because of the typhoon, the event had to be canceled. The following year in 2020, they decided to try again but because of the spread of coronavirus, it had to be stopped again. The event had to be stopped for 2 consecutive years. Then in 2021, the Kanjam Fes that everyone was looking forward to was finally able to happen, and it was held at Makuhari Messe in Chiba (International Exhibition Hall 1.2.3) on September 26. In the opening, Arata Furuta, who plays an important role in the show Kanjam, appeared together with Kanjani8 on stage. Ryuhei Maruyama took an oath followed by a performance from Uchikubi Gokumon Doukoukai (a Japanese rock band formed in 2004).
Uchikubi Gokumon Doukoukai’s towels with the kanji character 獄 (read as "goku", means prison) drawn on them were raised up high, and they came out rocking to the heavy sound and straightforward lyrics. Their “loud rock for everyday life kind of rock" performance had many connections to life so it instantly drew the audience into their world. In the middle of the concert, Shota Yasuda and Shingo Murakami joined and performed the song "Nihon no kome wa Sekai ichi” (Japanese rice is the best in the world) which they also did a collab for their program. Yasuda, who was praised by guitar vocalist Guofumi Osawa for "playing the best loud sound," added his best loud sound with his black Les Paul guitar. Next up was the Kanjam SP band, consisting of members Akimitsu Honma, Shinya Kiyozuka, Masaki Imai, Hama Okamoto, SATOKO, and Rei. Here, with the flow just like in the Kanjam tv show, the music was arranged by & the band play and they performed the song ”Osaka Romanesque” with Kanjani8 for the audience to enjoy. The classic and rocky rendition of “Osaka Romanesque” showed us 5 members’ voices that were more gentle and full of passion than ever.
Huwie Ishizaki, Maruyama, and Yasuda, who are close friends both in public and privately, got on stage and performed "Sayonara Elegy" which he did before with Yasuda on the Kanjam show. Ishizaki and Yasuda were singing on acoustic guitar while Maruyama harmonized for them, sharing an emotional & melancholy story drawn by Ishizaki. The next performance team was s**t Kingz, they showed off a series of dance formations and techniques with explanations of different dance terms. Tadayoshi Ohkura called up Murakami, who was dressed in women's clothing and performed a story-style dance together with the stage set in a cafe situation.
The last guest musician was Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra. Tokyo SkaPara showed the fascination of ska in a retro, tight and cool atmosphere, and they welcomed You Yokoyama as their guest on stage. The SkaPara members cued "Trumpet! You Yokoyama!" and Yokoyama showed off his playing on the center while being surrounded by the members of SkaPara, and made everyone in the venue excited. Finally, all the Kanjani8 members were invited on to the stage and performed the song that the Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra wrote for them, called "Memory Band".
And of course, it was Kanjani8 who took over the last stage. Five of the members lined up on stage. They lined up in the order of Murakami - Ohkura - Yasuda - Maruyama - Yokoyama (from the left side), and gave a strong performance of “Tomo yo”. Each one of the members is making the most of their individuality while treasuring the group, Kanjani8, and while respecting each other's lives, they stand here now to bring us the song "Tomo yo." The lyrics go “Hey friend~ life is great right? That’s why you shouldn’t quit” and they sang it while reflecting on this theme. You can feel that song was persuasive because of their way of life.
In the first half, they did dance-centered performances with the songs like "Zukkoke Otokomichi" and "Brulee". Contrary to their band style, they shook the venue with the heat of their fired-up performances. Although the audience couldn't make any sounds due to COVID-19 prevention measure, it was obvious that the audience had big smiles under their masks.
In the latter half of the setlist, they changed to their band formation, and performed songs like "Ittajanaika", "Zou", and "NOROSHI". They showed the rock side of Kanjani8, which was very attractive in such a music festival. Yasuda and Maruyama stood in the front, Ohkura in the middle, and the two eldest of the group Yokoyama and Murakami stood on the left and right respectively. You can feel the bond in this formation. Lastly, they called the Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra up and sang "Musekinin Hero". The venue was filled with applause at such an awesome ending performance. "It made me realize again that the power of musicians is amazing," said Yasuda. Then all five of them told the audience: "Let's all do our best until the day we can shout & enjoy a live performance again!" From here the curtains came down, and the event that finally came true after 3 years came to an end.
