Considering this is the first time One OK Rock (9) have played at OVO Wembley London, they definitely are used to putting on an emotionally evocative show full of unexpected events (stay tuned to find out more). Which isn’t surprising as they’ve been touring for over 10 years, slowly conquering the rock world.
To warm the crowd up, they played an intro video which was sprinkled with inspirational phrases about living life to the fullest and taking the opportunity to tell the people you care about, that you love them. Which melded seamlessly into the ethos of One OK Rocks' lyrics.
They teased the crowd by showcasing their skills from the start, initially from the instrumentals with Tomoya the drums, Toru on the guitar and Ryota on the bass. Taka then made is vocal debut of the night with "They'll conquer us if we divide. I know I will listen to you" from their latest single Delusional, making the crowd roar and giving me goosebumps. They then performed Deeper Deeper, Taking Off and Save Yourself where Tomoya performed an insane drum solo.
One OK Rock then took the opportunity to give they're thanks to their fans and expressed that they never dreamed they would be able to perform in front of so many people in London. Tomoya also made the crowd laugh by telling us he loves a "Cheeky Nando's, Heinz Baked Beans and Ed Sheeran" - foreshadowing much? Taka followed this up by stating that they've been in London for 3 days filming their new MV for their upcoming album, to be released in 2025.
After performing a few more fan favourites such as, Make It Out Alive and Renegades, Taka took an emotional stance. Sharing that their old company would tell them that they can't tour outside Japan and One OK Rock told them to "fuck off, there are no limits" and that they have made many friends across the world.
Just Toro and Taka remained on stage with the acoustics slowly playing in the background as Taka announced "Please welcome Ed Sheeran to the stage" I thought this was a joke. But Ed walked on with his guitar joining Taka in singing Wherever You Are. Ed joined Taka in singing in both Japanese and English. The shock was still there as Ed left the stage as it all happened so quickly. I didn't really take it in as it was so unexpected. This was swiftly followed by Take What You Want by Taka and Toru still in acoustics.
Taka then came to the front of the stage and sat down. Looking at us all. Really taking it in. I'm sure I seen some tears on his face. Then proceeded to belt out "Silence strikes like a hurricane, I'm singing for you." Kicking into the rock version of the same song, Take What You Want, breaking out from the acoustics.
Taka then shared with us that the new album will be hard rock and roll and spoke to us in Japanese. Expressing that even with different cultures and languages we have the same passion and spirit with music. It's the music that's the most peaceful thing in the world. So, the next album, talks about peace. They want to change the world into a more peaceful one.
From a technical standpoint, the visual graphics were outstanding, the best I have seen. They had a mixture of pictures, lyrics and funky shapes aligning to the songs that were being played. Sometimes it overlayed the live camera, blending the digital art and live feed.
They also displayed some of the lyrics in the background for a few songs in both English and Japanese. Which was echoed in the vocals as Taka sang in English and Japanese for certain sections. The lighting really elevated each song and was crafted carefully to match the tone of each song. Some of the crowd had their light sticks, which syncs up to the lights on stage and creates a wave of colour in the crowd. Almost like a sea of fireflies mimicking the music, allowing the crowd to be part of the performance.
After this section the artists took a much-needed quick break whilst the screens introduced their avatars. I personally did find this section a bit cheesy and the visuals of their avatars didn't seem polished. The same expressions on the avatars kept repeating, eliciting a feeling of watching a children's cartoon... I'm not confident this is the best direction for the group but I appreciate the attempt at being innovative.
They then came back with "One step at a time, no matter how long it takes...", the song that got me hooked on One OK Rock to begin with, Prove. Followed by Neon Lights, We Are and Stand Out Fit In.
The avatars came on to ask if we wanted to be part of their MV. So, we had the once in the life time opportunity to hear their new song and be part of their MV! I can feel the hard rock and roll routes in We All Matter and I look forward to hearing it again in their new album.
Finally ending the night on Wasted Nights "Don't be afraid to dive. Be afraid that you didn't try. These moments remind us why. We're here, we're so alive." Reminding us to live like we're immortal for tonight because by this time tomorrow we will be talking about tonight. No more wasted nights, be present.
After this section the artists took a much-needed quick break whilst the screens introduced their avatars. I personally did find this section a bit cheesy and the visuals of their avatars didn't seem polished. The same expressions on the avatars kept repeating, eliciting a feeling of watching a children's cartoon... I'm not confident this is the best direction for the group but I appreciate the attempt at being innovative.
They then came back with "One step at a time, no matter how long it takes...", the song that got me hooked on One OK Rock to begin with, Prove. Followed by Neon Lights, We Are and Stand Out Fit In.
The avatars came on to ask if we wanted to be part of their MV. So, we had the once in the life time opportunity to hear their new song and be part of their MV! I can feel the hard rock and roll routes in We All Matter and I look forward to hearing it again in their new album.
Finally ending the night on Wasted Nights "Don't be afraid to dive. Be afraid that you didn't try. These moments remind us why. We're here, we're so alive." Reminding us to live like we're immortal for tonight because by this time tomorrow we will be talking about tonight. No more wasted nights, be present.
No comments:
Post a Comment