BABYMETAL, THE HU In Portland, OR With Photos!
By
Larry Petro,
News Monkey
Sunday, November 17, 2019 @ 9:52 AM
| At The Roseland Theater
|
 |
|
Review And Photos By Mike Lewis Photography
My first exposure to BABYMETAL was just a few days after their first single, "Doki Doki Morning", was released. I can’t even recall how I stumbled upon the video but I remember thinking that the blend of metal and Japanese pop shouldn’t work together but somehow it did. My assumption however was that this was probably some one-off release and there wouldn’t be anything else but then there was another video, and another, and then yet another. By the time "Gimme Chocolate!!" was released more people had become aware of the band but there were some who felt the band would never be popular outside of Japan but that has proven to be very wrong.
Over of the course of their career BABYMETAL has played numerous festivals and embarked on tours playing alongside of the biggest names in the hard rock and metal industry as well as Lady Gaga who brought them over from Japan as an opening act. BABYMETAL is one of those bands that I’ve wanted to see, not to mention photograph, for quite a few years but the opportunity hasn’t presented itself for me, at least not until recently when the band announced a tour alongside AVATAR. Unfortunately, AVATAR wasn’t a part of the tour when it headed into the Pacific Northwest. Instead we were given something a little different.
Opening for BABYMETAL was Mongolia’s THE HU, a rock band who has been making quite a bit of waves in the music industry lately. As we’ve seen with a number of folk metal bands, THE HU brings instruments which are part of their heritage into their style of music. They aren’t a metal band but certainly have a harder edge but the inclusion of things such as throat singing, the Morin khuur and the tsuur into their music make them a hard act to simply ignore. It isn’t just that the unique instruments catch your attention but the band writes some rather catchy songs and their interaction with the audience to build up energy is amazing. Their set consisted of the following:
- "Shoog Shoog"
- "The Same"
- "Yuve Yuve Yu"
- "Wolf Totem"
- "The Great Chinggis Khaan"
- "Black Thunder"
- "This Is The Mongol"
In the weeks prior to the show while I heard a lot of people talking about BABYMETAL, there were also a lot of people talking about THE HU although it never felt as though there was really anyone who had a preference of one over the other. THE HU might have kicked things off and got the anticipation level built up, but BABYMETAL truly delivered an impressive live performance. This wasn’t any big surprise as I’ve seen plenty of their live videos and the choreography that is a part of their stage show goes perfectly with the energy that they bring to the stage. While there have been some who have criticized them for the very reason of choreography, I do have a bit of news that may be a little shocking. Even some of the bigger arena bands are choreographed to a certain extent. It might not include dancing but there are still planned moments.
While watching BABYMETAL, there are a few things which become very clear. The first is that the girls have put a lot of time, effort, and rehearsal into their performance. They may have brought many of these songs to the stage over and over again, but they still manage to show no signs of boredom or that what they are doing is growing old for them. That’s the other thing which is very clear and that is that you can see that clearly, they are having fun with what they do. It was also great to hear some members of the audience singing along to songs in Japanese showing that BABYMETAL has truly made an impression on people. Their set included:
- "Megitsune"
- "Elevator Girl"
- "Shanti Shanti Shanti"
- "Starlight"
- "FUTURE METAL"
- "Gimme Chocolate!!"
- "PA PA YA!!"
- "Distortion"
- "KARATE"
- "Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!"
- "THE ONE"
- "Road of Resistance"
BABYMETAL may be in musical contrast to THE HU, however the pairing of the two works amazingly well. If presented the opportunity to get into the photo pit and photograph BABYMETAL again, I certainly wouldn’t pass the opportunity up. From the perspective of the audience the band undoubtedly was an unforgettable experience but being just a few steps closer, even if for three songs, was amazing. The girls know how to put on a show and even if you’re one who dislikes the band, I’d suggest just giving their live show a chance as that may be the thing that transforms you from naysayer to being a part of THE ONE.
Check out a few more photos from the show!
Photos By Mike Lewis Photography
|
