ConcertReport NingenIsu July 20,2014 Japan

At the beginning

I went.

The two man show of “Ningen Isu” and “Headphone President”.

The title of the event was “Steel Japanese-Western Fusion”.

The venue was “Club Junk Box,” a long-established live music club on the second basement floor of “Sendai Forus”.

As Suzuki mentioned later in his banter, it was old, dirty, and tasteful in a good sense.

At the entrance, a staff member asked me which band I had come to see, to which I replied “Ningen Isu”.

While exchanging my drink ticket for a beer, I looked at the other customers who came in one after another, and they all answered “Ningen Isu”!

It is a rather small live music club.

At any rate, while listening to the SE, I drank a beer and gradually was excited.

The T-shirts were, as expected for a two-man show, about 8 for “Ningen Isu” and 2 for “Headphone President”.

I saw some people wearing “Sonata Arctica” T-shirts, though.

“Headphone President” started off the show.

I had no preparation for this band.

A pretty lady was the vocalist.

She was quite dexterous, using both growl and clean voice.

The vocalist’s presence was everything.

Her movements were bizarre, she suddenly became like a sick person, and her banter at the end of the show was very religious.

Shigan-Goeika

After “Headphone President” left, “Ningen Isu” appeared on stage.

Shincho-Kyurakyukyu-bushi

Oh!　Oh!　Oh, oh, oh!

I never thought I would be able to experience such a high-spirited feeling at a “Ningen Isu” concert.

I jumped up and down and got so excited!

Bakudan-Koshin-kyoku  Bomb March

Hmmm… I heard the introduction and thought, “This is going to be a song selection similar to the one on the DVD that came with the new album”.

I like this song, and I wonder if this is the first time I’ve heard it live.

I wonder if it has been before.

In the middle of the song, it becomes like a war song and everyone shouts “Hi!”

It’s so exciting.

The first time I heard it (when I was in elementary school), I thought it was like “Drifters”.

Hyocho-no-Teikoku  L’Empire des signes

This is one of the most progressive songs in the new album.

9/8 to 7/4, it’s quite complex.

But I don’t know, “Dottoharai” and “Jinmen-Sou” are more complicated.

I haven’t listened to it enough yet and it doesn’t ring a bell.

Tsuki-no-Mona-Lisa  Mona Lisa of the Moon

I felt it was a somewhat unexpected song choice.

I think it is a simple song.

The last solo was long.

“This long solo is hard rock,” said Wajima.

I was frustrated by the short solo in “Headphone President,” so I felt it very heartwarming.

Jigoku-no-Ryori-nin  Hell’s Chef

Suzuki’s world explodes.

The brutal world is somehow humorously told in this excellent work.

All the audience shouted “Ya-ite kuuka!”

This is a good song.

Jikan-karano-kage  The Shadow Out of Time

Another unexpected song choice.

I just love this song!

Makes me want to read Lovecraft again.

This song didn’t really catch my attention at first, but now it’s my favorite.

This often happens with “Ningen Isu” songs.

Namahage

Wajima introducing the song in his dialect was super cool!

Oh, by the way, it looks like Wajima is growing his hair out again.

He had his hair tied back.

Yeah, it looks better than his short hair.

The song is a classic.

It’s a song that doesn’t disappoint.

In the past, they might have placed this song as the first track on the album.

Odoru-Issun-Boshi  Dancing Dwarf

Anyway, Suzuki’s performance is the best.

That part of Suzuki’s performance where he gradually gets excited is too amazing.

He even started to move in a strange way, like a nanafushi (a Japanese stick insect), and I was excited  that even those of us who were watching him were at maximum.

I usually watch Wajima’s fingerings, but I was only looking at Suzuki during this song.

Kuroi-Taiyo  Schwarze Sonne

The theme riff is catchy and cool!

Have I heard it before?

Kumo-no-Ito  The Spider-Web

What is it? I don’t remember this song’s riff being this cool.

It’s a simple riff, but it’s so intensely cool!

The audience got so excited.

I was expecting “Aka-to-Kuro” before the title call, but when they started playing, I couldn’t resist this song either.

Jinmen-Sou

I somehow expected them to play this song.

And it’s a song I really wanted to hear.

Of course, the current “Ningen Isu” is great, but the songs they wrote when they were young are really something else.

In fact, I feel that the amount of ideas in these songs is incomparable to what they have now.

Hari-no-Yama  Hell’s Needle Mountain

I felt the speed was a little less than usual, but my neck was getting tired, so it was just as well.

I was sweating and screaming.

When was the last time I screamed so hard that I lost my voice?

Meishin  Superstition

Encore song.

It was one of the songs I most wanted to hear in the new album.

(I would have loved to hear “Miss Android” too…)

This is so exciting!

I have a feeling it’s going to be played again in the future.

Maybe it will become a classic.

At the end

However, “Ningen Isu” are as cool as ever!

They have been as cool as ever for 25 years.

I’ll go to as many “Ningen Isu” shows as I can!

I’ll go anywhere in Tohoku!

July 21,2014　Freakz

(Postscript)

This article was written in July 2014.

Did Wajima start to grow his hair longer around this time?

I have a feeling he has had long hair for a long time, but it seems surprisingly recent.

And I’m writing again, I guess I really wanted to hear “Miss Android” during this period.

I decided to go see the show a few days before the concert, as I recall.

I was still able to get tickets on the day of the show, and I was single and light.

July 7,2023　Freakz